WinterHawke

First off, sorry for the delay in getting this thread started - been a frantic end of 2015/start of 2016 for me!

Here's the latest information on the 2016 edition of the Dawn Patrol Rendezvous at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, in Dayton Ohio.

IMPORTANT - DATE CHANGE FOR 2016.

The 2016 DPR will be one week later than it's traditional date, due to a presidential debate scheduled for the last weekend of September in the Dayton area, which in turn means all kinds of flying restrictions before and after the debate. We couldn't go later or earlier in the year due to other schedule conflicts, so the first weekend in October 2016 will be the Rendezvous.

From the R/C perspective I don't anticipate any major changes from the 2014 event. We're planning on some minor tweaking to our parking area (bringing RVs and the storage tents closer to the front), and moving the R/C HQ tent a bit (so that the staff there can see us when we fly!).

Schedule-wise, the single biggest change is plans for some sort of on-field BBQ Saturday night, and a movie.

We'll start registrations in 2016 (probably the February/March timeframe) once we've locked down a few details from the Museum (like costs and stuff like that). I expect the costs will probably be the same as 2014.

More information can be found on the Museum’s website at:

www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/wwidawnpatrol.aspx

For a video highlight of the 2014 WWI Dawn Patrol watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSRc3VWiO0M And the latest video update by the Museum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgQlQIY0-iU

(The R/C section starts around the 4:05 mark)


PROPOSED THEME from R/C - HOLLYWOOD and the GREAT WAR

Two favorite movies about the 1910 - 1918 era are coming up on milestones this year and in 2016 - Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines . . . released in 1965, and The Blue Max in 1966. Yup, these two aviation classics are 50 years old!! It occurred to me that many of us probably got some of our interests in Eduardian and Great War Aviation because of one (or both) of these films.

So I'm currently planning on having a display area set up featuring these two movies, as well as any other of the major movies of the time period - just off the top of my head we have The Great Waldo Pepper, von Richtofen and Brown, the BBC mini-series Flambards and Wings, and the more recent Flyboys and The Red Baron. So anyone who has a model of one of the movie machines please let me know - I'm currently working on a couple myself from Blue Max and Mag Men, I know where a Demoiselle hangs out, and possibly Waldo's Sopwith Camel . . .


DAWN PATROLS of 2016

I'm just starting to put together my list of R/C (and full scale when I find out about them) Dawn Patrol events for 2016, and would appreciate hearing from anyone knowing about or hosting one next year. I try to have a list put together by the Toledo Show of any Dawn Patrol events, so if you are having an event in 2016, please let us know!


I'll update here as we hear more on the 2016 Rendezvous, so in the meantime, let's get building!! (I really need to follow that advise myself . . .)



Best regards,

Lee McDuffee
R/C Event Director
Dawn Patrol Rendezvous 2016

Bye the bye - Model Aviation article on the 2014 can be found here:

http://www.modelaviation.com/dawnpatrolrendezvous2014

And "bonus content" that I contributed as well:

http://www.modelaviation.com/dawnpatrol2014bonus

Steve Percifield

My Feedback: (14)

Lee,
I'm checking through all the info, and have a couple of questions. It appears that flying will be on Saturday and Sunday only. And RC will fly before the 9am start and after the 5pm end of formal events and only once during the days show activities..

The flyer says aircraft are to be 1/3 scale, is that right?

steve

geezeraviation

My Feedback: (3)

Not how it was two years ago, we started flying on Thursday and we flew (R/C) several times during the day not just before 9 and after 5. What info are you referring to?
Doc

Steve Percifield

My Feedback: (14)

I was there last time also. But the schedule of activities that Doug gave me last weekend , Lists practice flights on Friday, but doesn't say by whom, and then the Saturday and Sunday show schedule. Which has rc demonstrations both pre and post show and once during the "show hours"..

geezeraviation

My Feedback: (3)

Hmmmmmmm!?? When talking to Doug and Lee at ODP they didn't have a schedule yet. Hope Lee pipes in here.

WinterHawke

Morning, all - about time I start updating this thread, as the Rendezvous is just around the corner. Hope everyone's summer is going good - I'm just off a little 3600 mile jaunt myself which included a bit of the Long Island Dawn Patrol and the Hoosier Dawn Patrol (amongst work and family activities) . . .

First off, the 2016 Rendezvous will pretty much be the same is in previous recent years - no real changes there. We'd like everyone's primary aircraft to be "Giant Scale", but we haven't turned anyone away if they show up with something less. We will adhere to the AMA's requirements for Large Scale Aircraft (greater than 55lbs).

