By Scott Bandle / Suburban Journals – The figure hovered in the air against a strong breeze. At first glance, it was easy to doubt your eyes, but, sure enough, it was Superman!
At least, it was a 3-foot model aircraft shaped like the Man from Krypton. The motor was camouflaged as Superman’s head. His feet were the flaps and the rest was decked out in blue and red with a flowing cape.
Affton resident Kerry Eisenbach carefully controlled the model by remote control, moving it in circles, then brought it safely down to earth.
“People love it,” Eisenbach, 56, said with a laugh. “You can make anything fictional fly if you want to.”
Superman was just one of dozens of model aircraft that flew Saturday as part of the Radio Control Fun Fly Extravaganza at St. Louis County’s Buder Park, Interstate 44 and Highway 141, The annual event was hosted Friday and Saturday by the Greater St. Louis Modelers Association to promote radio-controlled model flying.
Eisenbach’s Superman model was the most unusual. He and 16 other pilots also flew more traditional model airplanes and helicopters. Many of the models were based on fighter airplanes from World War II with an occasional World War I biplane thrown into the mix.
The models took off and landed at Buder Park Flying Field, which is complete with two 100-foot long runways. It is the only public flying field for model aircraft in Missouri.
The models came in all sizes. A helicopter was as small as a robin; a fighter plane was the size of a man. The engine noises ranged from a bumble bee drone to the roar of a chain saw. Prices can go as low as $50 and as high as $10,000.
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To learn more about the Greater St. Louis Modelers Assocation, AMA Chapter #14, please visit their Web site at www.gslma.com.