Model Airplanes

Some pilots in Perry need an airport.

For years the Perry RC Flyers have struggled to keep a piece of land for flying their radio-controlled airplanes. They lost their most recent landing strip next to the Haunted Barn when the owner sold the land.

Now they are putting out the word hat they would appreciate anyone with a few spare acres to let them use it. In exchange they will pay the property taxes and maintain it.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Hamilton said there’s a bigger issue than the hobby of a small group of people. He is a member of the club and started flying model airplanes as a child. That led him to take an interest in aeronautics, and he went on to have a 26-year career in the Air Force, where he flew B-1 and B-52 bombers. He still flies as a corporate pilot.

He said there is a shortage of pilots worldwide, and that’s expected to only get worse in the coming years.

Hamilton said many pilots are introduced to the career by flying model planes as children. He thinks the local club is important because it offers children that same opportunity. It can be a difficult hobby to pick up because the airplanes are expensive, yet without training novices will typically crash the plane.

Members of the club offer free training through a two-controller system that lets an experienced pilot take over if the beginner gets in trouble.

“We have struggled to find a home for

Article source: http://www.macon.com/news/local/article117014378.html

AVONDALE, LA (WVUE) –

On weekends, their aircraft are soaring above a private airstrip on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish. They push their flying machines through stunts and races, in a hobby that many of the pilots have had since they were kids. 

Kelly Field is a miniature airport that is tucked away at the end of a long gravel road, on the edge of a swamp behind the Town of Avondale. It’s a place where weekend pilots can launch their pint-sized aircraft, and remotely pilot them high above the landscape, or tryout stunts you would never do in a real aircraft, especially a helicopter.

“The helicopter can do anything an airplane can do, anything an airplane can do, upside down and backwards,” said RC pilot Wayne Armstrong.

The idea is to push the limits of a miniature flight, without crashing. That can drive up the cost of this hobby. The New Orleans Model Aviation Club has been flying in Avondale for the past 40 years. The club’s 65 members are able to keep all of this going with membership dues and donations. 

“We don’t want to fly near any houses, we want to watch our altitude, we want to ensure that the people that are flying with us are capable,” said David Bertrand of NOMAC. 

For some pilots, like Scott Heath, part of the thrill is shooting aerial video. A camera on his plane gives him a birds-eye view of the

Article source: http://www.ksla.com/story/33653338/heart-of-louisiana-new-orleans-model-aviation-club

Boeing Co. made its latest change in top management Monday, hiring a General Electric Co. executive to run its commercial aircraft business, the company’s biggest division.

Kevin McAllister, who served as chief of GE Aviation Services, the support arm of its big aircraft engine business, is to take over the unit immediately and succeeds Ray Conner, who was its head for more than four years.

Boeing’s profit margins have been…

Article source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-names-kevin-mcallister-new-head-of-commercial-aircraft-unit-1479765888