By Michael E. Brown - IMAA # 22176 How long has it been since it was exciting to go to a flying event? I mean really exciting. The kind of exciting that actually gets a few butterflies growing down deep in your stomach. You know, how you feel when you are about to pull onto the event property? For most modelers, I would venture to guess it only lasts for the first few events they go to when they are new pilots, and then it wears off. I guess I am lucky. I get a little excited every time I pull into an event. I'm anxious to see who’s there, if I'm early; or if I'm late, to see old friends. Everything about the first sight of the place is exciting to me. I like to see what new planes are going to be flying and who built them, meet new friends and sadly learn of those who are no longer with us. But I hadn't had that really excited feeling for a long time. Until recently. I got those old deep down excited feelings and I wasn't even pulling onto the flying site! I got the first jolt of excitement when I saw the first sign that said…..JOE NALL with an arrow pointing up, showing it was further up the street. I got a second jolt when I saw the “Trippletree Airdrome” sign at the entrance of owner Pat Hartness’s property and a third when I crested the hill exposing the massive city of motor homes, trailers and shade canopies! I know it has been said a thousand times, but all the pictures in the world can't really describe the Joe Nall. It’s HUGE to say the least. It’s a city that lives for a week, and live it does! Mr. Pat Hartness has made the world’s largest flying event in Woodruff South Carolina. It is a first class, friendly, safe event that is both AMA and IMAA Sanctioned. Pilots must be AMA and IMAA members to fly and spectators must be at least AMA members to attend. As an IMAA Officer, the first place I went was the IMAA booth. IMAA Officers man the booth all week long talking IMAA and modeling in general, signing up new and renewing current members. Directors Bill Hamby and Joan Liska were there as was Don Vineyard, the IMAA’s Secretary. Joan Liska knew it was my first time at the Nall and said, “Come with me!” Out onto the pits/runway she took me. She said just walk and you will feel it. I didn't know what she was talking about, but within a few feet of the safety fence the grass became a plush lawn, then a turf like none other. The further you walk the thicker it becomes. It’s actually quite amazing in itself and it stretches out for several hundred yards. A couple little side notes, the Triple Trees runway has been lengthened to accommodate full-scale airplanes and Pat Hartness is going to have EAA fly-ins at his property. These should be great events for the full-scale folks just like the Joe Nall is for us. Also, the Masters will no longer be held there. The Youth masters will, but not the one for adults. Okay, on to the event. Of course, planes were everywhere, as well as pilots and spectators. There were rows and rows of motor homes everywhere, along the upper reaches of the property and far to the east as well as along the largest pond (pond my fanny) lake. (You noticed I said lake. I figure if a couple boats could tow skiers at the same time on a single body of water, it’s a lake! I always heard there was a pond and I even watched a video of Jason Shulman catching a Blue Gill on what looked like a pond at the time, but after seeing it, it’s definitely a lake.) There are also loads of vendors with all the wonderful R/C toys we enjoy so much and oh yes - food. I started taking pictures right off and was taking shots of anything and everything and then I stopped. I tried to think about how I wanted to portray the Joe Nall, in this, the article I was asked to write. Most of the time, all we see are photos and some words about the top few pilots in the hobby along with pictures of them and their planes, (or somebody’s plane they flew). But in looking at the whole picture, I decided that isn't what the Joe Nall is really all about. Sure the top pilots are all here and they deserve a lot of recognition for what they do for the hobby and for their skills as pilots, but they are really just a small piece of the total Joe Nall experience. To be quite honest, after about 2 days, I felt sorry for some of those pilots. I remember watching a few of them. They were trying to have a good time like everybody else, but they could hardly move. Somebody was constantly asking them questions or asking them to pose with their plane, or pose with them so somebody could take their picture. I could show you pictures that tell that story, but I won't. During a slow period I actually asked one of them if he ever got to just fly with his buddies anymore and he said sadly, “No and I miss it”. Something else I wanted to write about was how well this is all run, how well it’s all put together and how smooth it comes off. Most of us have all gone to lots of events and you can tell in a couple hours if an event is going to be one of those thrown together deals or if it’s going to be one you don’t feel totally safe flying your pride and joy at. Well the Joe Nall isn't one of those I assure you. It’s as well run as any event I have ever attended, even my own! (A little humor there, I do pride myself on running a good event.) Because the Joe Nall has been going on for several years it has evolved into the special event it is and obviously over time you tend to work out a few bugs here and there. Besides it being a perfect place to hold an event like this, it has as good a volunteer group as you could ask for and that’s what makes all the difference in the world. They all know what needs doing, and when it’s supposed to be done. Heck, they fed 1000 people in about 15 minutes and that’s awesome! If I mention one name I will forget another, so to save myself I will just say to all of you Joe Nall volunteers, “You do a wonderful job of putting on the world’s largest flying event”. Being the IMAA’s National Safety Officer, I look at things from a different perspective some times and I was impressed with how they run the event. Safety really is #1. At first I thought 7 pilot stations were a bit much, but it was never a problem. Each pilot had a spotter and they kept to their job. I also thought later, with around 600 pilots you need 7 pilot stations. The float flying went perfectly, with its few channels and Spektrum. At the main runway, allowing just those flying and the next up a frequency was absolutely the only way to do it. Last but not least, I absolutely loved the safety horn setup at the pilot stations for out of control airplanes. I actually went home and used the system (although altered to hand held air filler horns (because of no electricity) at my next event. The new 2.4 Spektrum systems were allowed to be just what they were designed to be, free of radio impound control. If you wanted to fly, you just got in line and flew! After my first trip to The Joe Nall, I decided it’s about family and fellowship, about having a good time with friends new and old. It’s about eating a hot dog in Pat Hartness’s hanger while looking at pictures of years past or listening to an old timer tell stories about flying a full scale Cub, (like the one sitting on the lawn during dinner). The Joe Nall is about flying, the AMA, the IMAA and what they both stand for. It’s a story all in itself, a city all in its self. Try as I might, I will never give you the feeling in these words like the one you will get if you attend. I know I never did, in all the articles I have read in the past, and there are some very good writers that have covered the Joe Nall. I mean no disrespect, that’s just how it is. Joe Nall is something that has to be experienced. Enjoy the pictures. Yeah, there are one or two of those….. top pilots we read about in all the magazines, but after all they have earned it, right? |
