2 ModelAirplaneNews.com NOVEMBER 2017 3

On the flightline with giant-scale fighters, bombers, and more! By Sal Calvagna Photos By SCott & RogeR MCCluRg & Sal Calvagna

the Delaware R/C Club held its 26th annual Warbirds over Delaware (WoD) event at Lums Pond state Park in Bear, Delaware, on the third weekend in July. After a quarter-century of hosting this premier giant-scale RC event, one might assume that it simply runs itself. Wrong! It takes lots of planning and hard work on behalf of the Delaware R/C Club volunteers and the contest directors, Dave and Pete Malchione. they do have it down to a science—and that would be the science of fun. Like a large family reunion, modelers come from far and near to attend this yearly event. And for good reason, too: the WoD staff treats everyone like family, and this makes the entire event enjoyable.

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Just half of the pilot lineup is shown here for the WW I Gaggle mass flight.

All sorts of World War II warbirds attend Wings Over Delaware. Here, a big Messerschmitt Me 110 comes around for a high-speed pass. Ross Baker of Springfield, Virginia, built the 95-inch wingspan model from an ESM kit.

A family affair, here’s Dave Malcione Sr., Dave Jr. (with hat), and Dave Sr.’s granddaughter Gwen holding onto one of two giant Corsairs flown in the midday airshow.

WarbirdsOver Delaware

SpOnSOrS

Powered by a big Moki 5-cylinder gas engine, this giant-scale P-47 Thunderbolt blasts

down the runway for a camera pass.

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Warbirds Over Delaware

Awards PresentationEach year during the midday show on Saturday, beautiful trophy awards are presented for “outstanding contribution to the Warbirds Over Delaware event and the model aviation community.” This year’s honored recipients were Mike Gross Sr., Andy Kane, Tom Loveland, and the entire Tidewater RC Contingent.

Awards for this year’s event went to (left to right) Tom Loveland, Andy Kane, Mike Gross Sr., and the entire Tidewater RC contingent.

WarbirdsOverDelawareisopentothegeneralpublicandattractssomanyspectatorsthattourbusesareusedtotransportthemtoandfromseparateparkingfacilities.Neverfear,thereisplentyofroomforeventparticipantstostakeapieceofpropertyforthemselvesandputupacanopy.Inaddition,thehostclubprovidesanenormousthree-ringcircus-sizetenttohouseandprotectallthemodelsduringovernightstorage.Thereisalsoawell-populatedvendorareawhereRCmodel-relatedproductsaresold,andthelocalBoyScouttroopsetsupcamptoprepareandofferbreakfastandlunchtoallattendees.Oneofthefavoritesduringthehotterdaysistheshaved-icevendor,andthisyearthelineforthecooltreatswasconstant.

On the FlightlineTheeventisopentoallgiant-scalemilitaryaircraft

modelsandfighters,andanyerasarewelcomed.Infact,it’scommontoseeaFokkerEindeckerparkednexttoaNorthAmericanF-86jet.Thisyear’seventwasamazing,withapproximately250aircraftinattendance. Afterabriefpilots’meetingeachmorning,thefield

isreadyforopenflying.Therearesixpilotstations,andthevolunteersworktheflightlinelikeair-trafficcontrollerstoensuretakeoffsandlandingsareproperlycoordinated.Ofcourse,aspotterisrequiredforeachpilottokeeptheaircraftmovingsafelyandsmoothlyoverhead.

airShOw CentralOnFridayandSaturdayatnoon,themiddayshowtemporarilytakesover,haltingopenflyingsothatsomespecialaerialexhibitionsflightscanbedemonstrated.Asusual,AdamLilleystartsofftheshowwithhismodifiedPiperCubanda“flyingfarmerroutine,”whichisspectacular.Usinghistransmitter,heisabletodropawheelduringtakeoffandejectanaileronmidflight.HisflightregimenissomethingreminiscentofaThree

Stooges’shortfilm,butintheend,healwaysmanagestolandsuccessfullytotheapplauseoftheaudience. NextupistheGreatWWIGaggle,whichisopentoanyonewithaplaneofthatvintage.OnSaturday,17modelstookparttothedelightofeveryonepresent.Likethoseamazingmenintheirflyingmachines,thebiplanesandtriplanesflewthecircuitandmadesomeverylowpasses,somebillowingtrailsofwhitesmoke.

