Hobbyists maneuver small aircraft in big hangars, testing skill as builders, pilots
March 19th, 2008, 6:52 pm Hobbies And Interests
Magnuson Park’s Hangar 30 is dim, cold and a bit bleak, even after members of the Barn Owls Flying Club shuffle in, power on a few lights, set up tables and unpack aircraft and gear. They don’t come for the ambience. They come in the colder, windier months for the indoor open space.
Planes and ‘copters, some of which they assembled from scratch, soon soar, hover and dive, piercing the cavernous pall with high-pitched growls from their tiny motors. Indoor flying is a niche within the popular hobby world of radio-controlled flying and has been boosted in recent years by electrical motors and batteries that continue to get lighter and more efficient.
The Barn Owls have been operating inside dormant hangars on what used to be part of the old Sand Point Naval Base. Three of the 40 are women. A father and daughter belong to the group. Few have aeronautical backgrounds. Most built model planes as kids, so it makes sense that they would eventually want to see them fly.
Flying high indoors
They head outdoors from June to August and fly the wide-open skies like everyone else, but in less ideal weather they spread out across one side of the 22,000-square-foot building and essentially fly in lanes. Flying indoors provides pilots a more controlled environment for their craft. Planes swoop and roll. ‘Copters dart and dive. They talk of “knife edge flight” and “rolling circles.” Everyone seems to have his or her own style.
In one lane, a plane hovers, tail down and a foot or two from the floor, while the operator stands near and fingers the toggle sticks on his transmitter. The youngest man, in his early 20s, flies his helicopter with aggression and aplomb. (”The Nintendo generation just seems to pick this up immediately,” says an older member). Another member tests his piloting by sending his plane amid the rafters.
On the far end of the space, Ron Vanden Bossche flies his homemade planes made of expanded polypropylene, which essentially is a flexible styrofoam that bends, but does not break in a crash. His craft seem to waft like kites, perhaps because each weighs less than 4 ounces.
“It used to be that when one of my planes hit a wall, I was looking at hours of repair work,” said Vanden Bossche, a retired clinical psychologist. “Now I can repair it right here on the spot with a little glue and get it back up.”
Others build their craft from kits. Matt DeVries spent parts of a few days constructing a helicopter from a kit he bought from a Czechoslovakian company. It was an indirect present from his wife, who told him to buy what he wanted after she admitted not understanding the hobby. He had to attach, arrange and test the components — the tiny electric motor, battery, gyro, receiver and servos (that control up and down, and side to side movements) before its first flight.
How did it feel when it actually flew? A smile spreads across his face — “Ama-zzzzing.”
Creating common bonds
The common bond, Vanden Bossche says, is that they all love creating aircraft light and maneuverable enough to fly within four walls. Because they carry batteries instead of fuel, radio-controlled aircraft fly relatively quietly and cleanly.
“There are three basic reasons why I do this,” he says. “Number one, the craftsmanship — I like putting things together. Two: skill-building, being able to fly these things is a tremendous rush. Like golf, you are always learning. Third: the fellowship. It’s just nice to be around people who share the same hobby.”
The cost of equipment varies, but Vanden Bossche says you can get started for about $250. Like any hobby, you can make it more expensive — or inexpensive if you build your own planes.
“You don’t have to be an engineer,” says Vanden Bossche. “Nor do you have to be an expert pilot. There are beginner models available, and the members are glad to share expertise with newer pilots.”
Alex Yanez, a senior IT analyst and development manager for AT&T and a Barn Owl, says the hobby, while obscure to many, has international reach. He learned about radio-controlled planes from his high school PE teacher, who competed internationally.
When Yanez’s plane does a nose-dive onto the hangar floor, he sighs, points toward his brain and says, “mechanical error.” Another member standing nearby says, “That’s an eloquent way of putting it. I just say, ‘Oops, I screwed up!’ “
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