We are expecting to have a number of first time participants this year, so to help clarify, the event schedule is as follows - with the following note: "Subject to Change!!" Weather and full-scale a/c availability will almost certainly at some point put the entire schedule into shambles, so please treat the following as in soft pencil!!!

WinterHawke

EVENT SCHEDULE - 2016 DAWN PATROL RENDEZVOUS

THURSDAY, SEPT 29th - ARRIVAL DAY

Arrival Day for all participants. For R/C, this means we'll be checking in arriving fliers, getting registration out of the way, getting the canopy line set up, campers settled in, etc. We will have plenty of flying opportunities during the day, with the only exceptions being for full-scale aircraft arriving by air. In 2014 that was a mass-formation of around a half dozen who staged at a nearby airfield and flew to the event en masse.

There is no formal Museum event scheduled for Thursday, so the day is pretty much wide open - I'm anticipating the evening we'll be flying until dusk (one of two evenings for the Dusk Patrol).


FRIDAY, SEPT 30th - MEDIA OP and DRESS REHEARSAL

Friday will open with R/C flying before the days scheduled events (same for Saturday and Sunday). Early fliers just need to be through registration first, please!!

Officially, Friday is slated for "Media Op"s and "Dress Rehearsal" - there is no formal time schedule set for Friday flying. The Museum's goal is to have aircraft and participants available for press coverage, interviews, pictures, etc. I'd wear something clean on Friday, just in case someone notices you!!

The "Dress Rehearsal" mentioned is geared toward full scale, with support from the reenactors, and will center around their "Capture the Pilot" routine they will feature at least once on Saturday and again on Sunday. There will also be (I'm sure) some practice flying by other full scale as preparation for the weekend.

For R/C, Friday means that whenever full scale doesn't have something going on, we'll be flying. I expect that Friday will be some of our longest flying sessions.

FRIDAY NIGHT - WWI HANGAR PARTY 7:00pm

The only formal activity scheduled for Friday is the evening "WWI Hangar Party" Meet and Greet in the Museum near the Early Years Gallery for ALL participants .

If this is your first visit to the Rendezvous, THIS IS A MUST-DO event of the weekend. Everyone I've spoken to at previous Rendezvous say that this is one of the highlights of the event. Good food provided by the Museum, a chance to mingle with all the participants, AND the Museum will remain open for us until 10:00pm.

WinterHawke

SATURDAY and SUNDAY - DAWN PATROL RENDEZVOUS OCT 1 & 2

The actual event, from the public's eye, is Saturday and Sunday. I fully expect the schedule to remain the same as 2014, which was:

PreShow (before 9:00am) - R/C Flying. We start the event each day, with the goal being to always have aircraft in the air as the public arrives. Full scale aircraft that are hangared will be wheeled out (and provide several good photo ops) behind our flightline.

9:00am to 11:00am - Opening Ceremonies and Full Scale Flying

11:00am to Noon - R/C Flying and Antique Car Parade

Noon to 2:00pm - Full Scale Flying

2:00pm to 3:00pm - R/C Flying and Antique Car Parade

3:00pm to 5:00pm - Full Scale and Closing

5:00pm to whenever - R/C Flying

R/C and Full Scale alternate during the show each day. At the last Rendezvous, the "Capture the Pilot" routine was featured at the end of the morning and early afternoon sessions, and involved both Full Scale (simulated shoot-down) and Reenactors (capturing the pilot and rescuing the prisoner). While R/C is flying the Antique Automobiles will get a chance to make some runs on the taxiway behind our flightline - another good photo opportunity.

SATURDAY NIGHT - DUSK PATROL

The Museum wanted to do some sort of participant activity either in the Museum or on field on Saturday. But at this time there isn't anything scheduled for the Museum (another activity is booked there), and no word yet if there will be any activity on field (like a BBQ or something).

I'm anticipating, therefore, that it will be free time - which means for R/C that we will be flying from 5:00pm until dusk, with another opportunity for the Dusk Patrol.

SUNDAY NIGHT - BANQUET

Sunday night will be the formal Banquet, once again in the Museum, from 6:30pm until 10:00pm. No announcement yet of entertainment (if any) - but I would expect that based on 2014 that at least the Museum's audio-video group may have some event photos and video being shown.


MONDAY - DEPARTURE DAY OCT 3

The Museum really wants participants staying through Sunday, and not leaving until Monday. This is why they've scheduled the Banquet on Sunday night rather than Saturday night as they originally did.

