Replica warplanes fill skies above St. Charles

It's as if chainsaws were given wings.

The whirring and whizzing of model warplanes looping above a St. Charles cornfield for the past three days sounds more like a busy timber operation than a collection of meticulously crafted memories. But that's mainly because the engines propelling many of these flying facsimiles were once used to help cut wood.

"They're just slightly modified," said John Fischer, coordinator of the Third Annual Windy City Warbirds & Classics hosted by the Fox Valley Aero Club. "But that's what's in there."

Scores of the radio-controlled model planes lined the runway at the 11-acre flying field just west of Randall Road and Lincoln Highway waiting for a turn to share the skies with their brethren.

But these aren't the handheld model planes readily available at any hobby shop. These are monsters of model planes. Many of them custom built. The minimum required wingspan to participate in the event is equal to that of a six-foot tall man. And some were even bigger.

"I was joking that this is just men playing with their toys, but this actually is very exciting and fun to watch," said Karen Day of Rochelle. "I just keep taking pictures, I can't get enough."

It's much more than toys. A full air traffic control unit handles takeoffs and landings. Most pilots also have a spotter with them to warn about nearby aircraft.

Each plane is painstakingly built to mimic actual aircraft, some dating back to World War I. While most are replicas of military machines, several are simpler civilian planes. There's always a connection between the model and the pilot's past too.

For club spokesman Tom Flint of Plainfield, it was his childhood. Two of his models are like the Piper Cubs his father flew.

"I just had great memories of those times," Flint said.

For retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former American Airlines pilot Dennis Smalley, it was a chance encounter with an ancient biplane while serving abroad nearly a half-century ago.

Smalley, of Batavia, said his favorite model of the nine he owns is a replica of an ancient British Tiger Moth biplane. There's a visceral connection because of the memory of actually piloting that plane so long ago, he explained.

"These models, I get a lot more nervous flying them than when I'm actually flying myself in a plane," Smalley said. "When I retired from American I thought that was it, but it's just in my blood and I can't get enough of it."

Fox Valley Aero Club holds membership meetings every second Thursday of the month. More information is available on its website, foxvalleyaero.com.