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The Central Alabama Sport Flyers and friends enjoy a day flying large-scale models of war aircraft.

A Russian MiG-3 was one of the models at the Giant Scale Warbird Fly-in event.

Model planes sit on the grass as pilots take a break.

A Russian MiG-3 was one of the models at the Giant Scale Warbird Fly-in event.

Mike Chilson, left, helps Jim Weems get his Russian MIG-3 replica ready for take off.

Mike Chilson, left, watches as Jim Weems flies a large-scale model airplane.

This model was modified to depict one of only 14 planes of this type that were used by the U.S. Army.

A model U.S. Army WPT14 in midflight.

Preparing for takeoff

David Heil of Florida keeps his plane in sight.

By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Preserving history looks a little different for the Central Alabama Sport Flyers.

It comes not in preserving artifacts, but in flying large-scale models of war aircraft at an annual two-day event in Clanton.

Mike Chilson of Birmingham, member of the Clanton club, said part of the fun is researching the planes to keep them authentic.

David Heil of Florida said he researched the WPT-14 to see if any of them had been used in the U.S. Army. He had a WPT model, but wanted to have a plane to fly in the Warbirds event.

The real planes were created in 1941.

Heil found that 14 of them had been used by the U.S. Army, so he modeled his replica after one of those.

These large models have a 60- to 80- inch wingspan.

“Most of them are powered by a gas-powered engine, like a weed-eater motor,” Chilson said. “They are built with either wood and fabric or wood and covering or wood and fiberglass.”

Chilson has been a part of the club for 10 years and involved in flying models for 20 years.

“I love flying,” Chilson said. “This is just a cheaper way of doing it than full-scale.”

However, even models can cost thousands of dollars.

Chilson brought his biplane to the event. He said he bought it, then stripped and refinished it. He said the project took about a year.

Jim Weems of Pelham, member of the Clanton club, began creating model airplanes as a child. He still builds them today at the age of 72.

“It is something you can do on a rainy day and enjoy just as much as being out in the field flying it,” David Phillips of Alabaster said.

Weems said he enjoys every aspect about it, except the cost.

“I’m like a fish out of water if I’m not messing with my airplanes,” Weems said.

Weems brought replicas of a P-47 Thunderbolt and a Russian MiG-3 to the event.

Chris Joiner has been flying models for 40 years. His interest came from growing up near an airport in Columbus, Georgia. He said he enjoys being able to replicate historic aircraft. One of his favorites is a replica L-4 Piper. Joiner also enjoys the “camaraderie” of the annual warbirds event.

Chilson learned to fly the models by joining a club and completing its training program.

Model pilots start out with smaller planes and can work up to the large scale as their skills improve.

Model aviation clubs are chartered through the Academy of Model Aviation.

Chilson said there is usually someone at the field flying in Clanton on Sunday afternoons, for anyone interested in watching a flight. The field is located at 3704 County Road 47 in Clanton.

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