The only difference between men and boys, they say, is the size (and apparently speed) of their toys.
Those toys, if you want to call a roughly $10,000 radio-controlled plane a toy, will be zipping through the skies in St. Charles at speeds of up to 200 mph this weekend during the Fox Valley Aero Club’s Windy City Warbirds & Classics.
Bob Larsen’s Gee Bee drops some smoke on Thursday during the Fox Valley Aero Club’s Windy City Warbirds & Classics RC air show in St. Charles. The model is a scale replica of a 1930s racing plane.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
The show features radio-controlled military aircraft and civilian classics that have a wingspan of over 80 inches.
The full-scale replica planes are roughly 20% the size of the real ones, right down to the miniature pilots inside many of the cockpits. But they provided 100% joy to the folks who flew them Thursday during the show’s first day of action.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved these things,” said Kevin Kessler of Geneva, who brought several planes out to the show. “I used to do a control line plane back then, and I could never afford these guys.”
Flying ace Snoopy is ready for action on Thursday. Kevin Kessler of Geneva, left, said his plane is a big hit with kids.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
While the kid in him loves flying, he shared that joy with the real kids watching the show on Thursday by bringing his Snoopy-themed plane, complete with a plush pilot, over to the stands so kids could check it out and take pictures with it.
“This is the best part,” he said.
The show continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the club’s airfield at 3831 Karl Madsen Drive in St. Charles.
Wolfram Donalies of Elgin takes his Polikarpov I-16 out to the runway on Thursday during the Windy City Warbirds & Classics RC air show in St. Charles. The plane is a replica of a 1930s Soviet single-engine, single-seat fighter aircraft.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
Fox Valley Aero Club president Dale Gathman said more than 40 pilots from multiple states will bring more than 100 planes to fly at the airfield over the three days. The show features planes from before the World War I era to current fighter jets with real turbine engines.
Gathman said the club has been holding the event for 11 years. Like many of the pilots, he has been interested in aviation since childhood.
“My dad used to take us to air shows at DuPage Airport, and I just loved to watch planes fly,” he said.
Planes sit ready for their turn to take to the skies on Thursday in St. Charles.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
Dave Murray, a retired United Airlines pilot and a fellow event organizer, said people love the authenticity of the planes.
“The way they represent the real airplanes with the details, the markings, the painting, the cockpits,” he said. “It’s amazing the craftsmanship that goes into some of these airplanes, and I think that’s a huge draw.”
John Anzelone’s A-10 Warthog was popular with the crowd on Thursday during the Windy City Warbirds & Classics RC air show in St. Charles.
Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
The lineup features replica military transport planes and propeller-driven fighters, such as the P-47. Additionally, there are jets, including the A-10 Warthog and a replica F-16, which boasts a 10-foot-long fuselage and can reach speeds exceeding 200 mph.
Tickets for the event are $5 for adults, and kids 12 and younger can watch for free. There are food vendors on site.
Visitors are encouraged to check out the planes and ask the pilots questions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
