Weirdest place You have flown a plane..

[PJ Rowland]

Another thread about flying at local parks with baseballs' flying everywhere, got me thinking..

Other than the L-pad and other designated flying fields that we are acustom to, what is the WEIRDEST place you have flown your model?


I once had a flight off the road in outback australia on the home from a nationals. It was flat deserted and I took off from the road.

I saw someone fly on a "field" that was covered in Ice............

Anymore?

Id like to fly off a cliff face and do manouvers WELL below 5ft.

[jim gilmore]

I've seen people fly on "El mirage " lake bed.

[Tim Wescott]

In a cul de sac in front of the house of a friend of my cousin's, demonstrating 1/2-A flying (and dizziness -- I had to really shorten the lines).  I think for the finale I crashed.

[PerttiMe]

"field" that was covered in Ice............

That would be unusual. A lake covered in ice, on the other hand....

I don't think I've flown C/L off ice but in winter it is the normal thing for R/C and Free Flight.

[PJ Rowland]

It was most likely a lake..... Hence the reason I used inverted comma's under "Field" to indicate loosely what it was being used for.

[Steve Helmick]

I once flew a CL .15 sized stunter off a tree pruning tower (on wheels) that was carelessly left in right field of the WSC baseball field in Pullman, Washington. Outsides from level flight were possible.

Local lore is that Jeff Rein once flew a combat model off the railroad trestle adjacent to Hwy. 405 in Bellevue, WA. This particular trestle is said to be among the top 10 wooden railroad trestles in the USA. It's high. Jeff did "wingunders". I wish I'd seen it. I think that rail line is shutdown now, so it might be easier to do.  Steve

[PerttiMe]

It was most likely a lake.....

I thought it might be...
... but the Devil in me made me reply like that 

I thought this was strange:

[ash]

I re-learned to fly in the bottom of an abandoned quarry. Crashing was not recommended as the hard, rocky surface would have made a mess of my OS10FSR.

There's a big hill here that I'd like to fly on top of. Or fly from a hotel window 20 floors up

Or a bridge where you can fly under!

[Dwayne]

There was a story in FM years ago about two guys who flew across from the White House...lol 

[ash]

I've heard that flying on the deck of the USS Hornet was a regular fixture some time ago. And then there's the Disneyland thing.

Both high on the cool-factor list.

A combat flier from somewhere in Southern NZ flew his model while stationed at Scott base in Antarctica a few years ago.

[Michael Boucher]

Its a tie. Flying a Carl Goldberg Little Satan in a farmer's field in Co. Kerry, Ireland. That plane was suitcased all the way from New York. The other was a Banshee flown inside Hangar 19 at JFK. A 747 was pushed out to make room for that flying session. 

[john e. holliday]

How many can lay claim to having to close the gate to the barn yard to keep the cows out so you can fly in the barn yard next to the barn.   The cows did make a good audience.   Also got perfect scores from them.

[Randy Powell]

It's a tie. First is the field we used to fly on. It was on a hillside and only had half a circle. The rest of the flying "circle" was off the edge of the cliff.

The second was the one time we flew in the middle of the winter in the Minidome indoor stadium at Idaho State University. Now that was odd. -30F outside, 70F inside, dead calm and at about 11pm at night. Weirdest feeling flying I've ever had.

[Dave Adamisin]

Basement.... Cox .020 powered. 6 ft lines, please quit.......

[Bob Reeves]

Attic, tethered Cox 020 on a minature VooDo and a Skylark in a mall parking lot between the lights at night.

[Randy Powell]

Ty,

But I flew an OS 40 FSR powered plane on 62 foot line (longest I could go without hitting the stands). Man, that thing was loud in there. And it cleared the ceiling.

