sfaust

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There are a bunch of photos from 2002 and 2001 on my web site in the MISC section;

http://webpages.charter.net/mediashop/misc%20main.htm

There is little else like it. 600 pilots, over 1,000 airplanes all IMAA legal in size. Multiple 50% sized airplanes, and hoards of scale and aerobatic airplanes all lined to well over 1/2 mile long. Night flying, float flying, electrics, jets, vendors, full scale air performances, and a barbecue complete with a keg truck and a blue grass band.

If that doesn't convince him to go, well, he just isn't INTO rc

AJF--2

My Feedback: (119)

Not enough words to describe-- Stephen did it about as good as you can

AJF--2

My Feedback: (119)

WARNING!!!!!!! If you go once----you will not ever miss another

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

I was asked for directions by a couple people, so here are some maps that I captured. Its in Woodruff, SC just off Mary Hanna Road. About 16 hours south of Boston MA

From Spartanburg SC

Rte 26 to Rte 221
(passable via RV. Don't use Kilgore Bridge road. I did that once , not twice).

Mary Hanna Road Detail

Fly4Fun2

My Feedback: (25)

This may seem like a stupid question, but how tall is the grass on the runway??? I have a new Duo Discus T (4 Meter scale sailplane with electric up&go) that I want to fly. Off of pavement it is not a problem, but I am not sure off of grass. it has a 2.5" main wheel. I can build a dolly for it if I need to.

propstrike

My Feedback: (31)

The grass looked to be no more than 1/2" high what time I've been their. Actually, gliders are towed from that runway. Should be no problem whatsoever.

epc

My Feedback: (33)

Can someone post the exact address of the Joe Nall event, And give some directions on how to get there fron Charlotte driving.

Chris : You are from charlotte , what do you think should I rent a car at Charlotte's airport or what.

Thanks your help is appreciated.

epc.

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

Epc, check back about 3 replies. I posted links to maps which show the exact location, and even the route from Charlotte. Its about an hour and 50 minutes from the airport to Woodruff/Joe Nall (98 miles). Rte 85 to Spartanburg, then Rte 26 south to Exit 41, then use this map;

Detail map - Rte 26 to Mary Hanna Road

Fly4Fun2 , the grass will be short, freshly cut, and perfect for walking in bare feet, or even flying . Pat Hartness is a grass fanatic, and will be seen riding around on a large mower in the evenings, and is proud of the runway. You can bet its going to be full, short, and nice.

Pinhead159

My Feedback: (33)

i think off i 85 it s 26 east instead of south. then go approx 10-11 miles till u come to 221 then use map.
Chris

AJF--2

My Feedback: (119)

I go I-85 south--take the Greer Exit (forget the exact number-- I think it is 75, but it is the one with the Burger King, Super 8 Motel, and the BMW Plant)--turn left on this highway and in 17 minutes you are in Woodruff. Follow the signs from there.

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

I had to move the maps as the server system was repossessed by my wifes company. So, if you tried to find the maps, and couldn't, look here.

Joe Nall Map 1- Charlotte-Spartanburg
Joe Nall map 2 - Spartanburg area
Joe Nall Map 3 - Rte 26 to Rte 221
Joe Nall Map 4 - Mary Hanna Road detail

Also note that my web site moved from ww.wGiantScaleRC.com to a temporary home at http://webpages.charter.net/mediashop. It will be moved back in the near future.

RickVB

My Feedback: (24)

Guys, if you need it, you can retrieve that last map in Stephen's posting at http://webpages.charter.net/mediasho...a%20detail.jpg

crotts

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I'm originally from that area, so here are few things to clear up a couple random questions that have been asked:

Rent a car at Charlotte airport? Yes, if that's where you flying into. Basically a rental car is your only choice.

I-26 East or South? It's officially East, but actually runs more or less South.

If you have a little time to kill and want to get away from the field for some insane reason, take a very short trip up to Spartanburg to The Beacon drive-in. Best dripping-with-grease cheeseburgers and onion rings around. Take your Pepcid!

