Model Airplanes

The sky over the fields in Thermal was alive with models of military airplanes from World War I, II and later as the Coachella Valley Radio Control Club (CVRCC) held their annual War Birds Fun Fly. More than 30 pilots arrived with motor homes and trucks full of planes to enjoy a weekend of showing off their model flying machines and raising money for Wounded Warriors Project and Rebuilding American Warriors (RAW).

After the flag raising ceremony, the pilots got down to the fight, gravely  tweaking their planes  motors and fuel.  The vice president of medical affairs at Eisenhower and fellow RC pilot Dr. Alan Williamson emceed. He kept the crowd informed with the name of each pilot, the type of plane and described the aerobatic maneuvers as they were executed. The crowd of men, women and children sat in the grandstands, watched the action in the sky from beach chairs in the sun or wandered from table to table to inspect the planes.

This club has been a 501(c)3 non profit since they opened their flying field at 54th and Pierce in Thermal in 2002. Club president Dan Metz said, “There are lots of things going on this  weekend, but this is just one of those thousand points of light for people to enjoy that helps others at the same

Article source: http://www.desertsun.com/story/life/2017/01/28/radio-control-club-raises-money-wounded-warriors/97042632/

When you hear about Gus Grissom, you may think of the Penn-Harris-Madison middle school or Grissom Air Force Base.

But to Grissom’s family, he is Virgil Ivan Grissom, a boy born in southern Indiana.

On the 50th anniversary of his January 27, 1967, death, we remember the Hoosier Virgil Grissom, who lost his life with two other astronauts during training. They were doing a pre-flight test for the Apollo mission that would eventually land a man on the moon.

Virgil Ivan Grissom was born during the Great Depression on April 3, 1926, in Mitchell, Indiana.

“He made model airplanes and always dreamed of flying. As a matter of fact, he traded his first shotgun in to take his first airplane ride. So he was always looking to the skies,” said his cousin, Steve Grissom.

He was the oldest of four kids and a Boy Scout growing up. In school, he didn’t get the best grades.

“He didn’t see a lot of interest in those subjects that he wasn’t interested in. But if you look at his math and his science grades, they were well above average,” Steve said.

Gus Grissom enjoyed sports and was very competitive, but he never became a star athlete.

“He was always trying to show that he could do the things the bigger kids could because he wasn’t very big. Five-foot-four and 100 pounds soaking wet is not what a football coach or basketball coach in Indiana is looking for,” Steve said.

But Grissom was looking to fight in World War II.

Article source: http://www.wndu.com/content/news/Gus-Grissom-412003555.html

Article source: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/see-lady-gagas-flying-dress-at-this-new-exhibit-on-drones-012717

The smell of oil filled the air in the brightly lit airplane hangar crammed with history.

From a 1940s Jeep to a P-51 D Mustang — one of only six in the world to return home from World War II combat in Europe — the restored relics are unquestionably the main attractions at a new aviation museum in Eden Prairie.

Although air museums are closing elsewhere, the nonprofit Wings of the North bucked the trend and opened a museum just over a year ago after nearly two decades of organizing the annual AirExpo aviation show in Eden Prairie. It now showcases history year-round.

“That’s what we’re all about, telling the history,” director Bob Jasperson said. “We don’t want this history to be lost.”

The Wings of the North museum, which will mark its second year this summer, is housed in an office building and hangar at Flying Cloud Airport. It relocated there last fall after rapidly outgrowing its previous space at the airport.

The museum now includes a library, gift shop, art gallery and restored warplanes on loan from collectors. Aviation artifacts fill the displays, from a painting signed by the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders of 1942 to a collection of hand-painted model airplanes.