Annual air show takes off
“Please bring your chair to the full upright position and return your tray tables to the closed position. The flight attendants will now come around and collect any empty glasses.”
That is one thing that wasn’t announced at the annual Bridgerland R.C. Club Air Show at the Logan City Airport. These airplanes were flown by some of the most skilled R.C. (Radio Controlled) pilots in the valley and the state.
There were many demonstrations throughout the show, ranging from helicopters to large scale models. The largest demonstration of the event was by the Spirit of Utah Flight Team. The members came from all over the state and were all different ages. The team did flight demonstrations that consisted of combat fighting, in which there were three or more planes with streamers attached to the tail of the plane. They tried to attack the streamer and cut it off with the propeller.
Harvey Luther, a Tremonton resident, said every year he comes it gets better.
“I’m always impressed with the craftsmanship involved in creating the planes,” Luther said. “They have everything. They have combat, they have scale, they have speed, they have helicoptors.”
Also featured at the show was a flight by a jet engine-propelled plane.
The jet, owned by Randy Dye of Idaho, is worth $7,000. It can obtain speeds of more than 220 mph, but due to restrictions that were in place at the air show, the jet was only allowed to reach 190 mph. Dye had to go through special training to get his model jet license; there are only 415 pilots certified in the United States to fly these high-powered jets.
The biggest attraction at the air show was the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
The plane was used widely throughout World War II. The replica model was built by Don Clifford. He built the model while sitting down at the Hill Air Force Base Museum and carving it out of Styrofoam. When Clifford was done carving, he encased the model in fiberglass, and poured gasoline into the body to remove the Styrofoam.
The plane has an eleven foot wingspan, and has four engines. Clifford passed away a few years ago and the Bridgerland R.C. Club purchased the plane from the Clifford family. The club flies the plane in special events and in remembrance of Clifford. The plane is also on display at Earl’s Hobby Hangar in Logan.
“People come from all over the state,” Luther said of the air show. “They’ve got something for everybody.”
-jzsiray@cc.usu.edu
Marc Karpowich of Logan taxis the B-29 Bomber out to the runway to get it started. The B-29 was custom-built by Don Clifford. Clifford spent many hours at the Hill Air Force Air Museum to carve the body from Styrofoam. The B-29 has an 11-foot wingspan. It is now owned by the Bridgerland R.C. Club and displayed at Earl’s Hobby Hanger in Logan. (Photo by John Zsiray)
THE REPLICA Boeing B-29 Superfortress soars through the air at the R.C. Air Show piloted by Marc Karpowich of Logan. The B-29 was handcarved out of Styrofoam by Don Clifford. (Photo by John Zsiray)
Kyle Barton, mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate student, and Wayne Goodrich, recent Utah State University graduate, work to put together the “Zephyr,” the radio-controlled airplane they built. They competed in Maryland with other universities nationwide. The plane can fly 110 mph. (Photo by John Zsiray)