Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Mahoning County Model Club member Ted Russell of Poland demonstrates his “rubber-band powered” model plane. He is the only one in the club with a fleet of rubber band powered aircraft that are free flight.

The Mahoning County Model Club will host its annual summer fly-in Saturday at the Shaker Woods festival grounds off state Route 7. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature a variety of model airplanes.

The Mahoning County Model Club dates back to the 1970s when it was formed during the growth of the radio-control airplane hobby. Club President Jim Mestichelli joined in 2014 and is trying to grow the club.

“We have 30 members, of which 20 are active,” he said. “Most of us are in our retirement years and we need to attract the younger generation.”

He got his start at age 7 when he built his first balsa wood airplane model. He has been building balsa models ever since. As a club member, Mestichelli enjoys the company of other model plane enthusiasts.

The club uses two runways. One is at Shaker Woods and the other is in Struthers, just off Struthers Road. The Struthers runway is on smaller acreage and doesn’t have the space for a public event.

Mestichelli said the Shaker Woods location has a large area for flying that is in the open. The runway is centered around mowed fields that present a clear vision for flying model aircraft.

Mahoning County Model Club is a club under the Academy of Model Aeronautics. As a member club, the MCMC is urged to hold fly-ins to promote the hobby and bring plane enthusiasts together.

“It is also an opportunity to raise some money for our club,” Mestichelli said. “The event is free to the public, but we will have a 50/50 raffle and will be cooking hot dogs and hamburgers that will be offered for a donation to the club.”

Mestichelli said the club owns a shed and lawn tractor at both of its sites and the funds raised from the fly-in help pay for gas and maintenance. The club cuts the grass runway at both Struthers and Shaker Woods because it has to be cut low for the model planes.

The club members expect to have well over 100 airplanes flying on Saturday, ranging from electric, gas, and rubber band powered.

Flying the rubber band powered aircraft is Ted Russell of Poland. He said this type of power has fascinated him since childhood.

“My dad got me into the hobby as a kid,” he said. ‘Then I got married and raised a family and had a break from the hobby. Twenty years ago I got back into it.”

The rubber band used to power some of his planes is five feet long. By winding it tight, Russell can get a lot of flight time — and that is free flight time.

“Free flight means there are no radio controls,” he said. “The plane is on its own. If you adjust the rudder and ailerons right, you can get a large circle flight.”

He said wind and thermals can affect the flight and send the planes way off the intended path.

Russell’s free flight, rubber powered planes are very light and can withstand some hard landings, but a hard crash could cause a lot of unrepairable damage. Russell is the only rubber band-powered modeler in the club.

Mestichelli’s fleet of aircraft is all electric. The aircraft uses a special battery with an alarm sent to the controller to let the pilot know to land the plane soon.

“I try to have three batteries for each airplane I like to fly,” Mestichelli said.

He said one plus for these electric-powered RC planes is, they are clean. Those who run gas-powered models continuously are cleaning them. Since they use a gas-oil mix, the exhaust gives off a dirty film across wings and the plane body.

But he said some don’t mind the cleaning, preferring the sound of the gas engine.

For those wanting to get a look at the hobby and maybe considering getting into it, the fly-in is a perfect place to learn. It is also a great place to see the different types of model planes available, from the beginner’s plane to the high-end models that can resemble a war bird (military model).

“I have seen some cost as much as $10,000,” Russell said. “I guess once you get the hobby in your blood, the sky is the limit.”

jtwhitehouse@vindy.,com