FOND DU LAC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — It bills itself as a smaller version of Oshkosh’s EAA Airventure, with planes that are *just* a little smaller.
The 18th “Warbirds and Classics over the Midwest” remote-control airshow is underway in Fond du Lac County.
Like many of the 125 pilots at the show, David Bhend says his love for flying began while training to be an aviator.
“I was living in Minneapolis, St. Paul, years ago. And I was taking full-scale flying lessons in a 1947 two-seat Cessna. And when we moved to Wisconsin, I had to give that up. I wanted to fly something, so this was the next best thing,” said David Bhend, Chippewa Falls.
That flyer, is a British Westland Lysander, a World War Two era airplane painted with markings from Switzerland.
“They were a neutral country. So if you landed an airplane in their country, they kept it,” said Bhend.
The model is one of about 500 giant-scale airplanes on display, and flying, at the Warbirds and Classics over the Midwest show. Paul Hohensee is the contest director, and says the pastime has come a long way.
“When I started, you spent a year building your airplane. And then you take it out and break it about 10 times, before you knew how to fly. Now, you can buy one, made out of Styrofoam, ready to fly, for 400 bucks. And if it breaks, you put it together with Elmer’s Glue, and fly it the next day,” said Paul Hohensee, Air Show Contest Director.
On Friday, pilots used the quarter-mile long runway to hone their skills, and put these models to the test.
“These airplanes really represent the pinnacle of the hobby,” said Hohensee.
“What’s very unique about this event, is when you’re actually flying in a real airplane, you don’t get to see the airplane. You see the ground, and you feel it. Here, you get to have the fun of controlling it, plus you get to see the airplane, as it flies by,” he said.
After a few laps around the field, David Bhend gently returned his Swiss flyer to the earth.
“When you see an airplane perform like that, and bring it in, and just make a nice smooth landing, it’s a great feeling inside. It’s just another successful mission,” he said.
The air show at Wellnitz Field continues through Sunday.
