Radio-control pilots demonstrated their model aeronautic skills last weekend at the Veterans and Angels Fly-in as they directed their planes into loops and turns and deftly maneuvered small copters overhead. The local Blazing Angels RC Squadron club organized the event at the old airport that straddles the Liberty and Long county line off Airport Road. Pilots’ fees and donations from thepublic benefited Fort Stewart’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
RC pilots from Atlanta, Statesboro, Florida and North and South Carolina were invited to the fly-in, according to Veterans and Angels Fly-in Club President Lewis Waldrop.
The Blazing Angels RC Squadron was founded in 2009 and has close to 20 members, Waldrop said.
Squadron member Hector Marrero of Ludowici flew a Hawk Sky powered glider Saturday. Marrero said he builds "from scratch" many of the radio-controlled aircraft that he flies. The New York City native said he built a Yankees-themed plane, and a friend built a Braves plane. The two often fly together.
"It’s a lot of fun," Marrero said.
Scott Millican of Statesboro is a member of the Ogeechee Air Masters. Millican, an RC pilot for three years, was readying his 91-inch Extra by Extreme Flight.
Along with radio-controlled plane enthusiasts, a crew from Air Evac Lifeteam based in Jesup displayed a medical-transport helicopter, and Georgia State Patrol brought a search helicopter.
Air Evac Lifeteam’s Jesup crew held pre-hospital landing-zone training for Hinesville firefighters in May and June. Firefighters were taught the proper procedures to ensure the safety of an Air Evac crew, the patients they transport and individuals on the ground when an air ambulance lands, while it is on the ground and when it takes off.
GSP pilot Jerry Pimentel allowed event attendees an look at a 2002 Bell 407 helicopter. Pimentel said the helicopter is used in search missions, often when children or Alzheimer’s patients go missing. A thermal imager attached to the front of the helicopter is used to locate people. A majority of the search helicopter’s flights are conducted at night, Pimentel said.
For more information on the local RC pilot club, call 912-977-1961 or go to blazingangelsrc.com.