Getting ready for the WW I Gaggle mass flight, Scott Reynolds starts up the Fokker D.VII belonging to his wife, Jennifer Lea.

Pilot Mike Monack of New Castle, Delaware, certainly showed everyone how low he could fly his G62-powered Top Flite P-51 Mustang.

Over the weekend, two impressive Vailly Aviation Hawker Hurricanes could be seen flying in formation. Here, with their Battle of Britain war machines are Robert Vandermulen of Montgomery, New York, and Kevin Breen of Rock Hill, New York.

Hurricanes on patrol.

Getting ready for the WW I Gaggle, here is Scott Vickery and his impressive half-scale ZDZ 250cc-powered Fokker Dr.I Triplane.

Paul LeTourneau brings in his A-10 for a perfect landing.

A pair of German Fokker D.VIIs make ready to engage the enemy!

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ThiswasfollowedbytheWWIIGaggle,whichagainwasopentoanyandallpilotswithWWIIaircraftwillingtosharetheskywiththeothers.Therewereadozenmodelsupatonce,allflyinglowerandfasterthantheirWWIcounterparts.Withloudandexcitingenginesounds,bothAlliedandAxismodelsflewthepatterntogether.Foratasteofmodernjetflight,theWonderfulWart-hogswerebackbypopulardemand.NothingisasagileandterrifyingtotheenemyastheFairchildRepublicA-10Warthog—exceptmaybetwo!AlsoreferredtoastheThunderboltIIinhonoroftheWWIIground-poundingP-47Thunderbolt,thesetwin-engine,straight-wing,ground-attackjetsreallygetthejobdone.Thegiant-scaleA-10sthatflewthefinaldemoflightforthenoon-timeshowwerepilotedbyPaulLeTourneauandDaveMalchioneJr.BothWarthogswereimpressivelydetailedandhadwingspansof110inches.BuiltfromBVM/Skymasterkits,eachwaspoweredbyapairofJetCat100turbineenginesandhadthrusttospare.Fromtheirdualtakeoffandclimbouttotheirtightformationflybys,

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Warbirds Over Delaware

Veterans honoredThis year, a group of aging and disabled veterans from a nearby veterans’ home came by bus to see all the patriotic happenings at WOD. I had the opportunity to talk with and thank each one. They were grateful for the invitation and enjoyed watching all the miniature military aircraft flights.

Several local military veterans came out for the day to enjoy all the warbird action. It was an honor to thank them for their service and to learn more about them personally.

Back by popular demand as part of the midday airshow, the Wonderful Warthogs formation flight kept everyone excited. Flown by Dave Malchione Jr. (tan) and Paul LeTourneau (green), these two turbine-powered A-10 Warthogs showed everyone what modern attack aircraft are all about.

theseRCversionsofthemodern-dayground-attackjetsdeliveredthesamethrillandexcitement. Afterward,PaulLeTourneauflewaverylargeL-39jetthatsportedasmokesystem,whichcouldmaketherunwaydisappearwithcloudsofsmoke.Nottobeoutdone,DaveMalchioneJr.flewanenormousMartinB-26Maraudermediumbomberonsomelowpasses,thenproceededtogainaltitudetodropapayloadofbombsatshowcenter.Finally,DaveMalchioneJr.andSr.flewtheirgiant-scaleCARF-ModelsF4UCorsairs,poweredbylarge5-cylinderMokiradialengines.Inanotherhighlight,AndyKaneofferedhisservicesandhis50percent-scaleclipped-wingCubforsomeluckyjuniorindividualswhowonachancetoflyhismodelwith

With a couple dozen WW I vintage biplanes in the air all at once, it’s hard to show all the aerial excitement. Here’s a small group of dogfighters lining up for another pass down the runway.

