Taking flight by remote controls

Hobbyists fly planes on site near Judson

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

JUDSON -- For the uninitiated and inattentive, the high, nasal buzzes heard over the Key City Bald Eagles' field can be a little misleading.

They're not flying weedwhackers but rather remote-controlled model airplanes buzzing quickly across the sky.

The noise represents Rick Apitz's favorite hobby, one he says he's had since he first saw a remote-controlled airplane in the 1970s.

Apitz and a few other Bald Eagles were out demonstrating their hobby to some curious onlookers Sunday afternoon on a small field just across State Highway 68 from Judson.

The club represents hobbyists from Mankato, St. Peter, Good Thunder, New Ulm, Madelia and Lake Crystal. Other clubs exist in Redwood Falls, Marshall and Windom.

The airplanes they fly range from scale models of World War II fighters like Spitfires and P-51s to what the club's younger members call "gremlins," which are basically an engine and a rudder attached to a single wing.

Since the club started in 1984, it has moved twice, but still has members that have been in the hobby for about 30 years. Most of the Bald Eagles flying their planes on Sunday afternoon have about 15 planes each.

Club president Jeff Kolkelman, of North Mankato, said the type of airplane depends largely upon a member's personality and on how much change they can afford to spend. Younger members usually fly the less-expensive kits, Kolkelman said, "unless Dad is helping out."

Most remote-controlled planes are built out of balsa or plywood, foam and fiberglass. Apitz said flyers power their planes in one of two ways -- by using Glo-Fuel or gasoline. Gas engines are cheaper and can run longer, but are larger and heavier. Glo-Fuel, a mixture of alcohol and nitrometram, is more expensive but is more popular because the engine size is smaller and lighter.

Bald Eagles member Marcus Hendrickson, of Mankato, started flying remote-controlled planes about 15 years ago. He recently got back into it after his son found several of his broken planes in their basement.

"It's just fun because you can push everything to the limit," he said as his gremlin buzzed in a series of barrel loops. "You can hurt the plane, but it can't hurt you."

In addition to his two gremlins, Hendrickson brought along a creation he calls "the Flying Pancake". The name is appropriate because the show started with a pancake breakfast earlier Sunday morning. The Flying Pancake is nothing more than a perfectly round 40-inch piece of foam, which Hendrickson painted light brown with some syrup and butter on the top. The Flying Pancake's tail is shaped like a giant spatula.

To launch his creation, Hendrickson simply starts its motor and tosses it up in the air. The rest is done from a computerized radio controller.

Kolkeman flies planes at least once a week. In good weather, he flies five times a week.

"I enjoy flying, but I also enjoy people," he said.