>>Always keep your
eyes on the airplane.

>>Okay.

>>We wanna keep the
airplane in front of us.

We never wanna let
it get behind us.

>>Okay.

>>Joe will take over
if we get it that way.

But that's a big no-no.

Spinning propellers
can do a lot of damage.

>>Today we're going to explore
a hobby that's not only fun,

but also teaches you
about aerodynamics,

wind and weather, electronics,
robotics and more.

Join us as we visit the
Rivanna Radio Control Club.

Come on.

>>We wanna be entertained.

>>How entertained?

(laughs)

>>Heyward, who
can join the club?

>>Anyone who's willing
to follow the rules

and be safe like you did today.

>>And be safe, so
talk about the rules

and the importance of
these rules in flying.

>>Well, we don't
wanna hurt anybody,

yeah, or anybody's property.

And we're very
careful about that.

You're aware of all
kinds of things going on

around the world, and
people flying models

in places they shouldn't.

That's not us.
>>No.

>>We have a very stern and
complete set of rules nationally

with the Academy of
Model Aeronautics,

and with our cub
members as well,

that govern safety
and sound, emissions,

and things like that.

We're not allowed to
fly over other people.

We're not allowed to fly
more than a certain distance

or out of sight.

We're very careful about that.

We have patterns that we fly
so you know where to look

in the sky and we
check people out.

>>Yeah, and you fly
at Milton Field.

Talk about Milton Field.

>>Milton Field is a treasure.

It was part of Mr. Jefferson's
plantation at Monticello.

At one time he did some
wonderful experiments

in water-powered sawmills and
things there on that property.

It was used as a farm
all the way until 1939.

The University of
Virginia bought it,

and they started
a flying school,

which was taken over by
the Navy and the Army.

And they did a lot
of training of pilots

for World War II there.

And I flew full size
in there until '69.

>>Oh wow.

>>And in '72, the club has,
the model aviation club Rivanna

has maintained and
run the field since.

And the University
still owns it,

and they're very cooperative

and we have a good
relationship with them.

We actually help sometimes
some of their people out there,

they use it for
aeronautical engineering.

The SALT II treaty
air sensors out there.

All kinds of things go
on, more and more now,

of the University-related
things.

It's a great
relationship we have

with the University
at this point.

>>So we're here today
with Hoos Flying,

the RC plane club at UVA, to
observe some of the planes,

see what the construction's
like so we can get tips

on constructing our own plane.

And then also get some of our
members exposed to how to fly

'cause right now we
don't have a pilot.

>>Hopefully it turns out
better than last year,

we ended in a crash.

But, (mumbles) this year.

>>Last year we did
crash our plane

right before competition,
so we didn't get to go.

So this is kind of like
a redemption year for us.

>>Control and focus is the
most important part of flying.

I lost my first apprentice,
lost control and it flew off

out of sight and never
to be seen again.

>>Actually, I've never
flown the planes.

It was a very difficult
skill for me to learn.

So I ended up going the
drone route because for me

it's much easier for me to fly,

and I have more fun doing it.

My son is the airplane pilot,
so I let him do all that.

>>Talk about the benefits

of being a member of this club.

>>It's what I do to
have a balance in life,

so I can be together with
friends with a common idea

of things we enjoy
and be outside,

have the use of Milton Field.

We teach each other,
we learn things.

>>The youngest club
member is about how old,

12 or 14?

>>Probably 12.

>>And the oldest is
probably how old?

>>We have several in the 90s.

They are not necessarily active,

but they're still on the rolls.

It's a great retirement hobby.

And as I say, it gives
you a way to get outside

with a bunch of friends.

>>Yeah.

>>All the things that
make airplanes fly

are how the world
works, it's physics.

>>And what's great, I think,
is that you don't have to know

any of this to become a member.

You don't have to
know how to fly.

You all teach
members how to fly.

>>We will provide an instructor,

we will provide a
training aircraft.

There is no cost to that.

You must join the Academy
of Model Aeronautics

'cause that's where our
umbrella insurance comes from.

>>Right.

>>And you must
eventually join the club,

but you don't even
have to do that

in order to go out and fly,

as you found out
out this morning.

>>Yeah.

>>There's also a kind
of important thing is,

these planes of mine
that you're seeing here,

are kind of unusual.

You don't have to be
this deep in the hobby.

You can get into it
as deeply as you want.

You can go buy a plane off
the shelf like this one.

You can buy this off
the shelf and fly it

as soon as you've
charged the battery.

Or you can spend quite a long
time doing what I do over here

which is to actually design
planes and make the original

drawings and actually
build directly on the plan.

>>And what about the weather?

Seems like perfect
weather to me.

>>Doesn't get better than this.

Very little wind,

the windsock over there
is hanging, drooping.

It's from the right
direction that we like.

Clear sky.

>>Instead of just
the controller,

you actually have a physical
object that you not only

need to learn how to carefully
use, but take care of,

maintenance, and
really just make sure

that you know how to
operate it carefully.

>>If you're going on a hike,

and you're standing
at the edge of a cliff

and you're looking
out into the valley,

well you can take
a drone with you

and fly it out in front of you,

and you get a view of you
standing on the edge the cliff

that you could
never get otherwise

if you didn't have it with you.

So it allows you to see
different perspective

of what you're seeing around
you at any given time,

so it's pretty cool.