Team Malchione’s Corsair, built from a CARF-Models kit, makes a pass for the cameras. Powered by a Moki 5-cylinder radial engine, its exhaust tone was a real attention-grabber.

Bombs away! These big

500-pounders are about the size

of 2-liter soda bottles.

Bombs away! This P-47 Thunderbolt was flown by Bill Fairweather and is powered by a Zenoah G45.

Paul LeTourneau’s L-39 blasts off for another impressive demo flight.

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What would a warbird event be without a Flying Tiger? This great-looking P-40 Warhawk was flown by Justin Pietro and was powered by a DA-60cc engine.

abuddybox.TheseyoungsterswerethrilledtoexperienceRCflightfirsthandwiththisimpressivemodel,andtheexpressionsontheirfacesshowedtheirexcitement.Talkaboutatrainer—Andy’sCubspans15feetandispoweredbya200ccengine.Heck,Iwouldhavebeenhappytohavetheopportunitytoflyitmyself!

SaturDay-night eleCtriC MayheMWhatwouldWarbirdsOverDelawarebewithoutitsinfamousSaturday-nightElectricMayhem?Youngstersandtheyoungatheartwaitallweekendtoparticipateinthisspecialend-of-the-eventtreat.RightafterthewonderfulSaturday-nightbarbecue,alineofantiaircraftspecialistsontheeastendofthefieldmaneverythingfromslingshotsandBBgunstopaintballguns,airsoftguns,andpotatocannons.Theideaistorunthegauntletwithyourold,tired,andwearyfoamiesinordertopresentanairbornetarget.Withpiecesoffoamdepartingthemodels,youcanactuallyseetheaircraftgettinghit. Butthat’snotallthat’shappeningonthefield.Onthewestside,there’ssomefull-contactdogfightinggoingon.Arunningbattlehasbeengoingonforyearsnow,pittingtheMalchionesagainsttheLongIslandSkyhawkscrew.Theunderstandingisnoquarterasked,nonegiven;it’sa

fighttothefinish.Pilotstrytoknockeachotheroutoftheskywhiletakingadetournowandthentorunthegauntletattheotherendofthefield.Thisyear,theMalchionestookittoanotherlevelbyenlistingtheirfamilymembers,someasyoungas18monthsold,usingsuper-soakerstoattacktheLongIslandfliersatpoint-blankrange.IttookaswipewithayardraketoremovemyfoamieMesserschmittfromthesky.Justwaittillnextyear!

parting ShOtIfyoulikehavingfun,seeingoldfriends,makingnewones,witnessinggiant-scalemilitarymodelaircraftinflight,andpartakinginagreatSaturday-nightbarbecue,thisistheeventforyou.There’salwaysplentyofactiontokeepthosecamerasclickingandlotsofcompetition-qualitymodelstosee.Asalways,contestcodirectorsDaveandPeteMalchioneandallthehard-workingvolunteersfromtheDelawareR/CClubearnedtheirkudosthisyear.Operatinglikeawell-oiledmachine,WarbirdsOverDelawareismorethanjustanothergiant-scaleevent.Ifyouhaveneverattendedthisamazingextravaganza,besuretocomenextyear! Formoreinformation,checkouttheWODwebsiteatdelawarerc.org/warbirds.htm.

This unusual Fairey Fantôme was built by Tom Brittain and flown by his son Charles. The 86-inch-span biplane warbird is powered by a DLE 35cc gas engine.

Members of Team Malchione prep their big Corsair for another sortie. Built from a CARF-Models kit, the F4U has functional folding wings.

Below: Paul LeTourneau’s massive B-26 bomber having an engine check before its next flight. The Maurader has a 126-inch span and is powered by a pair of Quadra 100cc gas engines.