Miniatures with maximum speed: Scale-model jets will fly in St. Charles today
It's hard to imagine something so small being so loud.
No, not toddlers. Or Chihuahuas.
But the sound is the first thing you notice as the 1/5-scale replica, radio-controlled A-10 Warthog jet fires up its two turbine engines for a flight Thursday in preparation for the Fox Valley Aero Club's Windy City Jets Invitational today and Saturday.
“People who come out are going to be amazed by the sound, the speed, the maneuverability of these jets,” organizer Dave Murray said.
Eighty to 90 of the scale-model jets will take to the skies, usually four at a time, over the club's airfield at 3831 Karl Madsen Drive from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Saturday.
Murray, a retired United Airlines pilot from Elgin, said the club hasn't held the event in a dozen years. Of the club's 201 members, just over 20 have the turbine-powered model jets.
And they are jets, just smaller. The models are 1/6- to 1/5-scale, some with wingspans of 10 feet. They burn the same jet fuel as the planes at O'Hare as they streak at high speed across the skies.
How fast can they go?
The Academy of Model Aviation limits pilots to 200 miles per hour.
“They're capable of much faster than that,” Murray said. “Guys are cruising at half throttle at 150, 160 miles per hour,”
That kind of speed doesn't come cheap. Murray said the jets range in price from about $8,000 to $17,000.
Each pilot must also be covered by $3 million in liability insurance.
Most replica jets weigh in at under 55 pounds with fuel, and a special waiver is needed if the jet is any heavier. Murray's Warthog weighs 65 pounds at takeoff. Each of his two engines has a one-gallon tank, which can keep it flying for about six minutes.
The invitational event will see pilots from six states flying replica military planes and “sport aircraft,” which combine elements of different models.
“I've invited pilots I've been watching for 25 years, knowing that they have the best equipment and the capability of staying within the parameters of the flying field,” said Murray, who has been flying radio-controlled jets for 27 years.
“They've been doing it a very long time and are some of the best of the best.”
Tickets for the event are $5 for adults, and kids 12 and younger can watch for free. There will be food vendors on site.