Members of Whidbey Island Radio Control Society, a club for aeronautics modeling, promised a great show last weekend at Whidbey Island Naval Outlying Field south of Coupeville — and they delivered in every way possible, according to families who attended the annual event.
“What an awesome show,” said George Moen. “Very cool,” said Brandi Jensen, of Sultan.
Coupeville resident Jarrett Fiedler was especially impressed.
“I’ve wanted to come to this event forever,” he said. “There were far more planes here than I thought there would be.”
There were 33 planes, with 29 pilot/owners, that participated in the 21st annual Jets Over Whidbey show, said Tom Berry, WIRCS secretary/treasurer.
“We had people bring planes in from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. This is one of the largest events of its kind on the west coast,” he said.
Among the 33 models featured were U.S. Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Canadian aircraft, and more. One prominent Canadian pilot/owner at the event was Ronald Dodd, president of the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada. Berry said that even though participants hail from different states and different countries, “the love of flying is what unites us.”
Dave Phillips and his wife, Karen, from southern Calif., agreed.
“I’ve been in aviation 51 years,” said Phillips, “and we try to come to Jets Over Whidbey every year. We have a great time up here with the friendly folks in the Northwest.” Phillips demonstrated his F-4 Phantom model with twin Cheetah engines.
Some of the radio-controlled aircraft are intended to be authentic replicas of their full-sized counterparts, so their pilot/owners take great care in the building process.
In flight some of the turbine-powered models attained near-vertical flight paths, soaring high above the runway. They rolled and looped mid-flight, at high rates of speed. Pilot/owners were in control for the entire demonstration.
Among those in attendance at Jets Over Whidbey 2011 were Mark Smith and his wife, Ruth, of Hot Springs Village, Ark. Mark serves as executive vice president of the Academy of Model Aeronautics and was the guest speaker for the WIRCS awards banquet at the CPO Club Saturday evening.
Smith offered highlights on the mission of the academy and its affiliated clubs such as WIRCS. The national organization seeks to be what Smith called, “the voice of the modeler” in Washington D.C., as they keep members updated on the regulatory environment. Yet from his remarks, it’s clear that model aviation functions as much more than just a part-time hobby for its proponents.
“Our members have raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity,” said Smith. He mentioned Toys for Tots as one of the beneficiaries of the fundraisers, and said up to $800,000 in youth scholarships have been given out.
“We are very much engaged in youth aviation as well,” said Smith. One way in which they encourage that goal is by offering free youth memberships. The success of those efforts was on full display over the weekend, as 16-year-old Alex Richmond of Gig Harbor gave a demonstration of his Bobcat.
“I’ve been flying models about 10 years,” said Richmond. “I want to keep flying my whole life.” Richmond said he became interested in aviation thanks to his dad, Brian, a pilot for Alaska Airlines.
Mother nature made the event even better for those attending.
“Our WIRCS club officers agree that this has been the best Jets Over Whidbey event in recent memory, and that certainly includes the weather, over which we have no control.
“The attendance exceeded our expectations. We were especially delighted to see a lot more Navy people here this year.” Berry attributed that increase to the extra publicity his group received at July’s Centennial of Naval Aviation celebration at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
The WIRCS plans to fund this year’s event by auctioning off an exact model replica of a EA-18G Growler aircraft from Electronic Attack Squadron 129; proceeds will benefit WIRCS.
Next year the WIRCS will host the event again the last weekend of August.
