Well, I've finally recovered enough to give a report on the Hoosier Dawn Patrol in Muncie.  

First, let me say that it was worth every bit of the 1,365-mile round trip.  We had over 30 pilots with 60+ airplanes.  There were folks from Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana (and possibly other states as well, I'm not sure), not to mention some very interesting fellows from Great Britain.

Weather was good.  I heard it was a bit windy on Friday, but it had died down by the time I got there.  Despite it being August, it got down to the low 50s on Friday night, and we were wearing jackets in the mornings until about 10:00am.  (It did that last year, too.)  Highs were in the mid 80s.  Winds Sat. and Sunday light and variable, with scattered showers towards noon on Sunday.  All in all, much better weather than they had in the northern part of Indiana. 

I flew my Taube at dawn Saturday, and got several good flights in on it during the day.  I also finally did a takeoff-to-landing solo flight with the SE5a, including a respectable landing.  Both planes flew well enough to make me look like I knew what I was doing.  (The planes deserve all the credit!)

I also flew my small foamies, which performed well.  (The DeHavilland D.H.2 was of particular interest to those attending.)  Several guys flew the small electric SE5a and Fokker D.VII that Great Planes offers, and they flew great. 

The large-scale planes were also well represented.  There were about 8 of the 1/3-scale planes (10 or 11, if you count projects), with about 7 flying together in the "Reviews of the Threes" on Saturday.  (Including Billy Thompson's 1/3-scale Sopwith Pup, which won the NATS in Sport Scale again this year - two in a row!)  "Top Gun" icon Dave Johnson had his new scale competition plane there, too - a 1/3-scale Albatross D.Va that will soon be a new kit from Balsas USA. Very impressive plane.

Speaking of Balsas USA, I got to fly the prototype 1/3-scale Nieuport 17.  What a sweet flying plane!  We all passed the transmitter around, and had a blast.  The only problem with it was that the Fuji engine was giving fits, which kept it grounded for some of the weekend.

I also got to fly the BUSA prototype 1/4-scale Spad 13.  It goes right where you point it, solid as a rock.  They had a smaller engine on it, but it would be a great match for a G-38.

BUSA is also going to start introducing their lineup in 1/6-scale, designed for either electric or glow.  They had the prototype 1/6-scale Sopwith Pup there, and though radio problems prevented it flying, it looks like a winner.  They are already boxing up the first production run of 250, which are already sold out!  Next will be the Nieuport 17, followed by the others in their WW1 line.  Should be great sellers for them, if the interest shown at Muncie is any indication.

There were only three crashes that I'm aware of: 

On Friday, J.D. "Happy" Concoby of Pea Ridge, Arkansas had a wing strut fail on his 1/4-scale Nieuport 24bis, leading to an inverted near-vertical dive.  The plane was totaled.  (Considering that Happy's motto is, "Fly it like you stole it!", it was just a matter of time before this happened!)

Saturday evening, Steve Percifield and Matt Kemp were mock-dog-fighting their little electric Great Planes SE5a and Fokker D.VII when they had a mid-air collision.  The SE5a was a write-off; the Fokker will fly again. 

Joe Hansen of Wyncote, PA had a lower wing fold on his 1/3 scale Sopwith Pup on Sunday, the victim of slack tension in the flying and landing wires.  The plane looked rebuildable, though he will probably replace it with a new one.

I managed to come home with my airplanes in the same number of pieces as they were in when I left, so I guess I wasn't trying hard enough!

Sure had a great time, though.

Dean D.