Flying High

Model pilots show off their skills in Steinbrunn

Five members of the model flying club during the final preparations(Bild: Judt Reinhard)

The first "Friendship Flying" event will take place on Whit Sunday, with 40 pilots on the ground to amaze visitors. Children can try their hand at remote control.

It will be swirling over Steinbrunn when an estimated 40 people send their model planes into the sky on Whit Sunday. The first "Friendship Flying" event is being organized by the local model flying club (MFV), which was founded in 2005 and now has a proud 34 members. The youngest are 12, the oldest is 92. Tomorrow in Gartengasse is about nothing but having fun: every pilot on the ground wants to show off their flying skills and amaze the spectators.

Deceptively real: most of the planes are even manned.(Bild: Judt Reinhard)

The airfield is as neat as an English garden. There is not a stone to be found. "Otherwise there could be serious damage when landing," says MFV chairman Walter Balak (50), who was infected by this sporting virus in 1996. He currently has four helicopters and ten planes, some of which he built himself. "You can count on 200 hours for a race model," says Balak. Incidentally, the helicopter is powered by petrol, one liter fits in the tank, so the plane can fly in circles for a quarter of an hour. The helicopters, on the other hand, run on electricity, and a solar system is mounted on the airfield building.

Children are welcome to take part in friendly flying - if they are lucky, they can operate the remote control under the guidance of an instructor.