Ringmasters flew in many Northwest locations and weather conditions for the annual global fly-a-thon. Above, Dave LaFever's Ringmaster, powered by a classic McCoy .35, takes off at the Can Do Ranch in Junction City, Ore., as fellow Eugene Prop Spinner Gene Pape launches. Flying Lines photo.

Northwest fliers participate in Ringmaster fly-a-thon

Control-line model aviators in several Northwest locations put up flights on various kinds of Ringmasters over the Oct. 7-8 weekend (and the Oct. 14-15 make-up weekend) as part of the worldwide Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon sponsored by the Brotherhood of the Ring.

The flights took place in Auburn, Wash., Portland, Ore., Junction City, Ore., and Medford, Ore. These are the flights that we know about; there may have been others not yet reported to Flying Lines. All Flights were reported to the Brotherhood for counting in the worldwide effort to fly as many Ringmasters on a single weekend as possible.

Numbers updated 11/2/17: This year the worldwide flying event surpassed the 2016 record of 3,928 flights with a new record of 4,366 Ringmaster flights by 742 pilots. See a tally of where all the flights took place and comments from the groups that flew.

Here are the flights that we know about in the Pacific Northwest:

Saturday-Sunday: Oct. 7-8: Pat Chewning of Beaverton, Ore., made two flights on his Ringmaster in Old-Time Stunt at the Fall Follies contest at Bill Riegel Model Airpark in Salem, Ore. In Portland, Ore., 10 fliers made 52 flights at a Northwest Fireballs session at East Delta Park. In Medford, Ore., members of the Rogue Eagles made 63 flights at the Eagles' flying field. In Auburn, Wash., nine fliers made 58 flights at Auburn Airport in a Northwest Skyraiders event. Saturday Oct. 14: Three Eugene Prop Spinners members flew Ringmasters at the Can Do Ranch in Junction City, Ore.

We'll post any other pictures we get of the 2017 Northwest Ringmaster fly-a-thon as we receive them.

Many Ringmaster versions were flown at the Northwest events. These two, at the Can Do Ranch, are a Pat Johnston-built version (top) powered by an O.S. .26 four-stroke, and an S-1 built by Bob Lewis, powered by a K&B .28. Flying Lines photo.


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This page was upated Nov. 2, 2017

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