If anyone has any trouble finding somewhere to stay, there are several motels around the Laurens and Clinton area, 20 minutes or so down the interstate. Don't know if they fill up too, but they might be just far enough away to have some openings.

Any other specific questions about the area, feel free to email me. Don't know much about the event, this will be my first year there.

Later,
Neal

RickVB

My Feedback: (24)

Lotsa stuff we'd like to know:

What's the best strategy for those who want to fly? Is camping better, or staying at a motel? If you use a motel, do you pack up everything each day? Can you establish a flightline position for the duration? How close is the tent camping area to the flightline? Is there any point to trying to camp on site if I can't get there until Thursday night?

How the heck do they handle radio impound? With five hundred pilots, it seems like that would be a major bottleneck. Are there time limits placed on flights?

Do people bring beater planes to fly, or do they pretty much stick to the show pieces and contest winners? Can't tell from the videos... really don't want to be embarrassed since I own mostly beaters at the moment.

How do folks handle battery charging on site? Strictly off their vehicles? I'm thinking of the overnight situation, mostly.

Really looking forward to this. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you guys, too.

Fly4Fun2

My Feedback: (25)

Hey Rick ---

I haven't been to Joe Nall, but I have been to enough big events that I can answer your qeustions. You get a spot on the flightline when you get there. 99% of the people put up some kind of tent like an EZ-UP or similar and that is their space for the duration. the camping sites are a little ways a way, but not too bad.

I don't know about the beater vs show plane stuff at Joe Nall. I plan on bringing two show pieces and one beater (It is aruguable as to which one is most fun to fly!) Charging batteries is best done with DC power, but if you are staying at a hotel, you can do overnight AC Charging. Best way to do that is to make your battery packs easily removeable and just take them in. Safeest way is to take the entire plane in, but that can get to be a pain very quickly.

Good luck and I am looking forward to seeing everyone.

Keith

RickVB

My Feedback: (24)

My two best planes have multiple packs that are difficult (more than 15 minutes worth of work) to get too. That's why I asked; I guess I'm out of luck there.

Another thing occurs to me; what's security like? Does everyone lock up all their stuff at the end of each day? If so, I could see spending an hour assembling planes each morning...

propstrike

My Feedback: (31)

I've been to the Joe Nall for the last six years and can say that no beater planes are flown there. Just one every once in a while.

As for accomodations and a tent spot. You have to get there either on opening day or before to assure even a HALF way decent spot on the flight line. Remember, this is the largest model fly-in in the world. I always stay at the Microtel Inn at the Pelham drive location back in Greenville. It's about 30 minutes away. Good eatin places close by too. Rooms are about $50 bucks a night, clean, free breakfast and all have two queen beds.

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

RickVB,

Once you setup your Ez-Up, it stays there for the duration of the event, or until you leave. The line of Ez-Ups stretch 1/2 to 3/4's of the runway, which is somewhere in the 3400'' range. A lot of Ez-Ups for sure. Around the gazebo, the Ez-Ups are two and three deep.

Camping facilities are the best at any events I've been to, and I attend an event at least every other weekend all season long. There is a terraced hill for camping, with a building that houses showers, bathrooms, and a clubhouse type room which is usually used for registrations, etc. Water can be had, but there is no electricity.

The camping is right there on site. Last year I got there so early, I was just across the road behind the Gazebo. A very short walk to my Ez-Up and flight line. If you want, you can camp clear back at the tree line, wish is maybe 200-300 yards away. Or, you can camp lakeside right on the pond. There were a couple people that camped way down at the end of the runway in tents well within the tree line. That was perhaps a 1/2 mile or more away. Its your choice. This year I am thinking of camping right on the pond just right of show central.

Yes, there is a point to camping on site even if you do arrive Thursday, or even Friday. At night, there is lots of activities that are still taking place. You wouldn't have to take apart the airplanes each night to bring them back to the motel (or you could just leave them under your Ez-Up). In my opinion, there is enough going on at night, that I wouldn't stay at a motel even though its much cheaper than taking the motorhome.

