Author: Jerry Smith
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/07
Page Numbers: 34,35,36,37,38
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Hotlanta Hucktoberfest

by Jerry Smith

The Atlanta, Georgia, event was the last in a series of Huckfests held across the U.S. in 2008 after a successful run of gatherings at Saint Louis, Missouri; Woodstock, Connecticut; and Napoleon, Ohio. Held October 24–26 and co-sponsored by Flying Giants and Extreme Flight R/C, the venue was the Georgia Model Aviators’ (GMA) club field just outside of Cumming.

Sponsors and organizers

  • Flying Giants: An Internet-based forum funded by advertising. It provides a sounding board for the modeling community where members can exchange ideas and features for RC pilots. Best of all, Flying Giants is free — you only need to sign in on the website with a user name and password.
  • Extreme Flight R/C: A Cumming-based company headed by Chris and Melissa Hinson that provides high-quality RC products and hardware. Their aircraft are well tested and popular with sport flyers and contest pilots. Chris is a great ambassador for the RC industry and an over-the-top pilot. He sponsored the Hucktoberfest raffle (approximately $3,500 in airplanes, engines, and hardware).
  • Georgia Model Aviators (GMA): Provided the field and food, with many club volunteers assisting. The club has more than 200 members, and president Rex Bryant provides strong leadership. The GMA field offers a choice of grass or paved runways and 65 acres of space — an ideal venue for this wild affair. In addition to the club’s normal charitable donations, a portion of Huckfest food proceeds went to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

What is a Huckfest?

Chris Hinson said: “No, it’s not a contest, but rather a large meeting of like-minded individuals gathering in a spirit of fellowship and camaraderie to enjoy as much 3-D and aerobatic RC flying as they can stand.”

Weather and flying

The first day of the Atlanta Huckfest was a complete washout. A cold front moved through with rain, wind, and cooler temperatures. The club has cameras at the field so members can check activity online; that day all the cameras showed was raindrops and mud puddles — no flying.

The next day the weather did a 180 and gave us a perfect day for flying. There was plenty of action, with five to six airplanes in the air most of the day.

Pilots and notable performances

Most pilots at the Huckfest are hard-core “huckers.” Some fly wild maneuvers in a controlled manner, while others live on the edge, daring to put their models back into kit form.

  • Paul and Ross Hollermann (Cold Springs, Minnesota): These young pilots often flew in formation, even rolling and hovering together. At one point they flew a single model with Ross on the right stick and Paul on the left. Coordinating one transmitter between two people is difficult, but they made it look like a single pilot was flying. Their dad was there to encourage them — conservative, skilled huckers.
  • Doug Ahlschlager (Daytona Beach, Florida): Doug was hard on servos, airframes, and wing tubes, and his flying was nonstop intensity. A low roll resulted in an unexpected inverted landing that tore off the rudder and broke the propeller. Doug shrugged it off: “Not to worry — I’ll have it fixed in an hour.” And he did.
  • Other incidents: One airplane ended up in a tree, and Joe Martin spectacularly crashed his big Ultimate biplane while putting on a fantastic show. The wreckage was collected in the GMA “Bag of Shame.”

Night flying and festivities

As darkness approached, Extreme Flight R/C set up a bank of lights, allowing pilots to fly into the night. Flyers had to stay relatively close to the lights or risk losing their airplanes. Much hovering and other maneuvers were performed during the nighttime session.

Flying continued into the evening until about 10:30. With cold temperatures creeping in, a big bonfire was started at the end of the runway. Many folks gathered there for warmth and to talk about the day’s flying over a beer.

(Editor’s note: Stories of fire-walking have been circulating; for those details, visit the Flying Giants website or attend a Huckfest in person.)

Conclusion and thanks

In spite of the first-day washout, the Atlanta Huckfest was a great one-and-a-half-day event. Pilots traveling long distances to attend attest to the event’s popularity. Amazing flying and wild maneuvers let the “hotdog” pilots showcase their skills.

Thanks to Flying Giants’ Steve Cinch for promoting the Huckfest, Extreme Flight R/C for the sponsorship, and all the volunteer workers in the GMA club. I look forward to next year, when the huckers return for another wild event in Atlanta.

Jerry Smith Jerry.smith875@gmail.com

Sources

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.