Model airplane enthusiasts have lots of high-flying fun

A flight-ready Barbie waits alongside a model airplane piloted by a Jack in the Box antenna ball.

As the buzz of another airplane comes in for a landing at Farragut State Park, Blake Hinton, 10, carries the next plane in line to the main strip.

“My uncle got me started on it,” explained Blake, who has worked on model planes for about five years. “I just started flying with him, and I really liked it. It was a lot of fun.”

Blake is the youngest of about 40 members in the Farragut Fliers R/C Club, where flight skills are in the fingertips. Club members get out to the field every chance they get, and many buy season passes to the park.

“Weather permitting, we will use the park more than anyone else,” said Bruce Cochran, club president. Some of the club’s members are taking up the field every day of the week. Cochran said the small-scale models teach members about building planes, engines, radios and aviation history. Problem-solving also comes into play regularly, with routine adjustments before each flight.

Many of the members are retired military personnel and have years of experience and trade secrets they’re willing to share.

“We’re trying to hand it off to the young kids,” said club member Wayne Duncan, who introduced Blake to the hobby.

They go to the airfield about three times a week, and Blake has earned a reputation as one of the better fliers in the club, often cleaning up during club competitions. Together, they own 30 model planes and are working to attract more young hobbyists. The hobby costs about $400 for beginner planes, but some trick and minijet planes for skilled pilots can cost more than $3,500 and can travel more than 200 mph.

But while the sport is spendy to get into, it could bring scholarships to younger members. The Academy of Model Aeronautics offers scholarships to the best and brightest model plane fliers, usually to study aeronautics.

Members must have an AMA membership before joining the Farragut Fliers R/C Club. The AMA membership costs $58 a year and the R/C club costs $20 a year.

Members meet monthly to compete and organize fund-raisers. The rest of the time is open for flying. The main runway is 600 feet long, and the club provided two tables for starting and working on planes.

But the fun doesn’t come without the occasional frustration, Cochran said.

“You can work on a plane for a year and crash it in a minute,” he said. “There’s no one who has flown that hasn’t crashed or bent one pretty good.”

When it happens, the owner is usually left alone until they decide to talk, he said. Jason Moore, a newcomer to the hobby, crashed a plane four years ago and recently decided to take up the throttle again. He’s only been out to the park a few times, but said the side hobby is time well-spent.

“When it’s time to do a family thing, it’s something we can all do together,” he said.

For more information, call 623-6524.