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Horizon Hobby is sponsoring a brand new NX8+ transmitter for the winner of our 30-day Battle of RC Worlds contest, which pits Jet Pilots vs Scale Heli Pilots vs Airplane Pilots vs 3D Heli Pilots vs Glider Pilots vs Drone Pilots. Everybody gets 15 plays per day. Bet 1-5 chips.

To earn more plays, simply post in the feed and make it a good one. Posts that receive high reaction scores ear more plays for the poster!

Who will take the crown? Which RC world will carry the torch!

Play Now!

We are in the planning stages for HeliStorm™ 2026, which, if held, would occur on September 2-6, 2026 on the front grounds of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Here are the variables that we are dealing with:

1. The USAF Foundation is unable to contribute funds to the event. Last time, they kicked in $25,000 so this is a large negative.

2. I am unwilling to fund the full $26,450 I contributed last year to cover shortfalls and still do the work to host the event. I will cover small shortfalls.

3. The schools in the Dayton area have indicated that they will not send students out on a field trip that early in the school year. Accordingly, there will be no full scale helicopter industry participation.

All of this means that HeliStorm™ would simply be a massive fun fly event with the following extras:

1. Exhibitors from the RC industry
2. Large central pilot lounge
3. Learning workshops
4. Silent auction with mobile phone bidding
5. Food trucks
6. Pizza party on Friday
7. Formal banquet inside the museum (with private touring)
8. Informal attendance by the general public (and accompanying promotion by the museum)
9. Bring your own tent
10. No on-site camping (other than by Darrell Sprayberry who would run security).
11. Relaxed flying contests judged by RC pilots
12. Pilot's choice awards in various categories

Please indicate your willingness/likelihood of attending the event. We expect the cost of attendance to run in the neighborhood of $165-195/pilot with no distinction between flying and non-flying pilots. All paying pilots (and their guests, who would cost less if they wish to attend the banquet and pizza party) are entitled to fly and have access to the flight line and pilot lounge.

This poll will help me decide whether or not to host the event. HeliStorm™ became the largest scale helicopter event in the world in its inaugural year. We can either keep that going or punt! (After you vote, please share this poll with anyone you think might want to attend).

What do you think?

HeliStorm™ is pleased to partner with renown designer, Mirco Pecorari of Aircraft Studio Design. Founded in 1989, AircraftStudioDesign has been creating unique and custom liveries for aircraft for over 30 years. But their expertise goes beyond that. Over time, they have expanded into liveries for cars and boats, as well as concept design for aircraft and luxury objects. They collaborate with some of the most renowned companies in the industry, such as Rolls-Royce, EXTRA, and Red Bull, alongside an exclusive clientele.

Mirco is a member of the HeliStorm™ Industry Board of Advisors and will be contributing design services to the event. Stay tuned for some really cool announcements.

The dates are now OFFICIAL! HeliStorm 2026 will begin on Wednesday, September 2nd and end on Sunday, September 6th (the following Monday is Labor Day). We will have more information but I can tell you:
- We are coordinating with the museum to bring in at least 4 busloads of students on each weekday of the event.
- Our new layout will feature three big flight areas and a dedicated CENTER STAGE area with vendors and spectators situated dead center on the main flight box. (see the map)
- We will have up to 20 full scale industry members inside a dedicated recruiting tent
- We will have a "Flight School" tent for students
- We will have a pilot lounge for pilots just like last year with seminars and hands-on learning
- Great food
- Much more...

This past weekend the Edgewood Flyers hosted its annual scale event. We had 14 registered pilots with 25+ aircraft of all sizes. Friday was very windy and a few braved the gusting wind to get in a few flights. Saturday brought some light showers to the area followed by some fog and clouds but cleared up to be a perfect flying day by 1100 or so. Lunch was burgers and dogs and local member "Ozzie" treated us with his famous baked beans with bacon and a side of bacon and his also famous beer steamed hot dogs. I think most wanted to catch a nap after the big lunch however did not to take advantage of the perfect weather. If you are local to Long Island this is a great event. The is the best heli flying site on LI. The event is held around the same time every year.