>>It was the best experience
here today, flying a plane.

Sort of my first time.

It was just fun
being in the air.

It was amazing today.

>>Aside from a plane, what
else do you need to fly?

>>I see what you're
talking about.

You need a radio system.

And radio systems can
be fancy or simple.

I have radio systems here that
probably cost 30-some bucks.

>>And they run on batteries?

>>They do.

This is a very
recent innovation.

And this one is capable
of flying 250 planes.

>>And it will play music.

You can program.

>>It will.

(laughing)

Whether we really
wanna do that or not.

>>It will play the
Eagles. (laughing)

>>It will play the Eagles
or anything you want it to.

I can demonstrate if you--

>>Oh, that'd be great.

>>This is a Fairey Fulmar,
1940, fleet defense fighter.

I designed right
there on that table.

The fuselage is
completely scale.

And this is the aileron
that makes it bank.

That was bank right,
that bank left.

This is nose up, nose down.

And the rudder, which is
to contract adverse yaw.

So these all are exactly the
way a full sized plane flies.

This is a real plane.

It just doesn't
have a person on it.

>>Oh, my goodness.

>>I'm gonna reach
over and turn that off

just for safety reasons.

>>So you've been
fascinated with planes.

(laughing)

>>It's safety first.

>>You've been fascinated with
planes since you were young,

and so just tell us really
quickly about a handful

of the planes that you've
designed from scratch.

We've talked about
that, what is this?

>>This is a Caribou.

It was a plane that was
ordered by the US Army,

designed by de
Havilland in Canada

and it was deployed to Vietnam.

Each of my planes is
a specific airplane.

>>Right, and you
have another one,

you have another one
that's almost like a,

it's almost like a museum piece.

Describe that one.

>>That's a S.E.5a,

it's the frontline fighter
for the RAF in 1919,

at the end of the World War I.

That's one of my best efforts.

>>Yeah, it's gorgeous.

And then you have another plane

that's a duplicate of a plane
that you used to own and fly.

>>I have a number of those,
there's one especially,

it's a third scale in the
other room, that's a J-3 Cub.

That's a one-third scale
of one I used to fly

into Milton Field
back in the day.

>>Just keep your
eye on the airplane.

If you see the nose dropping
and the airplane going down,

just pull the nose
back up a little bit.

>>Pull the nose back.

>>So it's pull and push.

>>Pull and push, okay.

>>If you want to
turn to the left,

just move the stick to
the left a little bit.

>>Okay.

>>Okay, now watch it.

If you hold it to
the left long enough,

it'll just keep rolling
and rolling and rolling.

So when it's rolled enough
of you making a gentle turn,

just let it come back.

>>I think that it's really
great for people young and old

to come out here to learn,
and to show off a little bit.

>>Being able to fly in
all this space in the air

is kind of freeing.

>>Our plane is normally
like a 14-foot wingspan.

This year we're trying to carry
about 50 pounds of payload,

so to me it's just
interesting that you can

engineer planes and then
design them in a way

where you can get
50 pounds of weight

to kind of soar through the sky,

and move and be aerodynamic.

>>I'm rebuilding a
plane for a friend,

and this is the motor
that came off it.

It's never been flown, actually.

I haven't used this.

This is an internal
combustion motor.

It's one of those loud things

that people sometimes
complain about with our hobby.

>>Right.

>>This plane is 90-inch
wingspan, and it's a Cub.

I'm removing this and
replacing it with this.

That is the equivalent
power, but it's,

other than a little (pounding)
sound of the propeller

going through the air, it's
almost entirely silent.

>>Right, so this electric,

and this where a lot of
radio control club members

are going these days,
most people, right?

>>95 or more percent of
our flights this summer

have been with electric power.

Which basically I brought
to this club 14 years ago.

>>Wow.

>>I worked with electric
flight in retirement

with a company to develop
this kind of thing.

And so, that's where all
this stuff came from.

>>And every year in the fall,
you all have an annual event.

>>The Don Reed.

>>Yes, and people
come, members come,

members from other clubs come.

>>Neighbors come.

>>Neighbors come,
the community comes.

Describe that
scene and describe,

the variety of planes you're
gonna have something like this,

but then you're gonna
have some of these

little teeny just basic planes.

>>Absolutely, so you'll see

the multirotors flying.

You'll see helicopters flying.

You'll see a lot of fixed wing.

You'll see a lot of people.

It's a nice event, and a
nice outing for people.

Of course, anybody in the
community is welcome to come.

>>Oh, this is great.

Heyward, thank you so much.

>>It's a lot of fun. (laughs)

>>You may not have the
money to fly a real plane

or the experience, but you
can still get some of these

little models and really
take to the skies.

And I think it's
really entertaining.

>>It just feels amazing,
'cause you're looking up,

you're standing in weather and
it's really nice out today.

It's fun flying a plane.

>>I'm goin' up, oh, oh, oh.

Come back down, oh, oh.

You guys, where's it going?

>>Wherever you want it to.

>>Ah, I don't know
where I'm goin'.

I'm going in circles.

This is very like me. (laughs)

>>Roll to the left, roll left.

>>Hey, hey, hey,
I'm doing flips.

I'm gonna need a little
more time with this.

>>That was perfect.

>>Really, you liked
those flips did you?

(jazz music)