INTO THE NOT SO WILD BLUE

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.