Here are some photos from the event.

Hope to see you next year.

B

Several of the North Eastern Scale pilots got together this past weekend for the Annual Joe Howard Memorial Scale Fun Fly at the NEHC site in Foxboro MA for some scale flying. We had 8 to 10 pilots enjoying the best weather we have seen this year on Friday. Saturday brought some morning showers however the showers stopped just after lunch. Still cloudy but overall conditions were great to pick up where we left off Friday evening. I personally got in 16 flights total , 7 each on my VH-92A Patriot and S-67 Blackhawk, but only 2 flights on my RAH-66. It had a little shake I was not comfortable flying with until checked out.

Rich brought his 2.5m 407 and got in maybe 8 or 9 flight for the weekend. This thing is flying great and makes a very big presents in the air for sure. Wally had is latest project on hand, a Len Mount Lynx he purchase about a year ago. The Lynx is coming together very nicely. Joel as always was getting in several flight with his turbine Lama and banging around with his K-Max.

We have to thank Joel for hosting this event each year. It's very laid back and comfortable event where we fly each day until 7 or 8 pm. Joel cooks up burgers and dogs for lunch each day with either ordering food in for diner or we all head off to a local place for a relaxing diner.

I am sure there was a good time had by all and look forward to this event each year. If you are local to the area, or even not, this is an event you should try and attend.

The next North East Scale event is 27-28 June on Long Island at the Edgewood Flyers field. If you would like more info it is posted in the event section on HS or message me.

Here are a few vids and photos from the weekend.

Thanks for dropping by,

B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK3YrRGh_Xo&t=14s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUQyRsVN3qk&t=41s

Here's the food situation for HeliStorm:

Thursday: Complimentary beverages and light snacks in the Airbus Pilot Lounge. You can also grab hot meals by going inside the museum and walking upstairs to their full cafeteria. No cost to get into the museum.

Friday & Saturday: 4-5 food trucks onsite plus everything from Thursday.

Sunday: Just the museum cafeteria.

REMINDERS:

Flying Pilots: Using your mobile phone, point your browser to RCLiveScore.com and enter your models. You need to have at least one of your models entered to fly. It is not difficult but if you have any questions, post them on HeliStorm.com (the Community site).

All Pilots: Gates open Thursday at 7:30AM. There is only one entrance off of Bong St. A HeliStorm security person will stop you, give you a hanging tag for your vehicle and direct you to the appropriate parking area. Every pilot will get a pit map that shows each pilot's location.

Parking: Flying pilots will be able to park directly behind their pit area. Your space will have a name marker on it. The spaces behind your pit area are 12' wide by 75' long so unless you are bringing a cargo ship, you should be good.

If you haven't signed up to attend the world's largest and most epic scale helicopter event, you have until May 7th to reserve your slot (at )!

Flying and non-flying pilots will, among other things, enjoy a private Saturday-evening, catered dinner beneath and beside the wings and rotors of 50 aircraft from the Korean and SE Asian conflicts. Looming large among all of these is a B-52 Stratofortress. Following the dinner and awards, registered non-flying and flying pilots will be free to traverse the exhibits of the world's largest military museum. Jaw-dropping exhibits start with the Wright Brothers and end in space.

Exhibiting at the event will be your favorite RC companies along with Airbus, Leonardo Helicopters, Bell Textron and GE Aerospace. (See https://press.helistorm.org). We expect 90 pilots, 200+ scale helicopters, and 10,000 attendees. The program is packed with activities, including workshops, Pilot Poker, competitions, a continuous live auction, live "favorite" voting, free pizza party, the air-conditioned Airbus Pilot Lounge and much more.

To see the entire schedule, go here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14YkYI7yg_t2jtPp3PANNgmwIgYNmXclp/v...

Head of Communications & Public Relations for Airbus in North America, Courtney Woo, will be at HeliStorm™ 2025 to meet with students and anyone else interested in a career at Airbus!

We have nearly 90 pilots, 200 aircraft, 25 exhibitors, 60K in auction merchandise, 8 workshops, 4 competition categories and ONE fantastic time for pilots of all skill levels.

