Competition Proves Fun For Kids Of All Ages

King Orange International's Model Airplane Competition Palm Bay, FL, welcomed 100 competitors from the Sunshine State and across the country this past weekend for its annual model builder's event, featuring airplanes powered by gas engines, electric motors, rubber bands and tow lines, according to Florida Today.

Pilots launched their airplanes for two-minute free flights; the best scores come from consistent times aloft.

Contest director and chief field mower, Joe Clawson, said the 1,200 acre field near Bayside Lakes is perfectly suited for his organization's free-flight events. (It took volunteers nearly 300 hours of mowing.)

"I moved down here 11 years ago so I could do this out here," Clawson said. "I'm originally from Virginia in the DC area, and I would have to drive 125 miles to get to a field this big."

The father-son team of Gordon Boucher Jr., of Miami, and Gordon Boucher Sr., of Inverness, used the "old-school" tow-line models for the first time at the event.

"He taught me how to build these when I was a kid, and now we're doing it together," said the younger Boucher. "This is a great hobby for everyone, but it's like anything else, we need more members and young people to keep it going."

Speaking of young, 12-year-old Brian Pacelli, whose family drove in from Wallingford, CT, just to compete in Palm Bay, has built more than 40 planes and participated in a junior national team that won in Germany.

For Pacelli? He prefers gas-powered models that go straight up about 300 feet before gliding for about two minutes. "They are the most exciting, fly the highest, and are the most expensive," he said, adding he hopes his love of aviation will someday glide into an Air Force flying career.

FMI: www.modelaircraft.org