Sixth Annual B-17 Gathering & Scale BIG BIRD Fly-In
By Gene Hempel
Held at Bomber Field in Monaville, Texas, the event is now history. You may have read other accounts of great fly-ins, but there is no comparison to the B-17 gathering at Bomber Field — you had to see it for yourself, with five B-17 models flying in formation. It is difficult to describe; seeing is believing.
Modelers from all over the United States and Canada came to compete in the Fly-In. Highlights and contest details included:
- Registered pilots: 169
- Models: 245
- Contest Director: Carlos Ortiz, with support from the Bomber Field organization
The group of modelers and volunteers really pulled together to make the Fly-In a success.
Brenda Smith was busy as a bee, managing concessions and the Saturday-night steak cookout. Members of the Austin RC Club served as chiefs for the cookout — and those steaks were delicious. For those who missed the Texas cookout, standing around the pits telling war stories and doing some night flying, plan to make it next year.
Tom Street (Friendswood, Texas) provided an exciting night-flying demonstration. His model, built for night operations, lit up like a Christmas tree and was a real treat to watch.
Awards
- B-17 Perpetual Trophy: B.B. Weber (Houston, Texas) — B-17G model representing the full-scale Shoo Shoo Baby, powered by four O.S. 70 four-stroke engines with electric starters on each engine.
- Best of Show: Keith Coover (Friendswood, Texas) — Ju 87B Stuka dive bomber with full flaps and dive brakes, powered by a Sachs 4.2 engine. The model features a siren that sounds during dives to simulate the full-scale aircraft — a well-deserved award.
Judging was handled by members of the Bay Port Aero Club, led by chief judge Doug Greer. Doug noted that judging is getting harder each year because model quality keeps improving.
Flyby with the Texas Raiders
The highlight of the B-17 Gathering was a planned flyby by the Texas Raiders (a full-scale B-17G) on Sunday for modelers and spectators. Thanks to B.B. Weber, I had the opportunity to ride aboard the aircraft.
During the flight the No. 3 engine began spewing oil out the filler tube and had to be feathered. For safety, the captain aborted the run over Bomber Field and returned to the home base at Ellington Field, which had emergency fire equipment and longer runways. It was thrilling to make that landing sitting up front; it gave a palpable sense of what it felt like when wartime B-17 crews came home with engines out — like traveling back in time.
Thanks to the Bomber Field organization for their hospitality and for a job well done. If you missed this year’s gathering, you missed a great opportunity to see those B-17 models make their run over Bomber Field. Where else but Bomber Field at Monaville, Texas!
See ya next year...
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
