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Radio-Controlled
Airplane Fans
Photography::
Ashley Karras
Out beyond the
Benson Marina lies a small runway approximately
600 ft. in length. It's existence probably
goes unnoticed to most, but for the RC Bridgerland
Club it is their personal runway for a hobby
that brings them together - model aviation.
The club has been
around for about 30 years and is made up
of about 40 active members ranging from
20 to 82 years of age. The men have as diverse
personalities as the planes they fly, but
they all seem to get along.
"We have a pretty
close knit group of fellows," said club
member L.R. Earl, owner of Earl's Hobby
Hangar. " We all have a common bond, and
that is model aviation."
Within the club Jerry
Cokely, the club's president, said there
are several interest groups. He calls his
own group the "Old Fogie Squadron" because
it is made up of retirees.
These "old fogies"
can be found at the runway in the mornings
setting out their planes and preparing them
for flight. The comradery between the flyers
is part of the experience of flying with
the group.
"It's a good
bunch of guys," Lee Colston, 82, said. "They're
older than run-of-mill kids."
"I think part
of the fun of this is we come out here and
we probably talk more than we fly," said
Smithfield resident Bob Eckart who has been
a club member for over 5 years.
Other interest groups
within the club are those who fly aerobatic
planes, helicopters, racing planes, and
those who fly just for the sport. None of
these groups are exclusive and all members
are welcome on the runway at all times.
The club usually starts
flying as soon as the weather is good enough
in March and finishes the flying season
in November when it turns cold. Colston
said it is not uncommon to see someone flying
on a Saturday after it has snowed, with
a plane sporting skis for landing gear.
While some may have
been flying model airplanes their entire
life, other members of the club are simply
returning to a boyhood hobby, explained
club president Jerry Cokely.
"A lot of guys,
when they get married they don't have the
time and money to pursue their interest,"
the retired law enforcement officer said.
"My interest laid dormant for about 40 years."
Others, like Colston,
pick it up for the first time after they
retire.
Colston, a retired
principal, joined the club at age 62 and
has now been a member for the about 20 years.
He said that as a child he may have made
a few model airplanes, but never anything
beyond that.
It wasn't until after
he retired that he picked up model airplanes
as a serious hobby. His wife and kids bought
him a glider kit for his birthday. His interest
progressed from the simple elastic band
launch system to radio control airplanes.
Colston said some of his students taught
him to fly.
Some members, like
Nate Friedli, take the most pleasure in
building the planes. Friedli's basement
holds numerous planes he has built, some
of which he has built from scratch rather
than a kit.
"Some of the
guys will make replica planes complete with
pilots. They'll cover every detail even
down to putting on the rivets," said Cokely.
Cokely, whose interest
in model aviation started when he was a
teenager, said he enjoys making the planes
as much as he does flying. With a trend
toward buying already made models, those
who build their own may become a dying breed.
"People today
like to buy the planes and take it out of
the box and fly it within one hour," Cokely
said.
Model aviation is
something Cokely said he would like to see
the younger generations pick up on. As Colston
points out flying remote control airplanes
is a lot like playing nintendo, except the
screen is a clear blue sky.
Each year the club
likes to show the public a display of model
aviation. They do this with their air show
which is held each Labor Day. People come
to the Logan Cache Airport by the car load
to see an exhibition of the planes and their
flying capabilities.
"We like to
put on a good show for the people of Cache
Valley," Cokely said. "We even get some
people from outside Cache Valley."
Click
the thumbnail photos below for larger versions.
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