There will be Full Scale departures all morning, and probably some R/C time if someone REALLY didn't get enough flying in, but I really expect most folks will be content to pack up and head on down the road.

AND AS MENTIONED - PLEASE CONSIDER THE ABOVE SCHEDULE AS PRINTED IN SOFT PENCIL or ON A CHALKBOARD.

Past history has shown us that the schedule can, and probably will, vary wildly as Mother Nature and Full Scale issues come up. We've been asked at previous events to keep flying well past our scheduled times on Saturday and Sunday. Fog, low ceiling and a wet runway all play havoc with Full Scale, and R/C offers the event the flexibility to keep the show going until weather conditions change.

We just had a phone conference call on the event a couple weeks ago, and I'll be putting out some notes on that in a bit (no huge issues at this time). Doug and I will also be attending an in-person meeting on the Rendezvous next Saturday - so if anyone has any issues or questions to bring up please let us know.

Very best regards,

Lee McDuffee

WinterHawke

Quick note - we are closing out pre-registration for the 2016 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous this weekend. We'll be ordering our event shirts and banquet tickets, and need accurate numbers.

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SENT IN YOUR EVENT REGISTRATION FOR R/C, WE NEED THAT INFORMATION ASAP!

I'm sending out confirming emails this evening to everyone whose registration we have with some event updates. I'll also try to send out emails to previous participants to try and see if we've missed anyone.

Further updates all this next week.

Lee McD

WinterHawke

DAWN PATROL RENDEZVOUS WEEK HAS ARRIVED

I was onsite today (Tuesday) to check out how the layout for the R/C compound sent to the Museum translated to actual, and overall it's pretty much like I had sketched up, and is similar to the 2014 setup, with some requested changes:

1) The storage tents are much closer to the pit area - about 75 feet to the rear of the canopy line.

2) A second access opening in the orange safety fence midway along the canopy line

Our three 20x40 storage tents went up today - all they need now is the side curtains installed, which we'll work on either tomorrow or Thursday (depending upon weather). Speaking of which . . .

The current weather reports are less that optimal - with some wind and rain in the forecast. NOTHING like the forecast last week, and it's been changing daily so far this week!!! Current concerns are more toward the full-scale planes, particular the winds early in the event - strong crosswinds and WW1 taildragger aren't a good mix. So . . . .

I'm thinking R/C may be called on a lot more early in the event if the full-scales and winds don't cooperate . . .

Best regards,

Lee McDuffee

Tmoth4

My Feedback: (1)

Flight of the Gothas at the Dawn Patrol Rendezvous:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcVK-vON3g4

Lucky Dog

My Feedback: (1)

It's been a couple of weeks since the wrap up of the 10th DPR, and while I was disappointed not bring an RC plane for the first time (crashed the Eindecker and unable to get the Pup ready), it was still a great time visiting with old friends, making new ones, photographing some wonderful models and full size (or nearly so) aircraft. Plus spending time in the museum of course.

While I've posted pictures on FB, I'm remiss in not sharing some here as always.


Having my wonderful wife Kathy join me was a treat.


A number a nice Nieuport 28s were there. This a 1/3 scale.


1/4 scale DVII (I think) There were two indenticle DVIIs. One in 1/4 one 1/3.


1/3 scale DVII of Doug Bailey


Se5a




40% Spad XVIII. Voted Best in Show.


!/4 scale Gotha GIVs. Jim Suchy and Greg Hahn. We're talking 16' wing span.

Lucky Dog

My Feedback: (1)

Two giant Gothas under attack from a Pup with (I believe) Art Shelton's Dr1 coming to the rescue.


Jim Suchy's Gotha


Here we have Jeff Shutic's 1/4 scale Vickers Vimmy in progress.


The spars are routed (as in the prototype). The round discs fix the rib firmly to the spar.




Another 16' span monster.




1/3 Pup

Lucky Dog

My Feedback: (1)

Jenny of Jim (it'll come to me).




I/3 Pup




Something you don't see very often. 1/4, 1/3. 1/2 scale Nieuport 28s





Really sweet electric Antoinette.


1/3 Pup




Not a real bright and sunny weekend, but an interesting sky many times regardless.

More to come.... stay tuned

geezeraviation

My Feedback: (3)

As always, thanks Mike for your great coverage so we can all relive the event.
Doc

FireBee

My Feedback: (34)

Are you all ready to start the 2018 event info?

jwrich

My Feedback: (17)

I am ready, I will be there. This is the high-lite of the Dawn Patrol event of the year.

Rich

jeffEE

My Feedback: (5)

Where or How do I register for this event. I will be there. Most excellent.