Ailerons, rudders and elevators squeaked to the compliance checks. The motors revved and the wheels rolled. The 27th Bob Gasiorowski Memorial Radio-Control Model Fly-In for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) was in high gear.
Sponsored by the Indianapolis R/C South, tri-planes, bi-planes, WWI and WWII bombers, gliders, jets and helicopters – both gas powered and electric models – lined the runway to take part in the Gasiorowski.
The club members made the September 15th event a wonderful experience for the whole family. “None of this could have happened without each of the dedicated volunteers who tirelessly show up year after year,” explained President Jerry Bunner.
In watching these men fly, you get the sense there is a true camaraderie with their flying. “It’s not just the flying that is enjoyable about our club,” said Center Grove resident Jerry McRoberts. “It’s the fellowship and a sense of community that comes from the activity.”
Roaming Rike field with McRoberts, I could see what he meant by his comment. This club is very helpful and always willing to answer questions.
On one occasion I met Bob Condra, an 87-year-old R/C pilot, who enjoys flying in community contests. And, if you stay and sit a spell, you will realize why he does. He’s good. He makes difficulty maneuvers look easy. But his true passion is designing his own aircraft. His creative capability has allowed him to assist other pilots who want to make a plane from scratch.
Jim Eudaley, another veteran pilot, began his aeronautic dreams when flying a control-line as a boy. He, along with other club members, now uses their training to teach Cub Scouts to fly models.
When Center Grove resident Mike Alexa came to learn about R/C airplanes, McRoberts taught him to fly. McRoberts used the buddy box system, which works like a driver’s education car. If a crash seems inevitable, control of the radio is taken back by the teacher. “The transmitter buddy box took the fear of crashing out of the picture. It allowed me to learn with confidence, without discouraging mishaps,” said Alexa.
“As electric models have evolved, it has become easier to teach children how to fly,” said member Doug Gifford. The club recently joined Gifford in helping several 4-H members learn how to build and fly their own electric foam plane.
To date the Gasiorowski has raised over $100,000 for the ADA. Roaming around the outskirts of the field, looking at all the members I had met, it didn’t surprise me to see all of them working for the ADA cause. McRoberts was right. This club isn’t just about airplanes.
I left the event with Bunner’s comment in my thoughts: “Maybe we as modelers can’t make a huge difference in this fight against diabetes but at least on this one day we can do a little. It’s a start and we are honored to participate.”
For more information on flying R/C airplanes or helicopters, visit www.indyrcsouth.org. cg
More Pictures
Here are more pictures of the event. Don’t miss the “full screen” icon in the lower right of the screen. Also, once in full screen mode, you will see a “Show Info” button that will show you the captions for each picture.
Photos by Bob Badger.
[slickr-flickr tag=”DiabetesFlying”]
Videos Anyone?
Follow this link to some videos we included in the promotion for this event.
Tonja Talley has called Center Grove home since 1993. An 11-year bi-lateral lung transplant survivor, Tonja enjoys speaking on behalf of the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization. She also volunteers for the CF Foundation, byTavi, and her church.
