Subscribe
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii - The Paradise Flyers Radio Control Club, who have been featured in past air shows aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, will be participating in the 2015 Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oct. 17 and 18, 2015.
“The Paradise Flyers are a returning crowd pleaser,” said Pete O’Hare, director of the Kaneohe Bay Air Show. “They have performed (for many years) and are a big hit with the air show spectators. This is a unique organization. They practice as a team (almost) weekly and have very unique aircraft from actual jet engines such as the F-22 and FA-18 to prop warbirds.”
The group will conduct a flying demonstration and provide a static display for air show attendees. The demonstration consists of various styles of radio-controlled aircraft, from World War II warbirds to modern jets.
Each craft has different fuel sources: turbine, gas, electric and propeller. The demonstration will be pre-show entertainment for early attendees to the air show.
“We’re sort of the warm-up band for the rock stars,” said Mike Youngling, the air show coordinator for PFRCC.
The club will also have a tent with static displays of their model planes for air show patrons to view.
“People are amazed at how sophisticated the models are and how realistic they look,” Youngling said. “The prop planes sound like prop planes and the jets sound like a jet, smell like a jet, so they usually get a kick out of that.”
According to Youngling, there are three common questions the general public usually asks RC flyers: the cost, the speed of the plane and how long it takes to learn how to fly an RC plane.
For those who are curious, Youngling said it could take as little as three weekends to learn how to fly an RC plane. The cost could be as low as $100 or could reach the thousands, depending on how much the enthusiast is willing to spend. An average RC plane may fly approximately 90 to 100 mph, whereas a jet-powered plane could reach 150 mph.
Youngling, of Mililani, Hawaii, joined PFRCC while he was an active-duty airman in 2007. Now retired from the Air Force, Youngling has been flying RC planes since 1976 and owns numerous models, including an F-86 Sabre and a World War II Spitfire.
“It’s always thrilled me to create something and then watch it fly,” Youngling said. “I’ve (also) always been interested in aviation.”
The club, which has been active aboard Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay since the late ’90s, is an activity sponsored by Marine Corps Community Services. The current membership of 60 active-duty service members, dependents, retirees and civilians regularly uses Landing Zone Westfield to fly their aircraft every Sunday and federal holiday.
As far back as the ’90s, PFRCC has participated in air shows at MCB Hawaii. Youngling said it was the club’s way of showing gratitude to the base for allowing them to fly at LZ Westfield. The club has also performed at four of Pacific Aviation Museum’s Biggest Little Air Shows.
Youngling encourages people to visit the PFRCC tent during the air show to meet the members and ask about the model planes.
“We’re excited to support the (Kaneohe Bay) Air Show, to meet with the public, show what we do and support the base,” he said.
For more information about the Kaneohe Bay Air Show, visit kaneohebayairshow.com. For more information about the club, visit pfrcchi.org.
| Date Taken: | 03.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.20.2015 15:53 |
| Story ID: | 157694 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION KANEOHE BAY, HI, US |
| Hometown: | MILILANI, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Paradise Flyers to appear in Kaneohe Bay Air Show, by Kristen Wong, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT