Perfect weather conditions welcomed pilots and spectators to the Lone Tree Flyers’ third annual Fun Fly event on June 9-11.  Remote-control aircraft enthusiasts brought out their aerobatic planes, scale models, warbirds, and jets to Lone Tree’s airfield, a wide-open space next to the American Legion and Lone Tree Cemetery, to test their skills and awe the crowd.

Lisa Biondo,  Lone Tree’s female flyer

While a pair of biplanes created smoke trails over the corn fields, Lisa Biondo, treasurer of the Lone Tree Flyers, stopped to chat with The News.

“My oldest brother was here earlier, and now my other brother and his whole family is here, and my son.  Then our other friends came, so I’ve really enjoyed it,” she said.

Biondo’s husband, John, is president of the Lone Tree Flyers, and his involvement with the club encouraged her to participate as well, at first as treasurer and helper with the Fun Fly event, and then as pilot herself.  She is AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) certified, purchased her own rainbow-themed airplane, and is currently learning how to fly.

She is also the only female member of the Lone Tree Flyers club, something she hopes to change.

“I think it mixes things up a little bit to have a little diversity in the club,” Biondo said.  “It’s not just a men’s sport.  In the bigger clubs, there’s absolutely a lot of women involved.  There are small clubs around our area for the most part, so we don’t tend to see women in them, but they are definitely encouraged and welcome to join.”

“I’d love to have other ladies join the club,” she continued, explaining that there are plenty of experts in the club that can teach those interested how to fly, and club members are also happy to help with aircraft repair and maintenance.  

“This is the nicest club I’ve been to,” Biondo added.  “Midwest hospitality, right here in Lone Tree.”

Gary Kleinmeyer, the club’s founder

One of the club’s experts is Gary Kleinmeyer, official flight instructor for the club and also its founder.  He initially started the club in 2004; it became an AMA chartered club in 2010.

Kleinmeyer sat with his wife under a tent, surrounded by planes, looking out at what used to be Lone Tree’s landfill.  

“With everybody’s help we’ve developed it really nice, and the community has really been behind us 100%,” he said of the airfield.  “All of the city council members, past and present, have really been in favor of us doing it, and the American Legion here next door.  Those guys come over here all the time and watch us fly.  It’s been really, really fun.  We’ve had a really good community response with it.”

Kleinmeyer started flying in 1968.  He took a break from it while raising his kids but returned to the sport after retiring.  When he first learned to fly, the technology was much different, and he’s enjoyed watching the progress being made over time.

“My first radio I had, you had to actually do the circuit boards, you had to solder the transistors and everything onto the circuit boards and then mount it in the transmitter case.  And then hopefully it works, you know,” he said, chuckling.

Today radios are computerized, have high resolution display screens, and can connect to an aircraft with Wi-Fi.  

What really matters to Kleinmeyer, though, is that RC aircraft operators have fun in the sport.  

“That’s my passion, getting people to get out here to fly and to have fun doing it. The fellowship and the responsibility, that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

Matt and Luke, the father/son from Colorado

Coming out to Lone Tree for fun and fellowship for the second time were Matt and his 13-year-old son Luke, who live in northern Colorado.  They discovered Fun Fly last year when looking for an event they could attend while visiting a life-long friend in Des Moines.

“The hospitality and camaraderie, the group of flyers was just amazing,” Matt said of the experience.  “We had a wonderful time.  Right as we were leaving that event, we were making plans to come back for this year.”

Matt appreciates Lone Tree’s grass runway, something he and Luke don’t have back home.  

“We have an asphalt pavement field, but then it’s just dirt and weeds.  It’s so dry we can’t grow grass out there, and it’s nice to be able to land on a grass runway,” he said.

“We’ve got weeds instead of cornfields,” he said of the visual perspective back home on the High Plains, which are just as flat as Lone Tree.

Matt and Luke, who has been flying since he was 7 years old, brought with them some 14 planes, most of them jets and prop planes because they transport easily.  They favor ARF kits – that is, almost ready to fly – that take 2-4 hours to assemble before they are ready to fly.  The foam planes are lightweight and fast.

So fast, in fact, that Luke had a bit of a casualty with one earlier in the day.  

“I was taking it up, and I pulled a high-G maneuver and the wings snapped,” Luke admitted, looking at the damaged aircraft.  

“That one was extremely fast.  It’s an over 150 mph plane.  A lot of the superfast planes have got such a short wingspan that they did not put any reinforcement in the wing.  But we found the limits of the airframe,” Matt explained.  

The scrapped plane will be used for parts.  “At some point, things come in useful,” Matt said.

Tyler Brown, the AMA AVP

Being able to attract young people like Luke to the sport of RC flying is important to the Lone Tree Flyers and important to the AMA.  Tyler Brown, AMA Assistant Vice President for Nebraska, considered just how that might be done when he put on his own Fun Fly-style event.  His success in that endeavor caught the attention of the AMA, and he now works for the organization as part of its office staff. 

Brown attended the Fun Fly not in a professional capacity, but just to enjoy the event and show support.

“As a generation, we’re going through a transition from members that have been modeling for several years, and they’re up there in age, to trying to appeal to a younger generation,” he explained.  “Today we have a high-demand, I-want-to-do-it-now generation, whereas back in the day, the older generation knew they had to put stuff together and take time.  They might spend all year building a model just to go fly a couple times.  Our younger generations aren’t like that.  We don’t have the patience for that kind of stuff anymore.”

Interesting young people in the new technology, Brown believes, is key to making that generational transition within the sport.  What catches a young person’s imagination is being able to do maneuvers with a model that are not possible with real airplanes, rather than creating replicas of World War II planes, for example.

Brown also believes the financial barrier is one that needs to be overcome.  

“We don’t like to introduce people to [the sport] without telling you that you get to start small, you get to start with the little things,” he said, noting that spectators at an airshow often note just how large and no doubt expensive the models are. “You can get started in this and be perfectly capable on your own for a little less than $300, which is very reasonable.  And then you can take that hobby as far as you want to.”

Brown said that was impressed with the Lone Tree Flyers before heading off to take care of the jet he had just landed after a 10-minute flight.

“This has been a really good class of people to deal with,” he said.  “Everybody pretty much helps each other out.”

All in all, the 3rd annual Fun Fly was a success.  The specially designed t-shirts were popular with pilots and spectators alike, and organizers were challenged to keep the concession stand stocked.  Viewers’ necks craned to keep their eyes on aircraft in the skies, and they marveled at acrobatic rolls and knife-edge spins.  But the Midwest hospitality and camaraderie – that’s what will keep people coming back.

If you’re interested in RC aircraft flying, contact the Lone Tree Flyers at lonetreeflyers5005@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.