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ASHLAND, Neb. — Whether you’re 8 or 80, there’s just something fascinating about watching things in flight.
That was the essence of the success of the inaugural Indoor Air Show, which had 1,200 people turning their noses to the ceiling Saturday and Sunday at the Strategic Air & Space Museum.
Radio-controlled model airplanes and helicopters whizzed around one of the museum’s hangars, drawing lots of interest. And operators of anything that moves through the air — from hang gliders to hovercraft — were invited to set up exhibition booths.
With the success of the show’s first run, it will definitely be back next year, said Tom York, director of operations at the museum.
“The whole show just kind of ballooned,’’ he said. “People are really having a heck of a lot of fun.”
Tom Egbert, 69, of Omaha said it doesn’t take a lot of urging for the 148 members of the Midwest Performance Flyers to show off their model aircraft. Other model airplane clubs at the show included the Orbiting Eagles, the Omahawks and the Drag-on Flyers.
“We have a lot of fun, and it’s not that hard to master,” Egbert said. “Helicopters can be difficult, but if you are good at using both hands — like kids do on video games — it’s pretty easy.”
Egbert said airplane and helicopter kits start at under $200. To see where and when the Midwest Performance Flyers offer lessons and demonstrations, go to www.performanceflyers.com.
“We get youngsters and we get old-timers,” Egbert said. “We’ve kind of lost some interest from kids to computer gaming, but if they try this, they usually like it.”
One of the old-timers, 77-year-old Judd Bock of Honey Creek, Iowa, is a former pilot who is grounded by heart trouble. He has been a radio-controlled plane enthusiast since childhood — a fact that his wife of 57 years can confirm.
“When we got married he told me that I was third in priority behind his mother and his airplanes,” Mona Bock said. “His mother is gone but I’m still second in line.”
All morning and afternoon, biplanes, helicopters and wire-controlled planes circled the hangar doing loops and barrel rolls. The pilots gave free lessons to anyone who cared to give it a try.
Keith Paskewitz of Omaha demonstrated an acrobatic plane, The Relax, that he built himself. He downloaded the Russian design from the Internet and drew up his own plans.
Other highlights of the air show included a paper airplane contest for children and tours of the iconic Royal Air Force warplane the Vulcan B.1 bomber.
In service, the Vulcan was armed with nuclear weapons and was a part of the RAF’s V bomber force, Great Britain’s airborne deterrent during the Cold War. The Vulcan is no longer in service.
Mike Karnish and his sons, Dylan, 11, and Aaron, 8, came to the museum to see the Vulcan and other large aircraft.
“We didn’t know about the rest of the show,” Karnish said. “The boys and I like history a lot. It helps them get a better understanding of the kind of things going on in the world today, such as in Libya.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com
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