What a “newsy” month October has been!  

On October 5, the RC Flyers assisted Club member Pete Ferguson participate in the 17^th Annual Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon at the drone field. Pete put on quite a show performing many stunts with his control-line model that he also does with his RC planes. Before there were radio-controlled models, there was control line or U-control models. Control line flying was borne in 1937 and gave the earth-bound pilot control of the aircraft using a system of bell-cranks and flying wires from 30’ to 60’ long depending on the size of the model. While the model was basically flying in a circle, dizzy pilots quickly learned to unwind by doing loops, wingovers, inverted flight (going the opposite direction), and eventually combat between two models. Many different models were developed for control-line flying but in 1951 the October issue of Model Airplane News included a good-looking stunt model called the Ringmaster. It has been a favorite for old and new control-line pilots ever since. In 2023, during the Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon, there were 7603 flights logged worldwide by 618 pilots. This year, Pete and the On Top of the World RC Flyers will get their name in the record book with three flights.  

The RC FLYERS Fall Fly In took place on October 19 from 9 AM until 1 PM at the RC Field. We had a terrific variety of models including biplanes, vintage airplanes like the Piper Cub, war birds, stunt airplanes, and jets. It is really nice to be asked “when is the next fly-in” by folks. It seems like our fly-ins are as big a hit with the public as with the pilots.

The Club participated in the Club Fair held on October 31 in the Recreation Center Ballroom. A great array of models was on display and of course, Doc brought his tethered Apprentice model for visitors to try their hand at the controls. On Top of the World, once again, gave us the lounge area off of the main ballroom. This is an especially nice location when talking and relating technical information about our Club and how the models fly. Many thanks to our members and visitors who made this Club Fair a success.  

The Club has over 200 members and welcomes anyone interested in learning more about how to get involved in model airplane flight. There are also Q&A handouts at the field. Just ask or google ‘OTOW RC FLYERS’. Our Board meeting is scheduled for the last Monday of the month at 9:00 AM in the Hobby Building Event Room; followed by the monthly business meeting held in the same room the first Monday of the month at 9:00 AM. November is the time candidates for our officers are selected for in-person voting at the December 2^nd meeting. Members are encouraged to attend both meetings and be involved in this process.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to one and all. Hope the weather is nice so we don’t have to watch football.