Giants take flight in St. Charles
When a Boys & Girls Club craft shop employee fashioned a hand-tossed glider for Dan Compton it was more than the plane that took flight. A fascination with flight swooped in, and a new love for a hobby was born.
Compton was 15 at the time. He spent his entire summer mowing the lawns of Toledo, Ohio, for one trip to the hobby shop. He bought his first remote-controlled plane and headed out to an open space to perform the loops and rolls he'd envisioned.
"Naturally, the first one I flew crashed," Compton said.
Just like that, a summer's worth of labor and $350 burnt-up in one kamikaze dive.
And yet, Compton's love for the hobby continued and grew. Eventually he joined the Fox Valley Aero Club, which has its own field in St. Charles. At age 61, he's now the club's chief flight instructor. He's helped teach nearly 200 fellow model airplane afficionados earn their wings.
"It's a really exciting thing to do, at least for me," Compton said. "Your knees are knocking together after you're all done. I mean, you've got that investment up there, that $500 you're flying around, and in one fell swoop you could lose it."
Imagine doubling that investment, or even dropping $10,000 on a turbine engine for a model airplane that tops out at about 200 mph and knees do a little more than knock, they spark awe.
That's exactly what the Fox Valley Aero Club members and more than 800 invited pilots from across the country and Canada are doing from dawn to dusk this weekend in St. Charles at the "Festival of Giants" event.
More than 100 airplanes that are up to 25 percent of the size of the aircraft they mimic will be on display and taking flight on Karl Madsen Drive, just off of Route 38 near Peck Road. The planes weigh up to 100 pounds and can be powered by 100cc engines, strong enough to power large dirt bikes. Airshows are at noon today and Sunday.
The event is open to the public. Adult tickets are $5, kids are free and food will be sold. And anyone who catches the itch Compton first caught at a 15-year-old boy can find out about lessons and free camaraderie.
"I get the enjoyment from just coming out to the field," Compton said. "We've got a pavilion with tables and seats, and you come out there, and there's all these people, and they're always talking about airplanes. It's just a nice place to go to sit and chew the fat and meet people."
Club member Paul Jacobs said multiple planes will be flying at the same time, but the "Festival of Giants" event is just for fun. The club will host competitions later this summer.
Membership to the club is open to expert fliers and people who are just interested in getting into the hobby. Newcomers are allowed to fly three times at the club's field before being asked to join the club.
For more information on the club or the "Festival of Giants" event visit: www.foxvalleyaero.com.