ISRAEL: Model plane enthusiasts arrive to Israel for the international flying olympics

Record ID: 395858

  • Title: ISRAEL: Model plane enthusiasts arrive to Israel for the international flying olympics
  • Date: 5th July 2009
  • Summary: TROPHY PRESENTED IN JET WORLD MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP (SOUNDBITE) (English) RETO SENN, SWISS JET PILOT, SAYING: "You have to look for drawings, for photographs and anything so at least you have to have some very very good connections to people who owns the airplane, to people who built the airplane, and otherwise you never get. And for starting, you start really from scratch
  • Embargoed: 20th July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA7WIEU4W9P99O1T6SZXPRC17R9
  • Story Text: Schoolboys in age and in spirit convened in baking heat on the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel last week, for the International Jet World Masters Championship that concluded with a spectacular airshow that brought the crowds to their feet.
    Flying radio-controlled model aircraft is a dream that has captured the imagination of many boys and men, but just like becoming an astronaut, it is a feat achieved only by a select few.
    Indeed, the dedication required to become a top jet model aircraft flyer would surely not appear out of place in the NASA training programme, with thousands of hours dedicated to this most expensive hobby.
    "The Jet World Masters is the official competition which gathered all the best jet pilots in the world, radio-controlled jet pilots, with their models. Actually the pilot is being jet pilots, with their models. Actually the pilot is being tested and given scores by two parameters. First one is the scale, how (up to) scale is the airplane. The second one is how he flies the airplane, meaning the two combination brings the World Jet Master championship," Israeli representative to the International Jet Models Committee Avi Ambar told Reuters at the landing strip.
    Over 20 entrants took part in the world championship, well down on the 80 or so who participated at the previous event held in rainy Northern Ireland two years ago.
    According to Ambar, many stayed away because of safety fears, but those who did travel to the distant desert location enjoyed both the competition and the unique touristic qualities of the lowest spot on earth.
    The competitors clearly are in the competition for the fun as they spend a fortune on their hobby but get no cash reward for their efforts.
    Jet model aircraft evolved after the invention of the miniature jet engine -- about the size of a large soft drink bottle -- in the mid-1990s in Germany which is also one of the pastime's leading countries.
    Participants in the championship and airshow were divided to two main groups - those who build their models using half made versions or building kits, and those who construct them from scratch.
    A completely brand new model can cost around $20,000 to build and require thousands of hours of loving devotion for "fine tuning".
    Reto Senn, by day an inspector for the Federal Civil Aviation Authority of Switzerland and by night a devoted model builder and operator, says the first thing to do when aiming to build a model is to define whether it will be a historic aircraft or a modern jet.
    "You have to choose an airplane who has good flight characteristics. So if you choose an older airplane it's easier with the fly characteristics, they are flying better. You need not as much power as you need with a modern aircraft, that's all things you have to have in mind before you start the project. But I think the most important is you have to have some kind of a love to the airplane, you have, really have to favor for it," Senn told Reuters.
    Senn, who has spent over 22,000 euros to build his Hawker Hunter model with two friends, is now hoping to recoup some of his investment by selling the kit to other enthusiasts.
    "You have to look for drawings, for photographs and anything so at least you have to have some very very good connections to people who owns the airplane, to people who built the airplane, and otherwise you never get. And for starting, you start really from scratch with balsa and wood, and then you start with building it, sanding it and do all the plaque and the moldings, then the big stuff begins because after that you have to do the scale details. And from scratch to the model you need about three and a half thousand hours," the Swiss model operator said while packing his jet for the journey home.
    In the championship, plane model operators are given points for the authenticity of the model and its resemblance to the real thing. This includes a careful paint job and accessorizing. To aid this, there are companies in the model industry that can even produce made-to-order pilot dummies that look like the flyer. Another group of judges inspects whether the plane can actually perform the same aerobatics as the original.
    The roar of the miniature jets replicates the noise of full-sized engines but that is only the first part of flying. More important is the airframe that must be sturdy enough to withstand the G forces created in aerobatic displays.
    Despite the fact that female pilots are now a relatively known phenomena in modern armies and at airlines, it soon became clear that all operators in the airshow and championship in Israel were male, and according to the competitors, that is the gender of most 200-300 flyers worldwide good enough to take part in competitions.
    However, the runway was not dominated by grown up men only, but also by children, some under ten years old, who performed helicopter-model aerobatics with great skill.
    For others, who take the pastime a lot less seriously, there was a flying witch and a flying lawnmower, but the fun for the enthusiasts is to recreate the performance of a real jet aircraft, although hardly any are real pilots. Not surprisingly, the common belief within the close-knit group of jet operators, is that a model pilot can fly a real aircraft, but a commercial pilot will find it very difficult to fly a model.
    Ends.
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