RE: 2005 Dawn Patrol Rendevous
Thanks guys. I got up early and arrived by 9:00AM Saturday. The RC planes looked beautiful in the morning sky. The full scale planes went up around 10:00AM. And they were so beautiful to see. And there were plenty. I don't know who all the pilots were, but I recall 2 or 3 SE5's, 3 DR1's, 1 Eindecker, 1 DVII, 2 or 3 Nieuport 17's and a 27, among others.
I was looking forward to seeing Howard Whyte's Nieuport 28. Unfortunately Howard landed very hard, after the engine on his Nieuport 28 quit during take off on Friday. Howard ended up hanging upside down in the cockpit. Luckily it sounds as if his injuries aren't very serious.
Kermit Weeks DVIII was beautiful. I wish it could have flown. But he ran the engine. Probably the only time I've ever seen an actual WWI engine run in person. Kermit and his staff were very friendly and eager to talk about their plane. (I'm supposed to take the wife and kiddies to Disney World next year. Maybe I can talk them into a side trip to the Planes of Fame.[&:])
There were lots of beautiful RC models. Got to see BUSA's 1/3 scale Fokker DVII fly. Looks great. One poor guy lost the wheels of his Pup in flight. He made a great landing though. Slowed her up and flared her right onto the gear. She nosed over, but gentle enough that there was no observable damage. The guy did a really good job getting her down.
I can't say the crowd was very big. This was my first visit to the Dawn Patrol. So I can't compare it to previous ones. Here's another pic of BUSA's model display. The background will give you some idea of what attendance was like on Saturday. Keep in mind it was still early in the day, and the crowd got a little bigger as the afternoon came around.