[Hoss Cain]

Way back in my younger days when I was a serious CL flier, I also spent several years in the USAF Strategic Air Command's B-47. At the time I pulled Alert duties in Spain and Morocco plus on home base, Hunter AFB, Savannah Ga. While most of each day there was ground school and briefings, but after 5PM we had a break. I had figured out that we never got any practice "Alerts" during HAPPY HOUR time in SAC headquarters, Omaha Nebraska.    So I, many times, went out and flew Stunters on the grass area between two rows of Alert B-47s, all loaded with thermonukes. 
Almost each time, the Colonel would drop by and ask me what I would do if the Alert Horn blew. I always said I would dive it straight into the ground, and be first to my B-47 airplane. He would smile and say he was just confirming my plan. That was where I really learned to fly decent AMA Rule Stunt patterns.

When overseas, the planes were a bit away from our quarters, so I had to fly wherever I could find a spot close to the truck. I usually managed to do so, but now and then some Major or above would come out and say, "Lt. STOP THAT DXX NOISE." I replied "Yes Sir" and rolled up the lines for that day.   

[Tim Wescott]

When overseas, the planes were a bit away from our quarters, so I had to fly wherever I could find a spot close to the truck. I usually managed to do so, but now and then some Major or above would come out and say, "Lt. STOP THAT DXX NOISE." I replied "Yes Sir" and rolled up the lines for that day.   

If only they'd had electrics!

[Will Hinton]

When I was first learning to fly on a 1/2A was the weirdest - a field across the road from my friend's farm house and the hillside was so steep I had a hard time staying put!  Each lap was a miniature wing over just to miss the road!  The bottoms could almost a wing under.    (Yes, as a matter of fact, I AM a hillbilly!  & proud of it!)

[Fred Cronenwett]

While the NW regionals was held at the Roseburg, Oregon airport we had the float pond dug into the ground, so we had 1/2 lap of water and then a 1/2 lap of grass. We then had floats on the models and then took and landed on the water.

Very interesting....

Land softly,
Fred Cronenwett

[John Stiles]

Kmart Parking lot in Hot Springs! Flew around a lightpole!

[Randy Powell]

I remember the float plane setup at Roseburg. That was pretty cool.

[Joe Just]

Probably the strangest place I ever flew a CL ship was in a compound behind the kitchen area at the Walla Walla State Prison. For several years I was the "Outside" counselor for the 'CLIPPED WINGS MODEL CLUB"  Too many memories about that place to pass on here, but one time I a hit a seagull at the top of an otherwise well flown wingover.  Blood,guts and feathers galore. The plane broke away from my hand and landed near one of the walls.  While retrieving it I was informed by one of the guards in a watch tower to move slowly to get the plane and return at once to the flying area.  As he was fully armed with an impressive weapon I hastily obliged.

Joe Just

[Glenn (Gravitywell) Reach]

On a dare I flew off the side of an abandoned train bridge (trestle?).  I did it cause it was a dare and I wanted to see what a real loop felt like.  It was a lot of fun, but the train police came by and told us to stop or be arrested.  We decided it was supper time!

[Elwyn Aud]

If the story I heard was accurate, Larry Scarinzi once flew a small plane from the window of a hotel room. I did fly inside the IPE building in Tulsa once. I was at a Scout-o-rama in the early 70's and one scout troop was flying 1/2a's so I brought out my plane and put up a flight or two. I remember we were flying on the upper level and the ceiling height wasn't too great. One scout did a wing-over right into a support beam.

[Phil Coopy]

Not wierd, but I flew on the flight deck of the Saratoga when I was in the Navy.

Phil

[PJ Rowland]

I flew on a baseball field a full size stunter .61 at about 11:30pm when everyone had gone home but left the huge flood lights on. it was amazing. It was cool.... so the air was damp and the smoke from the exhaust and reflecting off the lights made the BIGGEST smoke plum I've ever seen. it was cold and still so the smoke stayed, even during the Hoz 8's.

Very impressive - makes me wish we could organize a night comp.

