IF YOU GOWhat: Chattanooga Radio Control Club’s Flying Circus.When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.Where: Summit Field, entrance at 4223 Old Woodland Drive.Admission: $5 per person, $10 per carload.Phone: 344-5630.Website: www.crccflyers.org
Usually, when the circus comes to town, the highest-flying entertainment takes place on a tightrope or trapeze a few dozen feet in the air. This Saturday, however, a group of local radio-control pilots will put on an airborne carnival that promises to make those activities seem positively earthbound.
During its first Flying Circus, the Chattanooga RC Club will field 20 to 30 remote-operated model aircraft, which will race and perform stunts hundreds of feet above Summit Field.
“These guys will be doing tumbling maneuvers and hovering maneuvers. It’s at the edge of what airplanes are capable of doing,” said club spokesperson Paul J. Wright, as he put the finishing touches on a plane he’s renovated with a bomb door to drop candy during the event.
The event will double as a fundraiser for Siskin Children’s Institute and as a way to pay back the community for the use of Summit Field, which is owned by the city, Wright said.
During the circus, the skies will be filled with craft representing many forms of flight, including sport flyers, warbirds (military re-creations from World War I and World War II) and a propeller-driven model capable of reaching 150 mph.
In addition to the stunt flying, the event also will host a walkable gallery of grounded planes, a demonstration of the now-outmoded control-line mode of flying and a series of pylon races.
After 2 p.m., a buddy box will be available that allows attendees to co-pilot planes with the aid of an instructor, who can take control in the event of an imminent crash.
Concessions will be available, but guests are free to bring their own cooler and are encouraged to provide their own seating.
Whether the event raises a significant amount of money for Siskin or simply provides a family-friendly outing, it will have served its purpose, Wright said.
“We’ve been talking amongst ourselves for years of trying to do something that’s a little more community-oriented,” Wright said. “We’re pretty small potatoes in the world of Siskin benefactors, but it’s like they say, ‘It’s better than a stick in the eye.’
“If we can come up with a few hundred dollars or as much as $1,000, that would be fine.”