Hiway16 Magazine... about people and places in north-central British Columbia, Canada

PAGE ONE
OF THREE

Pilots Who Fly From the Ground

by Debi Smith (Osborne)

Most boys love anything with a remote control. Some of my son's first words were "mote-toe" and even at fifteen, he still fought his father for the controls that would make his "dirt bogger" land flips off piles of dirt.

So on April 6, I visited the Bulkley Valley Remote Control Flyers (BVRC) club display and demonstration at the Houston Mall, where tables were lined with model-size aircraft, some with wingspans of eight feet, all ready for flight and controlled by a hand-held radio. I thought, "Hmmm, bigger boys and their toys."

Dave Hemenway shows a small sample
of his RC fleet

I felt sorry about that impression almost immediately. The knowledge of aircraft construction and the physics of flight (called aerodynamics) among the club members present was astounding, especially when none were licensed full-scale airplane pilots or aeronautical engineers.

I talked the most with Dave Hemenway, from Smithers, who has been developing his own "scratch built" planes since 1948. Dave has a great understanding of aeronautics, and was once a flight tester for Boeing, a company that avidly supports RC enthusiasts. "That's where most of the ideas for new planes come from," he explained. Many RC enthusiasts try out a miriad of different flight designs. Some travel up to 249 mph. There are jets and float planes. in addition to wheeled prop-driven aircraft.

Accidents still happen

The smaller versions of aircraft can be far more versatile. If equipped with surveillance cameras and GPS equipment, these mini planes can fly at tree-top level for mapping difficult areas or for search and rescue operations. A TV monitor on the ground instantly shows what the pilotless plane is flying over, without anyone having to leave the ground.

These planes can fly when others are grounded due to adverse weather conditions and if a plane doesn't return, there are no relatives to contact.






copyright © 2001, Northwest Design, Smithers, B.C., Canada