Flying and Non-Flying Pilot Registration for HeliStorm™ 2025 CLOSES on May 7th so get over to HeliStorm.org to reserve your slot. There will be no last-minute or walk-up registration.

For those attending HeliStorm, we updated our flight box configuration. There are two main flight areas and a hover-only area. Flying is STRICTLY PROHIBITED outside of these areas regardless of the size of aircraft unless expressly permitted by the Contest Director. At two designated times during the event, we will connect the two flight areas to enable “Spotlight Flights.” The Leonardo Flight Area will permit an optional two-pilot configuration for any flight slot where the pilots both agree to fly in that configuration. Otherwise, we will default to a one-pilot/flight area at a time protocol.

A couple of pilots were worried about the size of the flight areas so we increased the width of each of the main areas by 100 feet to 700! That's 233 yards by 133 yards. It's two football fields wide. Every pilot should be able to safely fly in that area. In addition, there is a 75-foot buffer between areas. 😁 If you need power, be sure to bring your solar panels and generators. The front grounds do not have outlets and our generators will be powering the Pilot Lounge, Announcer area and sound system.

Register for HeliStorm 2025 NOW. Prices increase March 1. NO WALK-UP REGISTRATION. This is not your ordinary fun fly! On the front grounds of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, this is the largest scale event in North America. Workshops, 60K in auction items, after-hours banquet and tour inside the world's largest military museum, competition, free food and thousands of spectators! Whether you are just starting out or a grizzled veteran, you'll want to be there to meet the best and fly with the rest. More information at www.helistorm.org.
Check out the Huey here:

We are gearing up for the STORM! This is just some of the fun stuff pre-registered pilots will receive when checking in at the event along with Pilot Poker prizes and the chance to bid at silent auction on some incredible RTF models like Vario Chinook pictured here. The pilot shirts are getting embroidered as we speak and pilots who register early enough can get their names on their HeliStorm shirts!

Even our safety volunteers will be properly ensconced in a bright HeliStorm vest!

Prices are going up in March so get your registration completed now before all of the good pilot pit spaces are taken!

Relaxed but competitive! HeliStorm 2025 will feature 4 different flight skills competitions. You have plenty of time to practice. Our judges are retired full scale pilots who will rank contestants based on precision, scale speed, scale maneuvers and overall realism.

Whether you are flying or non-flying pilot, register NOW to reserve your pit space and ticketed access to the private museum tour, banquet, air-conditioned pilot lounge, workshops and other activities. HeliStorm.org.

We are still 8 months and change from HeliStorm 2025, but we already have $7,500 in product contributed by sponsors for us to auction at great prices to pilots who attend. We are just getting started. We will have RTF electric and turbine helicopters up for auction with a combined value in excess of $30,000. We are not fooling around! HeliStorm 2025 will be a standalone event that you will not want to miss! Register now at

OK boys, here is the layout for the event! Every registered pilot gets a 10x20 space (which you reserve when registering, so if you want a good one, get registered). There is room behind the tent to park your vehicle and KEEP IT THERE if you want.

To see a LIVE map of who is placed where, visit:

There are other posts in the HeliStorm 2025 topic which address details around this, but the map will help understand the venue better.

Many pilots have asked how HeliStorm 2025 will be vastly different from any other RC event in the world. Here are some points:

The purpose of the event is GROW the entire RC hobby using scale helicopters and pilots as the stars of the show.

Using scale helicopters as the attractant, we will have full scale aviation participants and students.

The students attract full scale manufacturers and operators looking for the next generation of A&P's, pilots and engineers.

The school scholarships and helicopters attract the students, faculty and administration staff of STEM schools in the Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati regions (likely some from eastern Indiana and northern Kentucky as well).

The entire group of participants attracts the media and general public to raise awareness of model and full scale aviation.

Nothing like this has been executed in North America (or event Europe). The National Aeronautics Association president, Amy Spowart, is on our planning committee and is fully committed to supporting what she sees as a very valuable event to the aviation industry. There are 46 board members of the NAA and they include top executives from the largest players in the aviation space (e.g. Airbus, Sikorsky, Bell, Leonardo, etc.).

