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Model airplanes of yesteryear take to the skies in St. Charles

Calling all World War I and World War II airplane buffs! The Fox Valley Aero Club's Windy City Warbird and Classics model airplane show event continues through dusk Saturday at the club's airfield on Route 38 west of Randall Road in St. Charles. Saturday will feature a noontime air show, with open airtime flying before and after the noon show.

Club President Alvin Cole Sr. of Aurora estimated about 60 registered pilots with roughly two to three planes each will have made an appearance at the event, which started Thursday. The club, which has 190 active members, has been in existence for about 40 years, Cole said.

Dennis McFarlane of Lombard brought his one-quarter scale Piper Cub to fly at the event, his favorite style of model airplane. A longtime fan of planes and flying (his father was a World War II B-17 pilot with the 8th Air Force in England), McFarlane built his first model airplane when he was 6 years old.

Pilot Mike Maciejewski of St. Charles enjoys flying model airplanes because of the camaraderie with fellow pilots and enthusiasts. “It allows you to fly an airplane of a certain vintage that you'll never get to fly in real life.”

Admission is $5 for adults, $8 for a carload and kids younger than 12 are free.

For more info and showtimes, visit foxvalleyaero.com.

Images: Fox Valley Aero Club's Windy City Warbirds & Classics air show event

  Several doll pilots sit in various locations in a B-25 Mitchell one-fifth scale plane owned by Paul LeTourneau of Oconto, Wisconsin. It has a 162-inch wingspan, weighs 110 pounds and sports twin cylinder engines each with 10 horsepower. LeTourneau built the plane from scratch 11 years ago and has been flying for about 20 years. LeTourneau brought the plane to fly in the Fox Valley Aero Club's Windy City Warbird and Classics model airplane show in St. Charles on Friday. The show continues Saturday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Kevin Kessler of Geneva flies his Piper Super Cub one-quarter scale plane as Rich Gabrys of Elgin acts as his spotter at the Fox Valley Aero Club's Windy City Warbird and Classics model airplane show Friday in St. Charles. Kessler owns about 15 planes has been a member of the club for five years. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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