Photo courtesy of Alex McCuaig - Shawn Heinz prepares his helicopter for take off at the Len Young Memorial Field.

By Alex McCuaig

RC Flying

RC club takes to the skies

Sep 8, 2019 | 2:16 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – A few dozen ardent flyers hit the skies over the weekend in a whole range of different aircraft performing no shortage of aerial tricks. But the barnstorming feats weren’t taking part over the city’s airport but at the Medicine Hat RCers’ Len Young Memorial Field.

A dizzying array of scale model planes and helicopters were on display at the club’s second Fall Festival of Flight which took place over the weekend with enthusiasts from across Alberta and Saskatchewan taking part.

Club president Jim Saucier said the Medicine Hat RCers are looking to attract new members to the organization, adding flying a remote control plane can take the skills of a video gamer but has the added bonus of comradeship.

“If you can fly a plane in Grand Theft Auto, I can teach you to fly one out here and it’s way more fun,” said Saucier.

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He added that people may be intimidated by the cost of getting involved in the hobby but, “the Medicine Hat RCers work to try to get people involved so we have planes here to train people to fly.”

Saucier said the hobby is also a good introduction to understanding the basics of flight.

“It’s all about aviation,” he said. “If you want to fly a plane, starting at a young age, this is probably the best thing that person can do because you understand how the plane is built – if you get into building them. You understand what it takes to make that motor run enough to have a successful flight.”

For Shawn Heinz who has been a member of the club for 20 years, said his interest in flying budded in his youth and blossomed over the decades.

“The skill level building that is required is what I find enjoyable. Being out in the open and getting some fresh air, hanging out at the flying field and we have a really nice facility here,” Heinz. “I really enjoy the hobby and it’s great.”

For Lethbridge’s Windy West RC Club president Roger Oertli, the thrills of operating the planes are similar to those he experienced when he was a car racer.

“Tempting the plane with the ground,” Oertli said is where he gets his kicks. “Taking off on a full knife-edge, a knife-edge out and coming across close to the ground and just tempting – trying to kill my toy.”