A PHOTO EDITION
Friends have spoken of the amazing aerial
display in the morning skies near
San Simeon.
Here is a photo log of what I saw in
the crisp morning air on a beautiful ridge
looking over the Pacific and the Santa Lucia
range. Thanks to John, Joel and Jim
for the exciting show.
Sorry about the crash John.
More about that still ahead.
Yes, this F 16 seems to be near the ground.
It was.
The Setting
What follows are 50 frames of planes and aerobatic maneuvers by land based pilots. This is remote controlled
flying, Central Coast style.
It's hard to capture a plane in flight when they are
moving as quickly as these were. But we managed a
few shots and cropped a few to give you
a good seat for a great air show.
John with his flying wing.
This F-16 includes a ducted fan that gives it a "jet like" quality.
Joel's red wing is a warped wing creation.
There are no control surfaces on the wing,
instead the wing itself is manipulated,
not unlike the Wright Brothers plane.
The handmade creations are exotic, like this Double Delta wing.
The pilots use a control panel that works on
a variety of spread spectrum frequencies to control the plane
and its flight mechanisms.
Connections to the navigation and flight controls.
While some are gas powered, these craft are
powered by lithium polymer batteries.
Below, John puts the transmitter
on the battery so it is under control from
the moment of power.
John brought out one "indestructible" plane and
gave me a chance to fly it.
Well, I wasn't at the controls long before we
made a hard landing, nose first, a full field away.
John said a little glue
to the break you see here, and it will be back in the air.
The above adorns the side of Johns F-22,
which he flies when he and Joel engage in dog fights.
I got lucky on a couple of frames and captured
both of the craft in their fight.
The air craft are foam bodied,
made with a styrene, EPP (expanded polypropylene) or depron. The light weight material was originally designed as
insulating foam.
This double delta wing creates a unique air profile.
From a distance, without seeing the remote operators,
these craft create such a realistic profile
you could swear you were watching the real deal.
The guys are out most mornings, shortly after sunrise, filling the sky with great maneuvers and skill.
John says "it's a great way to start a day."
See you down the trail.
