GALLERY and VIDEO: Is it a bird? No it’s a model airplane

It was a busy afternoon in the sky, as airplanes and helicopters soared among the clouds. The Durban Deep Radio Flyers is a club based in Ruimsig where 50 plus members come out on weekends to fly their radio-controlled airplanes and helicopters.

Peter Carlisle, treasurer of the club said that this sport is such a good way to get rid of frustrations. “In order to be a part of this club a person has to be a member of the South African Model Aircraft Association,” said Carlisle. According to chairperson of the club, Roy Starr, the simple airplanes start at about R2000, but once people get more into the sport the airplanes become much more expensive.

To be able to fly these planes, you don’t need to be a pilot. Starr said that children as young as ten years old can fly the planes if they understand the technicality. “We have a training plane that people can use to learn how to fly,” explained Carlisle. He added that a trainee’s radio can be linked to a professional flyer so if there is a problem the expert can take over.

“If someone with no experience comes to the club, our members will even help him assemble his plane,” said Carlisle. The venue has a tar runway that is 170m long and a grass runway, 100m in length. “This sport is so good just to get away from everything. You have to concentrate on the plane the entire time. You cannot think about stresses that you may have,” said Carlisle.

He added that even though members concentrate on flying the planes there is also always a time to make jokes among themselves, which is also a stress reliever. Sean Els showed his flight simulator glasses that is connected to a quad. This allows him to fly as if he would be in the cockpit of a plane.

With the sounds of engines flying through the sky, one would mistake these planes for the real thing.

Details: Durban Deep Radio Flyers, peter.carlisle@ctfsa.co.za

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