Jun 6, 2014 3 min read

CARMICHAELS – When John Brodak announced the first Brodak Fly-In 18 years ago, he envisioned a small, three-day gathering of enthusiasts who build and fly control-line airplanes. The event drew 36 participants.

Today, the Brodak Fly-In is generally recognized as the largest event of its kind in the United States. The 18th Annual Fly-in is set for Tuesday through June 14 in Carmichaels. This year, an entrant from England, one from South Africa and four from Canada are planning to join builders and flyers from across the United States.

Over the years, more than 2,200 pilots have made just more than 10,000 flights, not counting practice flights, since that first control-line airplane lifted off. Using the basic flight pattern of a circle, an average flight can cover the equivalent of six-and-a-half miles during a typical flight of seven-and-a-half minutes.

That translates into the 2,227 flyers making 10,090 flights totaling 67,502 miles – a distance more than 18 times farther than Charles Lindbergh flew on his historic flight across the Atlantic or more than 27 times the flying distance from New York to Los Angeles.

Since the first Fly-In in 1997, the event has drawn attention from as far away as Australia, where editors of a local control-line newsletter praised the idea and John Brodak’s efforts to rekindle interest in control-line flying.

Control-line airplanes generally have a wing span of 24 to 48 inches, are lightweight and are flown on thin wire cables that are 75 feet long. The basic flight pattern is a circle, but flyers can do figure-eights, rolls and many other patterns, or “stunts,” depending on the skill of the pilot.

Each of the different categories requires different flying skills, and competition is usually divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert classes. The oldest entrant to compete at a Fly-In was 89 years old while the youngest was 7.

Competitions range from precision aerobatics and combat to “Ladies and Youth Only” basic flights and “Junkyard Wars,” a competition in which a team of builders must build and fly a plane made from scrap.

Brodak sees the Fly-In as a great opportunity for the flyers and the community.

“It’s a chance to get together, have some fun, and swap ideas,” he said. “But, more than that, over the years, people coming to the Fly-In from outside the area have pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy. It’s a win-win situation.”

The Brodak Fly-In is open to the community at no charge.

For more information about the Fly-In visit brodak.com or call Brodak Manufacturing at 724-966-7335.