Security is provided by the sheer number of honest pilots that attend. I have left my airplanes outside my motor home on charge at every event I have ever attend, and never run into a problem, nor have any of my friends. I leave them assembled, and on the charger. I only bring in my small expensive items such as the 10X or 9Z, etc. Sometimes I just leave the planes, fuel, and tool box on the flight line under the tent, and cover it with a tarp to protect it from rain. If you stay at a motel, you will need to either pack them up, or maybe find a friend that is staying on site and leave it in front of his tent/trailer/motor home/etc.

Beaters. There are usually some there. Nothing wrong with a good flying beater. And with 600 pilots, even more transmitters, flying a beater is good insurance policy if you can't risk loosing your pride and joy. However, for the most part, the flight line is littered with top quality airplanes from all segments of giant scale RC. Warbirds, aerobatic, civilian, scale, fun fly, and some turbines thrown in for fun.

Camping on site makes it easy for me to charge up. I have 120v and 12v available to me all day/night, and just leave the airplanes setup and on charge through the night. If you have 12v available while camping (your car, etc), then it won't be a problem for you either. Unfortunately, there is no central storage area with 120v available for charging your airplanes, so bring your own electricity, or borrow someones.

The frequency control/impound is basically a frequency board and a sign up sheet if you channel is in use. Kind of a scary thought when there are 600 pilots, many of which will have multiple transmitters with them. There is no impound where you turn in your transmitters during the day. I wish there was, but could see the problems with trying to run such a large impound. With that said, there haven't be that many issues with that setup. But then again, how would be actually know. But I guess with 600 pilots, probably 1,200 airplanes, flights measured in the hundreds, if not thousands, and only a few crashes seems to say its working ok.

Hope that answers most of your questions.

DocYates

My Feedback: (102)

Stephen,
This is my first time to attend. Will we be able to fly non-large scale airplanes at any time during the fly-in (ie, late afternoon)? We are trying to decide what we want to bring to fly.
Tommy

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

After hours is open flying. You can fly non-IMAA legal planes at that time. During the event is limited to IMAA legal airplanes, as well as special flights as approved by the CD. In the evenings, just about anything can be seen flying. Even turbines at midnight with night lighting :-)

RickVB

My Feedback: (24)

My real question here was if there would be any reasonable sites left by late Thursday night for a **tent**. If I'm going to end up pitched on a 45 degree angle on top of boulders, I'll just stick to the motel idea. Also, is there a problem getting into the site at say, 1am, if that's when we arrive?

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

There will be plenty of level flat ground to camp no matter what time you come. In fact, if you want to camp right along the tree line, right in front of the pond, you can do so as there will be plenty of space left. You would be about 75 yards from the restroom/showers, and say 200 yards to the flight line. The location can handle much more capacity for camping than is currently being used. Choice spots will be gone, but you will have no problem finding a suitable spot at all.

RickVB

My Feedback: (24)

Assuming that (Stephen's last post) means you *can* get in at all hours, does anyone have a map of the layout of the site itself? Would be nice to know where I'm going in the pitch dark...

ROGER RUSSELL

My Feedback: (12)

Joe Nall

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

Yes, you can get in at all hours, unless they put up a gate since last year. I would also imagine that even if there was a gate, they would leave it open during the night as many people arrive after dark leading up to the event.

You don't really need a map of the site. There is one road leading into the site, and it is lined with trees and well marked. If you arrive at night, just park anyway in the general area of other motor homes or trailer, and be prepared to move in the morning where they will help you decide on where you want to park, and get you setup. If you are in a tent, just don't stake it down. If you setup a tent along the tree line, chances are they will just let you stay there. But then again, maybe not, so be prepared either way.

Send me a private e-mail, and I'll give you my cell number. I'll be there from the Saturday prior to the event. If you can't get in for anyreason, I'll try to work that out. I can also check with them on where they would want those with tents to setup, so you would have a much better chance of not having to move in the morning. If anyone else thinks they might need help, send me an e-mail and I'll send you my cell number just in case.

See ya all there....time is approaching