European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Scaled Down dogfights nil ii it fun by Dave Didio staff photographer Lames Russell remembers the Day he was flying his air plane and the wings came off in mid flight. He walked away from the crash without a scratch. The reason his plane was just a radio controlled might Dei. I lie air Force sergeant a Jet engine Mechanic with the 548th aircraft generation so at Raf Lakenheath England is one of the dozen or so Model air plane enthusiasts who gather each weekend on the open Fields of Raf Feltwell to put their planes through their paces. It is a scene repeated at Many . Bases in Europe. Russell is a relative newcomer to the Hobby having flown for about nine months. But he quickly Learned the miniature controls that transmit radio signals to his plane and appears quite at ease putting the plane through a series of loops stalls and tight spins Over Feltwell s Fields. His plane called hots-2, screams by in a Low pass Over his head and then shoots straight up a couple of Hundred feet spinning first and then looping As it approaches its Peak. Its gyrations and High pitched Buzz make it seem More like a Pesky Bug around a Yard Light than the tiny air plane that it is. A glance around the Field reveals an assortment of biplanes High wings Low wings racers and puddle jumpers All being fiddled with fawned Over and Fine tuned by their owners. People who Are really hooked on the Hobby can easily spend More than $1,000 on the components. A plane and motor combination according to Russell will Range Between $100 and $700, although there Are less expensive systems for beginners. Quot it costs about $400 for a starter kit Quot says Russell his eyes glued to his plane As it streaks by his Busy fingers fidgeting with controls like a concert pianist at Carnegie Hall. Quot but that includes the plane motor and my radio a everything you need to get  the complexity and features of the equipment account for the differences in Price. Some planes might have such extras As retractable Landing gear Wing flaps variable Speed motors and even Landing lights. An occasional enthusiast might even Oas far As building a Multi engine bomber with bomb Bay doors that actually open and drop a payload. Airman 1st class Collier Yarish flies a Model helicopter. These miniature whirl Birds May run several Hundred dollars More than conventional Model planes because their control systems Are considerably More Complex. Yarish also from Lakenheath has been flying models for More than six years and bought a helicopter with a 5-foot diameter Rotor Blade two years ago. Just As it takes special skill to Fly its real world grownup counterpart it took extra Effort by Yarish to learn to Fly the miniature chopper. But now that he s mastered it he s a regular visitor at Feltwell. Model fliers have a limited number of radio frequencies available for their use depending upon the radio licensing Laws of their country. Although radio systems purchased in the United states Are not always Legal for use in other countries they Are in England. Quot we re Lucky Here Quot says Russell. Quot we can use the 72 Megahertz frequency band Here which is the same As one of the bands used in the states. So we can buy radios in the . And use them  whenever several fliers gather to Fly in the same area each ties a certain coloured ribbon to his radio Antenna so another flier can Tell at a glance which radio channels Are already in use. Without such color coding chaos might erupt when one flier s radio interferes with another s plane. But somehow the idea of several miniature planes darting about and do fighting in an area the size of a football Field suggests that chaos and the unexpected Are part of what draws the enthusiast to the Hobby. And that is probably Why on any Given weekend Russell is Likely to be found on the Fields of Feltwell trying to Fly the wings off his plane. Clockwise from hit a radio controlled Bip Latie rests on the Raf Feltwell Field As a group of pilots discusses flight plans. Air Force sgt. James Russell puts his plane it hots-2, through its paces. Airman 1st class Collier Yarish fills a plane s fuel tank. A amps photos by Dave Didio John Lyons a British citizen flying with the americans adjusts flight controls. A steady hand and lots of practice Are required to master the radio transmitter that controls the Model aircraft. Sgt James Russell a Jet engine Mechanic during working hours Fine tunes the engine of his Model plane. 12 stripes Magazine september 12, 1991 september 12, 1991 stripes Magazine