PGRC Open House

Photos and text by Dave Deacon Annual Open House gathering at Prince George's Radio Control Club Online exclusive text, videos, and photos.

On May 11, Prince George’s Radio Control Club (PGRC) held their annual Open House Fly-In, in spite of threatening weather. The 49 year old club sits on a huge plot provided by the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) and sports a 40 X 400 ft paved runway, a 100 X 800 grass strip, and a four bedroom house as their club house. PGRC supports pylon racing and IMAC as well as many other special events. The club has a team of designated trainers that meet every Tuesday and offer training to upcoming RC pilots, keeping a fresh supply of new pilots adding to the ever increasing membership. President of the club, Alan Goodman, keeps a good line of communication open with county officials and strengthens the bond between the two entities. The club has maintained the club house, also owned by Parks and Planning, by the addition of a new roof, well system and any other maintenance needs that arise. All this adds up to a win/win situation for the club as well as Parks and Planning.

Steve Baker handles emcee duties.

A view of the flightline.

Basil Roper prepares his Eurofighter gas turbine with assistance by Alwin Alleyne, Stephan (Will) Williams, and Harold Thompson.

Basil Roper makes as smoke-on pass with his F-18.

The day started off with light drizzle with a 90% chance of rain in the forecast, so club officers decided to meet in the morning to make the tough call as to whether or not to give the event a green light. It was agreed to go for it and hope for the best, which turned out to be a good call. The drizzle subsided, and as the morning proceeded, fliers and spectators began to filter in and the rain never came. Charlie Gettier was the contest director, and while Steve Baker wasn't handling emcee duties he dropped some jaws with high speed passes with his Q-40 Vendetta pylon racer. Spectators as well as fliers who had never seen a Q-40 were amazed as he made high speed passes near ground level. Basil Roper put on a spectacular display of speed with two of his turbine powered jets, a Eurofighter and a F-14. The F-14 is equipped with a smoke system and is always sure to please anyone who is present with the smell of kerosene and the deep resonance of his turbines screaming by. A healthy dose of food was provided by Ken Thompson and his team of cooks. The grills were fired up by late morning and kept the supply coming well into the afternoon and no one to leave without a full belly.

Bob Gensler's scratch-built Elipto Sport finds an early grave.

Mark Kitka's impressive T-2 Buckeye, scratch built.

Mark Kitka helps bring back the remains of Stephan (Will) William's EDF Jet.

Mark Kitka flew his T-28 and displayed a nearly complete model of a T-2 Buckeye he's been working on for the past nine months. Mark ‘s building skills are evident in the 70mm EDFpowered model, which represents his first attempt at scratch building. Mark was a Navy pilot and eventually worked his way to an air boss overseeing all operations on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. He now enjoys his retirement by building and flying models. Another scratch-built model, called the Elipto Sport by designer and builder Bob Gensler, met an untimely demise when it took a plunge to earth due to a suspected lost battery connection.

Rick Moreland's giant Stearman readies for another flight.

Kevyn Myer displays his 3D skills.

Despite the chance of rain, pilots arrived ready for flight.

Bradley Williams demonstrates operation of a hand-launched glider to a young spectator.

A potential future heli pilot shows interest in Adam Worden's fleet.

Bob's impressive Elipto was a prototype and was the result of many hours spent on AutoCad and in the workshop. Bob took it all in stride though as he's currently working on a 50CC version of the model. Kevyn Meyer sported his well developed 3D skills with numerous displays of every maneuver you can imagine. Kevyn flies a Pilot 50cc extra 260. A fleet of trainers was present to take anyone who desired to try their hand at RC flight. The result was a lot of smiles and quite a few people interested in getting into the hobby. I never cease to be amazed at how well some are able to fly with no experience. All in all, it was an enjoyable day for PGRC and all the spectators who attended. The club looks forward to its 23rd Annual Open House next year.