Pilots will be treated like royalty. Our pilot package, pilot lounge, private museum tour and banquet, awards, workshops and venue will all combine to create an RC-centric event like no other. Make no mistake, hosting this event will cost me north of 25K when it's all said and done. I'm fine with this because I envision the event becoming an annual affair that takes place at different locations throughout the United States. I'm looking at the big picture. When we have all taken our leave of this planet, what will the hobby look like? What we do today will answer that question. I will look back on this event and know that I did what I could to advance not only the hobby, but possibly the futures of kids and educators who might have never otherwise been exposed to what we know is a lifelong passion that teaches us problem solving, engineering, electronics, programming, aerodynamics and mechanics on the daily.

I truly appreciate the support of our community and hope that flying and non-flying pilots, alike, can participate. On that note, we will not be charging for spouses or family members (or friends, for that matter) to attend. If pilots wish to purchase extra banquet tickets or pizza party tickets for their guests, they can do that if they want.

If you would like to see the pilot package, workshops, special guests and more, visit . From there, clicking the REGISTER button will lead you to pricing, etc.

Pilots, here is the revised flight line based on feedback from pilots.

- 10x20 spaces are now STANDARD with pilot registration
- We reduced pricing on extra spaces
- You can bring your spouse or your whole family if you want. You only pay if you want pilot privileges or if you want to purchase extra pizza party or banquet tickets. Otherwise, fill your tent!
- See the map below for a flight line layout. A live version of the map is at the link below.
- To see all pricing and pilot benefits visit

This marks the 24th year of the Southern Scale Challenge. The past few years the event has been held in Hindsville GA just out side of Savana. This is the first year Ro and I have attended at the Heath- Green Flying Ranch. I will say, this is the most AMAZING flying site we have ever had to pleasure to enjoy. A HUGE flying area, showers, real restrooms, large clubhouse with a full kitchen all with AC comfort. If you are a scale pilot this is the place to fly.

The first few days have been a bit on the windy side. There has also been a threat of rain towards the end of the week but fortunately the weatherman has been about 65% wrong. Even with the stiff breeze several pilots have gotten in some great flights. The weather is looking better over the next few days for the “later in the week attendees” so looking forward to some great flying.

Last night was Mexican night. Our group of roughly 15 pilots and wives went to the Rodeo House for a great Mexican feast. There we broke bread and enjoyed some wonderful adult beverages. This was a very special evening. The was a a little side wager between Darrell, Mark and Donnie on completing some projects. The bet was the loser would have to wear a T Shirt saying what ever the winner felt it should say.

The deal was set, the person who was on the short end of the bet was Crowned last evening and required to wear their special attire.

Attached are some photos and a short video of the of the “T-Shirt”

Thanks for dropping by,

Enjoy,

B

Here are a few questions we have received:

MENU FOR THE BANQUET
-- We are still working on this but have a question in the registration form that allows you to give your top 2 preferences!

AMENITIES OF THE PILOT LOUNGE
--We expect to have a 30ft x 90ft enclosed tent with air conditioning, classroom style seating to accommodate workshops that will happen throughout Friday and Saturday. We will have complimentary beverages and snacks in the tent as well.

WILL THERE BE A DISCOUNT FOR RENTING 3 OR MORE AREAS
--That is unclear because one person taking more area will displace other pilots. I am open to rebates here.

WHERE CAN WE PUT OUR GENERATORS?
-- We permit parking behind your tent so there is no issue having your generator there other than fumes. If you don't have an electric one yet, maybe consider it!

WHAT IS THE DRESS CODE FOR THE BANQUET?
--Black tie! (kidding). Casual is fine. We will give you time to return to your hotel to clean up but otherwise, it's the weekend, so we want to keep it relaxed.

I HEARD THERE IS KEROSENE DELIVERY, IS THAT TRUE!
--YUP! On the registration form, you can order 2.5 gallon jugs of K-1 and we will deliver them to your tent on Thursday by 1pm!
5 dress code for banquet?