Model Airplanes

BETTENDORF, Iowa (KWQC) — A retired Bettendorf High School history teacher says World War I marks a great transition. The war brought about the birth of aerial warfare. Don Keeney enjoys building model airplanes, and has dozens of open cockpit planes on display at the Bettendorf Public Library.

The planes are replicas of those flown by fighter pilots in the First World War. Keeney buys the kits, assembles the models, and does his research. He is a wealth of knowledge about the planes, pilots and squadrons. The detail and decals are impressive.

Planes which changed the way war was fought. Guns mounted on open cockpit planes. Pilots, Keeney says, shooting at the enemy to gain control of the air.

In his collection, Keeney built a model of the plane Captain Eddie Rickenbacker flew during the First World War. As a fighter pilot, Rickenbacker shot down twenty six enemy planes.

Keeney also built a model of the fighter plane flown by the Red Baron. Germany’s ace pilot who shot down eighty enemy planes.

Included in the collection at the library is the helmet Don’s great uncle wore while serving in the war. The helmet is painted with the French and American Flags. Keeney also has his great uncle’s gas mask bag. Poison gas was used during the war.

Keeney builds other model planes and ships. Preserving part of American History. The collection is on display at the Bettendorf Public Library through the end of February.

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Article source: http://kwqc.com/2015/02/13/avid-about-aviation/

Garrett Fisher can remember one defining moment in January 2014 when the idea came for his latest photo book, “Where the Colorado River is Born.”

“We got 28 inches of snow in Breckenridge,” Fisher said. “I had become aware of the water rights, and that particular property I was renting did not have the water rights.”

A Great Lakes native from Buffalo, New York, the concept of water scarcity did not cross Fisher’s mind until moving to Colorado, where until 2009 it was illegal for almost anyone to collect rain water or snow for personal recycling purposes. Two bills were introduced in 2009 that allow for some exceptions, but to this day many Colorado residents would be breaking the law to catch rain water or keep the snow they shovel from their driveways.

At the same time, water from the Colorado River feeds into large metropolitan areas like Denver and Phoenix, spreading our biggest source of water thin.

This issue of water scarcity is not a new one, but Fisher thought with show, not tell, more people whose water supply comes from the Colorado River would begin to understand that water is not a given.

“I try to avoid telling people what to do because I think that doesn’t work,” he said. “My goal was to show people exactly where the water came from. I want to show people where the snow falls and where it goes.”

He said once

Article source: http://www.postindependent.com/news/entertainment/15010084-113/photo-book-shows-where-the-colorado-river-is-born

Robert Freas of Fairfax Station can’t fly his model aircraft in his backyard. In fact, he has to drive to a field about 50 miles away for a facility that meets Academy of Model Aeronautics standards for planes like his. The fixed-wing fliers Freas and members Northern Virginia Radio Control (NVRC) club pilot can go up to eight feet long.

Since the club was founded in the 1950s, members have had difficulty finding and maintaining their own airfield in Fairfax County. But at the Jan. 27 Board of Supervisors meeting, the board unanimously approved the club’s proposal to build a model aircraft facility on the western portion of the I-95 landfill complex in Lorton.

NVRC previously worked with the county to establish a field at Poplar Ford Park in Chantilly. However, the field’s proximity to the Manassas battlefield and an equine facility to the south make it less suitable for larger aircraft. Also, only four to five planes can be in the air at one time, so having another facility was important to the health of the club.

Having a facility that can accommodate larger planes would also allow the club to host acrobatic competitions, a rarity in Northern Virginia.

“It’s been kind of a draught,” said Don Mason of McLean, former president of NVRC. “We have a million

Article source: http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2015/feb/12/fairfax-county-supervisors-approve-model-airplane-/