IF YOU GO* What: Warbirds Over the Summit.* When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.* Where: Summit Field near Collegedale.* Admission: Free.* Website: www.crccflyers.org.DIRECTIONS* From I-75: Take Exit 7 to Apison Pike (Route 317) and Collegedale. Go 2.5 miles to right turn onto Pattentown Road. After 1/2 mile, bear left onto Woodland Drive at the Trading Post. Follow about a mile to a left turn onto Landfill Road and airfield. Signs will be posted.* For GPS users: The entrance to Summit Field is 4223 Old Woodland Drive, Ooltewah, Tenn., 37363.
Members of the Chattanooga Radio Control Club will send some of their favorite planes aloft Saturday at an event called Warbirds Over the Summit.
According to event director Paul C. Wright, scale replicas that emulate military aircraft “are far and away the most popular among modelers.”
Known as warbirds, they may be based on any aircraft flown by any nationality during any period, he said. They range from the first flying machines adapted for observing troop movements in the opening days of World War I through modern jet fighters.
The models may be powered by electric motors, internal combustion engines or jet turbines. They range in size from small “park” flyers to giant scale models with wingspans greater than 8 feet and capable of speeds in excess of 100 mph.
The larger-scale planes performing Saturday represent an average investment of about $3,000, Wright said. Aircraft that fly at Summit Field are restricted to a maximum weight of 55 pounds, a maximum speed of 200 mph and maximum altitude of 500 feet.
Admission and parking are free. Food concessions will be available.