S.M.A.L.L. 2016 !!!!!!!!!!!

BWAAAH...my eyelids are sunburned!!!

Well, just go stare into the sky for five days in a row...clouds or not...and see what happens!

Yes, me and 'Got-to-get-another-one-in-the-air-now Tony' managed a high conversion rate of Nitro to Noise with that band of wild characters who gather at the Small Model Airplane Lovers League Fun-Fly just outside of Wrightsville, Arkansas.  He, and his daughter Evelyn, kept their screaming little planes flying most of the time, with diversions for bench runs, trouble shooting, test-flying, and generally demanding enthusiasm from all involved.  A fairly rough, Tee Dee powered Pietenpol hobby-shop rescue (a first nitro buy for it's owner) finally surrendered to all the technical harassment.  With it's engine problems sorted out, it flew great, and the young owner, his son, and dad went back home with a fully functional little two-channel plane.

This was my most 'physical' fun fly ever, as simply crossing the field could be a major cardiac event.  The persistent rains, along with foot and vehicle traffic, created a slowly deepening bog ('Boot-Suckers' we call them here), that gradually added weight to your feet as you went along.  My airplane cart earned it's keep as I dragged it back and forth to our little corner of muddy heaven down by the control line circle...with several 'Run-For-Cover' exits back to the camper when a thunderstorm cell would boil up.

Still, The True Believers were lighting off everything from .010's to .15's (Cox-wise) any time that there wasn't a direct threat of lightning strikes, with the storms ultimately just threatening violence.  We got rain mostly at night, with just a few true showers through the day flying.  One early evening offered up a fantastic sight...models flying in suddenly dead-calm air, with the field surrounded by a spectacular cloudscape of angry, towering storm cells..

Of course, there was all manner of other off-the-wall-cool-stuff you'd expect, and I got a pretty good chunk of it recorded, and will be posting stills and video here (probably for the rest of the year) as I get it sifted out.

Be sure to congratulate Tony for his WELL deserved award as "The Spirit of S.M.A.L.L."  He and Evelyn were on station the whole time...making stuff happen !!!!!!!!

Here are some samples...none of it in any chronological order, with a LOT more to come:




































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