Model airplane enthusiasts flock to St. Charles festival

Suburban model airplane enthusiasts flocked to St. Charles Saturday for the Fox Valley Aero Club's 10th annual Festival of Flight.

The event drew roughly 50 pilots flying a variety of radio-control biplanes, warbirds, classic Cessnas and even jets. Several hundred spectators trickled in and out during nine hours of demonstrations.

"It's just way too much fun," said John Fischer, event coordinator. "We've all been doing this for years."

Fischer, of Plainfield, has been into model airplanes for 16 years and been flying them for about six years.

"It's the draw of the hobby," he said. "Some guys like to golf. Some guys do model trains. It's the physics of it. To me, what's fascinating is what keeps airplanes in the air. Some guys really enjoy building and flying what they create."

Camaraderie is what gets most people into the hobby, he added.

Fischer said anyone can get started as a hobbyist for about $300. The club offers lessons for people interested in learning how to fly.

Its 175 members are mostly men, with only five women in the mix. Planes typically are built or assembled and flown by club members themselves. There is no age limit for pilots, and some members fly planes with their children.

"It tends to be a guy thing," Fischer said. "It can be a springboard to careers. We've got a lot of guys who are full-scale pilots."

Among them is David Murray, 62, of Elgin, a United Airlines pilot for 25 years.

Murray said he became a pilot because he gets to see the world. "I've been everywhere, and the (Boeing) 777 has taken me to four continents," he added.

Yet, in his spare time, there is nothing Murray enjoys more than flying model airplanes, which he has been doing for 32 years, since age 12.

"A neighbor gave me a model airplane to build, and I built it, and from that point on I was hooked," Murray said. "Flying the model airplanes helps me fly the bigger planes."

A huge difference between flying model airplanes and the real thing is the pilot has no additional information, such as airspeed and G-forces, when flying a model, he said.

Murray also works as a sales representative for St. Charles-based Robart Manufacturing, which produces radio control components for airplanes. For him, airplanes are his life, he said.

He invested $4,000 in building an aerobatic biplane, which is one-third the scale of a real airplane, has a two-cylinder, 16-horsepower engine that runs on gasoline and flies at about 100 mph. His second treasure is a $13,000 jet with a real jet engine that gets up to 170 mph.

"I get to see the labor of my love," he said. "I've worked hard for it."

Many children get their first aviation experience with model airplanes. Others are drawn to the engineering aspect of building and flying planes.

"I started building and flying when I was about 10," said Rusty Dose, 51, of Naperville, a portfolio manager for J.P. Morgan and a field representative for Hobbico, the largest manufacturer and distributor of radio-control model airplanes, cars and helicopters.

Dose got his son, Tom, started on building and flying precision aerobatic model airplanes at that same age.

Tom, now 11, said he likes controlling an airplane, not getting hurt and not spending too much money.

"It's a very fun hobby," said the fifth-grader who wants to be an engineer.

At home, Tom flies model airplanes on a simulator for practice, while his older brother, Chip, 12, likes the technical side of airplanes, but not the flying.

"It's just fun to watch," Chip said.

Dose said it's a great way for him to bond with his kids. "We fly (airplanes) and then we build them together, and we talk about them," he said,