Thistledown Flyers Radio Control Club : Corky's Corner

Remember that old expression about "two wrongs don't make a right"? Well, in the case of the Joe Nall Fly-In, two young men being "wronged", has resulted in the premiere R/C flying event... anywhere in the world. When Pat Hartness, and his boyhood control line flying buddy Kirby McKinney went to a control line contest, and were basically told "You kids aren't welcome here...", the seeds were planted for what is now the largest IMAA event, and probably the largest model airplane event to be held anywhere in the world.

Being snubbed like that stuck with Pat and Kirby, and they have worked very hard to build the Joe Nall to what it is today, with the emphasis on Friends, Friendship, and Hospitality. Pat Hartness started the Joe Nall (assisted by the hard working members of the local Confederate Air Farce IMAA Chapter), and originally held the event on the grounds of Pat's own home. But the sheer number of participants and spectators grew to the point that Pat had to find a new flying venue. The search finally found a magnificent piece of real estate in Woodruff, South Carolina (near Greenville), that became the Triple Tree Aerodrome.

Here's a section of a Google Earth satellite image of the Triple Tree complex. The little airplane icon covers the gazebo on the flight line. The cleared area of the runway is 6500 feet long... soon to be 8000 feet.

Pat has a love of full size aviation as well, so the field is designed to handle full size aircraft... with a 6500 foot mowed grass runway, with plans underway to extend that to 8000 feet. Pat will host an EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Fly-in, in cooperation with EAA Chapter 249 on September 26th thru the 29th, and IMAA members are invited to attend.

Another great improvement at Triple Tree... PAVING on the roadway coming into the complex. This should really cut down the dust.

The improvements at Triple Tree have been constant over the past four years. When mowing the huge grass runway with conventional tractor mowers became impractical, they designed and built 'Brutus', a 70 foot wide mower, powered by a 500 horsepower electrical generator. To provide some creature comforts for the many people who stay in their motor homes during an event, a "Log Cabin" guest facility was built, with showers, rest rooms, and even a convenience store

The man himself, Mr. Pat Hartness, with paint brush in hand, touching up the railing on the Donaldson tower... while it is still easily within reach.

to deal with those important support items that were left at home.

A large aircraft hangar houses Pat's own fleet of classic aircraft, including an BT-13, a Stearman PT-17, and a J-3 Piper Cub. But the hangar is also rapidly becoming an aviation museum as well, with photos and paintings of aircraft on the walls, and a growing collection of one-of-a-kind scale models hanging from the ceiling.

The hangar also serves as a dining hall during major events. At this year's Joe Nall, the hard working crew of 60 Confederate Air Farce members fed one thousand people in 23 minutes. Even the U.S. military doesn't do this well (and certainly doesn't serve shrimp cocktails, cold beer, and pulled pork barbecue.

This year's major addition is a restored World War II Donaldson control tower, that will provide a panoramic view of the Aerodrome, and controlled take-offs and landings for the full size activities.

"O.K.... we'll just pick this thing up and set it over there...." Yeah... RIGHT! This really locks in the title "Aerodrome".

Despite the grumblings about gas prices, the 2007 Joe Nall had over 550 pilots, and a couple of thousand spectators. As large as the Triple Tree facility is, there are limits to how many people it can accommodate, so spectators must be in the company of an AMA member to get onto the grounds.

You've heard of dining "al fresco"... this is dining "Al BT-13". It only takes 23 minutes to feed 1000 people at the famous Joe Nall barbeque.

The improvements to the facility aren't just comfort oriented. The Triple Tree flight line is equipped with emergency horns, that can be actuated from each pilot's station. If a pilot looses control, the entire area can be alerted to the problem immediately. And attention is now being given to "prop ripping".... the unnecessary practice of turning propeller tips in excess of the speed of sound. This creates more noise than the engine exhaust, and is causing the loss of flying fields around the country. Triple Tree wants to be a leader in dealing with this noise problem, and will enforce minimum propeller size

The walls and ceiling of the hangar at Triple Tree are filling up with great aviation artwork, and a great collection of "work of art" models. Triple Tree has become a great aviation center, for full size and model size pilots and enthusiasts.

limitations, starting with next year's Joe Nall Fly-in event.

The Joe Nall was named in honor of an active modeler, who served as PA announcer for early Confederate Air Farce events. Joe Nall, the man, was a high level administrator with the FAA, and likely would have been named as head of the FAA, had he not been killed in a tragic airplane crash in Venezuela. In Joe's honor, the Joe Nall Fly-In tradition continues, based on Friends, Friendship, and Hospitality. So even something as disgusting as two young kids being run off from a model airplane event can be the inspiration fro something great. Thank you Pat Hartness.... and Kirby and Carol McKinney, and Mike Gregory, and Bob Sadler, and all of the 60 members of the Confederate Air Farce, for creating the premiere modeling event in the world.

The Joe Nall truly is the role model for R/C events. At the Thistledown field, in Napoleon, Ohio, we do our best to emulate the Joe Nall. We hope to get to a quarter the size of the Joe Nall some day!

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