NEAT Fair 2008 Report

The NEAT Fair tower at midfield.

The 2008 Neat Fair was held at the Peaceful Valley Campgrounds in Downsville, NY. This three day, annual autumn event is the biggest gathering of electric RC pilots in the Northeast U.S. I spent the day at the show on Saturday, September 13th.

Morning fog over Peaceful Valley.

Many pilots had their fleets on display.

A beautiful Burt Rutan Quickie.

All electric power, all the time.

An early morning view of the main flight line.

Nice Bronco twin on the right.

Last year the NEAT Fair attracted 300 pilots and 40 vendors. Despite the morning fog and drizzle, the attendance seemed to be at least as good this year. The line of pilots' tents stretched from the parking lot along the whole length of the field, with the vendors lined up behind them.

The 41" Brio in the middle looks tiny.

E-flite had a bunch of models on this stand.

The detail on these biplanes was amazing.

Lots of foamies at NEAT as expected.

Hand launching a hotliner.

This custom Black Pearl covering had a matching Captain Jack Sparrow pilot figure.

All flying at NEAT is done off the grass lawn. There were six main stations for larger aircraft, and four at the far end for park fliers. This year helicopters got their own flightline which required the use of 2.4 GHz spread spectrum radios. This seemed to make sense as so many heli pilots have left FM gear behind, and it was quite a walk to the impound tent.

A variety of Horizon models on display.

Unknown old timer design converted to electric.

This bomber was for sale by the owner.

Fly RC Magazine setting up their fleet.

A little taste of everything.

Nice dummy radial engine.

A number of the big manufacturers were present, including Hobby Lobby, Horizon Hobby, FlightPower USA, Hitec, and Castle Creations. These booths were set up to show off products and give attendees a chance to ask questions. To avoid competing with their resellers, they were not offering items for sale.

That job was left to everyone else. The NEAT Fair is almost as much about shopping as it is about flying. There were plenty of show specials and good deals to be had. I managed to limit myself to a Scorpion motor and some supplies, leaving enough money in the bank for the mortgage.

One half of the vendor row.

The Hobby Lobby Gee Bee family with the R-3 in red.

Coaxial helis have gone scale.

The Castle Creations tent.

The Castle ESC lineup.

Northeast Sailplane had a huge tent.

Two of my favorite smaller manufacturers were back this year. Karen and James Karpy from Millennium RC were showing off their line of micro fliers. There was good news for people who are interested in the Micro SSX Biplane but don't want to build one from a kit: an ARF version is coming soon. Karen also showed me a prototype of a new monoplane called the Micro 3D. This small flier (around 22" wingspan) has a full fuselage with a battery compartment, and uses separate servos for the ailerons. James is still putting the finishing touches on the design, and expects to have it available in a couple months.

The Micro SSX in action.

The prototype Micro 3D from Millennium RC.

Ron from LightFlite also had a booth and flew at the noon demo as well. He was showing off a twin autogyro called the Twirl, made entirely of foam and using the same power system as his original RC Bug. Apparently if you cut the throttle and give full up elevator, it will float down and land almost vertically.

Ron heads back with the Twirl autogyro.

The Twirl in the air.

The Twirl up close. Only two servos are needed.

The Super Bug harriers for the camera.

Ron also had someone flying a prototype of the Super Bug, a 47" wingspan, 32 ounce EPP monster. Have a look at this video of it flying at E-Fest in February:

Castle Creations was showing samples of their new outrunner motor line for airplanes and helicopters. The first versions are aimed at large models (600mm heli, or multi-pound fixed wing), and should be available by the end of the year. There are also plans to introduce smaller motors in the future.

The 12 foot Telemaster lines up for takeoff.

Dropping the parachuting figurines.

The mad dash on the field.

Mission complete, heading home.

Tom Hunt and the SEFLI team ran a great show.

Lots of giant scale, and lots of spread spectrum.

Hobby Lobby did their customary prize drop over the field again from their monstrous 12 foot Telemaster. They also had quite a few planes on display, including the drop-dead gorgeous Gee Bee R-3 Fantasy Scale Racer.

Dan Landis had every other power system beat with his 14,000 watt Great Planes Cap 580. This 100 inch ARF was designed for a 100cc gasoline engine, but he used a 15S LiPo battery from Tanic to drive a Hacker outrunner through a Castle SHV speed controller.

A Lil Tony racer makes a knife edge pass.

The Cap 580 lifting off.

Safely back on the ground.

The noon demo crowd was dense.

Three of the largest planes at the show.

Even seen a power system like that on a profile?

On the smaller end of things was a flat foam combat demo. Six identical Zeros were hand launched together, each with a streamer attached. The goal is to stay alive by keeping your streamer and cutting down those of your opponents. The low stress, low risk nature of foam made this a really fun event.

The combat foamies launch together.

Playing cut the streamer.

A beautiful scale fighter.

Almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Notice the detailed markings.

Not exactly a park flier.

During open flying hours there was a wide variety of airplanes in the air: scale, sport, jets, and everything in between.

Great craftsmanship in this World War I replica.

The same model quite high.

The Hangar 9 Carden Yak.

You get the feeling this is the normal attitude for this aerobat.

Carrying the Yak home.

The complete opposite end of the spectrum.

I only saw one serious crash on Saturday, but it was a heartbreaking one. An enormous scale glider crashed on takeoff as it was being towed by a Sig Rascal 110. It appeared to get snagged on uneven ground which turned it sideways, which caught a wingtip and flipped it over. Hopefully it'll be back in the air next season.

The scale glider and Rascal tow plane.

Picking up the pieces after the crash.

Pilots waiting their turn to fly.

The NEAT Fair continues to be the must-attend show for RC enthusiasts in the Northeast. For many people it marks the end of the flying season, and a good chance to pick up a winter project. If you can make it, I strongly recommend the trip.