HOW TO GO
What: 52nd annual Flying Circus Model Air Show
When: 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 4-5
Where: Butler County Regional Airport, 2820 Airport Road, East Hamilton
Cost: Parking is $5 per vehicle (one person), $10 per vehicle (more than one person)
More info: www.gcrcc.net.
If you thought model airplanes basically consisted of tiny, whirring things that resembled mechanical insects, then think again.
The 52nd annual Flying Circus Model Air Show will feature 200 model aircraft, some as long as 6 feet and going as fast as 200 mph.
“I love the Dayton Air Show. We go every year, but ours is probably a little faster moving,” said Mark Feist, publicity manager of the show and member of the Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club (GCRCC). “It’s a four-hour show, and there’s something in the air the entire time.”
Indeed, it seems the only difference between the Flying Circus and a regular air show is scale. The Flying Circus will feature re-enactments of Pearl Harbor (with scale ships, as well), the Normandy invasion and the dropping of the first atomic bomb.
“We’ll be using pyrotechnics,” Feist said. “Gunfire will be simulated through the sound system, and there’ll be things blowing up on the ground. We’ll play FDR’s famous ‘this day will live in infamy’ speech. At the end, we’ll play ‘Taps’ and have a talk about the devastation of the war. It’s just a fun sequence of historical events.”
Flying Circus has always made a point to toss some unusual objects into the air, such as model aircraft that takes the form of Harry Potter or Snoopy on his doghouse. This year, they’ll have a 6 1/2-foot model of Iron Man.
“With the movies so popular, we thought it would be a good to try,” Feist said. “With Harry Potter, for instance, the books and movies have played themselves out. We’ll have 3,000-5,000 people each day, and a lot of them are repeat customers. So we try to keep it fresh.”
Flying circus patrons can also expect model versions of the Spirit of St. Louis, Amelia Earhart’s plane, bi-planes and tri-planes flying in formation and Chuck Yeager’s X-1, which will hang from a model B-29 bomber with a 12-foot wingspan, then detach and accelerate to more than 100 mph. The sound system will simulate the sonic boom that comes with breaking the sound barrier. The show will climax with a 5-foot model of a space shuttle that will launch 1,500 feet into the air before coming back down for the type of glide landing you’re accustomed to seeing on TV.
Unpredictable
Yet even with all the featured attractions, patrons can be entertained by flying events that don’t always go as planned. There have been several examples over the years, such as an air race simulation that turned into an actual race (“You know how guys are,” Feist said), or an occasion where one of Feist’s model planes was performing a strafing run during a re-enactment and the pyro tech flipped the switch a little too early.
“It flew through a ball of flame wearing a lot less than before,” Feist sighed wistfully. “But the crowd loved it.”
Another notable occasion was a recurring event called the inverted balloon bust, where balloons are tethered atop a foam brick wall, and models have to fly inverted and break the balloons with their propellers.
“Afterward, some of the guys decided to take out the wall, too, and went what we call ‘subterranean,’ ” Feist said. “You don’t go in expecting to drive your plane into the ground at 70 mph, but it happens.”
Model citizens
Feist talks about the camaraderie that goes with building model airplanes. He got started by actually attending the Flying Circus with his father in the 1960s and 70s, and now he builds with friends and his own children.
“I just like the challenge of building a complex model and getting it to fly,” he said. “It’s hard and that’s what makes it fun. Both of my sons do it, and it led to a career for my oldest.”
To help spread model enthusiasm, there will be several model-related hobby stores and clubs distributing their information at Flying Circus. There will also be a raffle where you can win a completed, ready-to-fly airplane (and a one-year membership in the GCRCC to help you learn how to use it).
“It’s a bigger hobby than people realize,” Feist said. “There are a lot of stores so a lot of people must be doing it. But we’re always looking for new people.”
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