Model Airplanes

Edward “Mike” Reuter had to save his platoon. Bullets were bouncing off rocks. One of his scouts had been shot through the arm. Several men were already dead at the bottom of a ravine.

It was 1944, and France was a battlefield. The 509th Parachute Infantry, B Company, 3rd Platoon, had been making its way down a narrow ridge to a castle west of Cannes held by the Germans.

As dawn broke, German snipers on the other side of the ridge began firing. Reuter, a first lieutenant in command of the platoon, ran at them — alone.

Thick brush hid his approach, but at the top of the ridge, “A German with a ‘burp gun’ opened up.”

Reuter dropped for cover.

The burp gun — firing 900 rounds a minute — missed, blowing up dirt all around him. A machine gun opened up to his right. Fifteen feet away, he saw a German stick grenade explode. Reuter tossed his own grenade over the ridge crest.

“After this, I heard no more firing from the Germans,” Reuter recalled. “I think they thought I had some other guys with me.”

The Germans had withdrawn.

When Reuter walked back down the ridge, he could see that the 509 had continued on. He followed their trail to the castle where the battle ­had already ended.

“Where in the hell have you been?” his commanding officer demanded.

“I got

Article source: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/32706042-75/eugene-wwii-veteran-to-receive-frances-highest-honor-for-soldiers.html.csp

VERDIGRIS, Okla. — An Oklahoma boy is competing against some of the brightest young minds in the country – and it’s all on national television.

Graham Curtsinger’s mom says they tested their son’s IQ when he was 5 because they could tell he was different. He tested in the 99.9 percentile. Now 11-years-old, Graham is just trying to blend in while attending 5th grade with his friends at Verdigris Elementary.

“What I’m flying right now is a CRJ-700,” Graham said as he showed off his love for airplanes, including his favorite, the Boeing 737. “One thing I’ve noticed is that most of their crashes weren’t because of mechanical failure.”

He is fascinated by how planes work, how they are designed, and the differences between each model. But this extremely intelligent boy will tell you straight up, he hates the word “genius.”

“I’m just a normal kid in my grade. I’m not any more special than anybody there.”

But as he appears on the show “Child Genius,” Graham is forced to wear the label. But his parents hope the show can lead them to finding how to give their son the education he deserves.

“We are hoping through this show that someone might honestly show us the way, or give us better advice on how to do that for him, because we are trying our best, but we don’t know how to do that,” Graham’s mother, Tracy Curtsinger said.

As Graham

Article source: http://kfor.com/2015/02/03/oklahoma-boy-competes-for-100000-on-show-child-genius/

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Article source: http://www.thecalifornian.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/02/03/feb-great-job-bob-hoover-story/22805655/

by Greg McKelvey, Special to the Roundup

Three members of the Rim Country Camera Club recently visited Peterson Field near Rye to practice the art of fast motion photography. Armed with tripods with gimbal heads, long lenses and digital cameras, Harold Rush, Patty Hunt and Greg McKelvey worked with The Flyers, a 26-member club dedicated to foster, educate and promote all phases of the sport of model aviation.

The model airplane experts put safety first, allowing the photographers to set up at a safe distance, based on the flight pattern of the powerful model airplanes. While most of the craft were fixed wing craft powered by battery or gas engines, the club does have members who fly helicopters, Quadra copters and other remote-controlled aircraft.

The photographers marveled at the speed of the airplanes and the short takeoff run needed. The pilot can stand nearer the runway so as to have a clear view of the flying area, and is often accompanied by a spotter who watches for other aircraft. The pilots’ hand-eye coordination is remarkable as they send the plane into rolls, vertical stalls, loops, and smooth as glass landings. Well most of the time.

Being morning, the best lighting is to have the sun at the photographer’s back and hope that the wind is calm so the pilots

Article source: http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2015/feb/03/photographers-airplane-buffs-combine-their-passion/