[Jerry Leuty]

While serving in Vietnam in 1968 I came upon a hobby shop in Saigon at the air force base and another at Bien Hoa
Air Force base. They were small and did not have much for C/L but could get most anything in time. I purchased a OS Max .35-S and a Max Mk. 111 for $10 each. Very cheap even for 1968 prices. Fox .35s were going for $18 back then. I wore the 'S' model out and the Mk. 111 never ran right and was given away for scrap parts. I had my wife send me a Ring Master kit and my old Fox .29, a set of flying lines, fuel, battery, and etc. I told her to write "Cookies' on top of the box and the mail service would never question it. Later in the year I sold all the remaining stuff to a army buddy from Big Rapids, Michigan. We use to fly on a helicopter pad when the chopper was gone. It was oiled down and very hard. A few of the men in our hooch became interested in flying too. I shipped my new OS engines home and vowed to see them again. I did and like I said in the 70s I wore the 'S' model out. Now I fly between two hangers on a little grass airfield by my home.

[Dennis Adamisin]

My brother flew in the Pontiac Silverdome.

[afml]

Not wierd, but I flew on the flight deck of the Saratoga when I was in the Navy.

Phil

While the Navy still sponsored the Nats in the 60's, they rounded up all the "State Champs" and took them out on the USS Lexington for a week. Several of us flew our planes off the carrier deck.
Check with Bob Hunt about Larry S. (I think) flying a C/L plane out the window of a motel! He was on the lower floor and started the motor while Larry was high above with the handle.

"Tight lines!"

Wes

[FLOYD CARTER]

When I was stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, we flew combat on the beach in Gulfport, MS.  To keep the sand out of our Fox 35s, we took off from the wet sand right next to the surf, and most of our laps were over water.  Fact:  you CAN land a Fox in salt water and it WILL start right up! (after dumping the water)/
Floyd

[Bill Heher]

I used to fly on the ramp in front of our hangar at Detroit International Airport. We were on the far side - next to UPS, and when all the work for the nught was done I would breal out the 1/2As and fly at 1st light.
It was fun until the Maintenance mngr showed up early one day and saw me- got a letter in my file for that one " Violation of Company Policy on horseplay and inappropriate activities".

[Dick Byron]

In 1958, I think, the new England modelers had a show for WBZ flying off the carrier WASP in Boston harbor. I flew my Sterling Corsair with a Mac 60. What a hoot. Dave Cook was the organizer and because I had a Navy plane I was selected to fly.

[Shultzie]

 When I was a senior in high school  way back in 1957...I Flew my old Kenhi CougarINSIDE the old Tillamook Oregon Blimp Hanger where a bunch of us worked part time on the Diamond Lumber Green Chain.

Way back in 1981 I flew my Super Chip INSIDE the  Huge North Boeing Field  Delivery & Flight Test Center hanger building after the weekend overtime Sat eve. 2nd shift was over.
The 2nd Shift night manager was also a model airplane addict as well as one of the security guards that stood next to OPEN DOOR WAY.

(GADS, even a muffled OS.MAX 40s....really makes a HUGE NOISE...Plus nothing smells quite as good as old Testors 39 Glow Fuel exhaust fumes.  It took a while for the blue fog to disappear.
Amazing  and a bit alarming also, was to see how many employees who  were working late...came out of the hallways etc...to see what ALL THE NOISE WAS COMING FROM.
I chipped a wheel pant on landing where I tagged the toggle bolt on an airplane tie down.
We were politely asked to pack up and leave soon as possible, however?
A few days later...
I heard that I was not the first one to fly a control line airplane in that same spot.

Hey Joe Dill...if you are lurking? I heard that he or his fellow windtunnel model maker, Bob Welch,  might have been the first stunt grunts to fly a stunt model at the Flight Test Center hanger building?

[Herb Calvin]

On a paved county road by a Sheriff's Deputy's house.

[Marvin Denny]

  Flying off a flood control conversion dam.  Take off on the high ground side, climb up over the dam and then dive down toward the water channel at about a 45 degree wing under, then climb back up over the dam on the last portion of each lap--- then repeat.  also do a loop below ground level.  It is really weird.


  Bigiron
 

[Gordan Delaney]

I flew a combat plane. It was a VOO DOO with a Johnson 35c.It was winter time in SLC.Utah and I flew it from the top of my friends house. Of course we had to sweep the snow of the roof. He took a movie of it. We also thought we ought to put a 11-5 on the Johnson to slow it down a bit. It help top speed a little but the really powered through the loops and eights. Broke the prop and put a large hole in it on the landing.

