During the winter months most people just stay huddled up in their homes waiting for those nice spring days to be able to get outside and start enjoying the nicer weather.
But for some, winter is a time for building.
These builders are members of Model Association of Central Kansas.
MACK is a local club of people that share a common interest of model airplanes and other aircraft.
“The club gives us a place to fly. It is a family-oriented safe environment and we have members of all ages,” Safety Officer of MACK Mark Springfeldt said. “The members enjoy the camaraderie that we all share and it’s a great way to promote modeling aviation and it’s fun.”
Many RC pilots can be found at their local field flying on warm days, but winter time plays a different role for them.
Winter allows these pilots time to build new planes, repair planes that might have been broken in the warmer months or just time to make sure the planes they have are in working order.
“Winter is the building and repair season for us pilots,” Vice President of MACK Chuck Graham said. “Winter gives us the time we need to get things done that way we can spend more time flying during the warmer months.”
Graham also mentioned that they take every opportunity to fly even during the winter if the weather is decent enough.
The aircraft these pilots build come in many different sizes. Some come prebuilt and ready to fly out of the box; these are known as RTF aircraft. Some are called almost ready to fly these require some building but can be finished in a few hours or over a day depending on which ARF is purchased. Some aircraft are kits that have to be built from the ground up. These kits are a box of wood for the most part and have to be glued together, covered with a special material and have all the electronic components and engine installed. These kits can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to build depending how much time a person puts into the building process.
MACK
According to MACK, the club was started by three men in Larned. Later they started flying at a field outside Pawnee Rock and for the last six years members of the club have been flying at the location in Great Bend.
The club plays host to many different events throughout the year. These events include: Fun Flys, Relay For Life Event, Pattern Flying Contest and an information booth set up during June Jaunt.
For many of these members the club is a way to interact with other people of the community that share the same interest of flying.
“I enjoy being around others that have the same interest as me and I enjoy flying these RC planes,” Club Member Joe Dunnaway said.
The airport
The Roger Brining Model Airport is located at 114 SW 20 Ave, just south of the intersection of U.S. 56 and Railroad Avenue.
There are a total of 12 acres with trees for shade, a nice parking area, bleachers for spectators and a portable rest room.
The 515 by 51 foot runway and 258 by 35 foot pit area are made of Geotex, a geotextile material normally used as underlayment for asphalt road construction.
Anyone is welcome to come out to field just to watch the planes fly or if they are interested in the hobby.
The members of the club are more than happy to help someone get into the hobby and enjoy what the hobby has to offer.
For more information about the club visit their website at www.mackrc.net.
