The planes were modeled after World War I and World War II fighter planes. From Thursday to Saturday, the Capital Area Radio Drone Squadron, or CARDS, hosted its 10th Warbirds and Classics Over Michigan event, which drew around 70 pilots and 150 model planes to the field for a weekend of flying and camaraderie.
Each plane had a wingspan of at least 80 inches and were made to scale. Many of them were built from scratch with up to $5,000 put into parts and assembly.
As the three-day event went on, around 1,000 spectators came out to watch the model planes loop and glide across the sky.
Pilots occasionally competed in “gaggles,” where they sent as many World War I or World War II planes as they could into the sky to combat each other, dogfight style.
“I think people are drawn in just because of the nostalgia of the world war planes and the chance to look at history,” contest director Gerry Kesler said. “It’s like a piece of history. A lot of people, especially older fellows, can relate to some of these planes. Some were in them. ... The planes helped give us our freedom, that’s what it’s all about, really.”
The pilots didn’t only come from the Lansing-based club — enthusiasts from across Michigan, Ohio and even Canada flocked to the event.
University of Michigan alumna Jordan Hall was the only female pilot present during the weekend. She said her interest in model aviation was sparked after joining a club at her university. She spent three years learning to fly on a simulator and this is her first year taking her models to the sky with a remote control.
“Doing loops and rolls is pretty fun,” she said. “Watching out for other planes is pretty tricky, but it’s a lot of fun. I like doing it.”
MSU alumnus Ross Wegryn-Jones, the contest director and announcer of the event, has been flying remote controlled planes since he was 17. He said he has watched the planes grow more elaborate as time goes on, some even including actual jet turbine engines.
“It isn’t golf,” he said. “Golf can be relaxing and you get to talk amongst your friends. You get to do that here — you get to talk to people who share a love for aviation. We’re all aviation nuts, but we’re not gutsy enough or don’t have the resources to fly full-scale. This is the next best thing — it’s an engineering pursuit, modeling pursuit and skill wrapped up in one.”