Gordy

[Larry Fernandez]

This thread brought back memories.
In the summer of '85, I was at Jim Gregoire's house building RC planes one Saturday night, ( I might want to add that we had gotten pretty liquored
up in the process). At about 11:00, a buddy of Jim's, Jeff Reyes, stops by. Jim's place was the place to be on a Saturday night. Anyway, Jeff tells us that his father has an old control line plane that had been hanging in his garage for ages. Well I, being an old control line fan, told him to go back home and get it. Which he did ( Did I mention that we were liquored up?) When Jeff returned we decided then and there that we were going flying. But where???
John Lenzner suggest that we could fly it between two large warehouses by where he works. Its paved, well lit and about a quarter mile from the nearest houses. So I run home and grab my flight box and a can of fuel and head off to our new late night night flying sight.( Did I mention that we were all liquored up?)

We measured the distance between the two buildings to be just about 150 feet, give or take, so we figured we had plenty of room. I hook up the lines and handle to the plane, which I believe was an old Sterling Profile P-51 with a Testors .35. You know, the one that had the cooling fins all along the case? The motor was a bit gummed up, but after a few shots of fuel and few flips of the prop, I hooked up the battery and was ready for action.

Now keep in mind, Its now about 1:00 in the morning and dead, dead quiet. John is now thinking that this might not be a smart thing afterall, so he
decides to wait in his truck, that he parks in the street next to the wearhouse, just in case he needs to make a quick get away when the cops come.

(Did I mention that we were liquored up?) After a a few flips, the unmuffled Testors comes to life. Well stunt fans, you cannot believe how loud that unmuffled motor, echoing between two buildings at 1:00 in the morning could be. Five or six drunk  jackasses all scurried like roaches when a light gets turned on. In the mad scramble someone kicked the plane and knocked the rudder and horizontal stab off. In the meantime Jeff is holding the plane with motor running while the rest of us are gettin the hell outa Dodge. In a panic Jeff, jams the spinning prop into the pavement to kill the motor.
When he sees that we all gone, he too takes off, leaving the plane, my flight box, lines and fuel behind.
 Back at Jim's house, the big question is how and when do we go back and get the plane and equipment??
So I wait about an hour and have another beer or two.  By now I figure the coast is clear and I go back and retrieve the stuff with no problems.

After that night, it never failed that someone would suggest going flying during our Saturday night building sessions.
Did I mention That we were liquored up??


Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Jerry Leuty]

Long Bien Army Base Vietnam 1968.

[PJ Rowland]

That reminds me of something else..

I was getting ready to go interstate for a big compeition and I was pracising like hell trying to get everything trimmed out.

I was going to leave on the Saturday morning, and this was Friday afternoon, I tookoff, snagged the lines and it flipped over and I broke the wing forward..... I spent all of that evening cutting into it, repairing it and getting it aligned. I was concened that I might not have enought strength after I broke the spar in the crash.

Got it all back together at about 2am and decided Would I Still leave at 6am to get to the contest in time? And was the plane ok?

The only logical step was to test fly the model first to make sure it was ok..... by at 2am ? Sure why not..

So off we headed down to the field at 2:30am sparked it up in the dead of night, couldnt see anything with my mate holding a torch trying to see it the wings were aligned.. It felt in pitch black darkness it was going in all the right directions.. I had 1 flight and we came home ready for bed for a 6am departure.

Something told me in the morning I should delay my depature to test fly it during the day, when I did something was amiss BIGTIME, the wing had snapped a little more during the flight the night before - or the glue didnt set or a combination of the 2 and it was so far out of trim, and flying so badly I decided not to go.

Morel of the story ? Im yet to figure that out 10 years on... Funny story to retell!

[John Stiles]

Long Bien Army Base Vietnam 1968.

Dang.....I almost forgot about Long Binh, I was there in 69 at the Medical Facility....I never saw anybody flying C/L stuff, but the nurses would roll our beds outside at night so we could watch the movies!