By Tony Hardin
President, Woodford County Aeromodelers
My thoughts drift back to a warm summer evening in 1998.
That day I stood with my friend and mentor, Len Greathouse, at the “Cool Meadow” model airport at Woodford County Park. I had recently joined the Woodford County Aeromodelers Club and was excited about learning to fly model airplanes.
Over the prior weeks, Len had been patiently teaching me to fly my brand-new Eagle 2 trainer that I had spent months building from a stack of balsa wood. The sessions started with Len’s inspection of the 5-foot wingspan, red and silver creation to ensure that it would take to the sky and return safely in one piece.
Deeming my model airworthy, Len connected the cord of his transmitter to my buddy box prior to it taking the sky. This enabled him to take back control if necessary to prevent a mishap that might discourage my future participation in my newfound hobby. My first circuits of the field, glitchy and erratic in the beginning, gradually became smooth and steady. Then it was on to more difficult maneuvers, all while continuing to fly closer to the ground.
Then came the day I would solo.
For the first two flights of the evening, Len had me practicing low passes down the runway. Then, on that final turn as the plane approached the threshold, he calmly said, “Cut the throttle and land.” Fortunately, and by design, I’m sure, I didn’t have much time to think about it. My training kicked in, and I brought my aircraft down for my first landing.
Len promptly pulled the trainer cord out of his radio and proclaimed that his work was done.
After my nerves had calmed, I refueled my plane and took to the skies with no teacher beside me. No cord connected to save me. Just me, my radio and my plane. A repeat of the previous flight.
After a few circuits of the field and a similar buttery landing, I earned my Remote Control Wings that day at the conclusion of my first solo flight.
That was 28 years ago.
The hobby and the technology involved have changed dramatically. But the passion born that day remains strong.
My happy places are my workshop and the airfield at Woodford County Park. Winter months are spent in my shop building my next favorite plane. When spring arrives, it’s off to the field where I get to put it through its paces. Both are times when I can set aside the worries of the day as I give my hobby the attention it demands. For me personally, the hobby provides a substantial escape from the stresses of everyday life.
Then there are the relationships I have built with fellow hobbyists over the years.
My best buddy and lifelong friend Ray shares my passion for flying. Living three hours apart, the hobby provides us with an excuse to spend time with one another as we share our tall tales while flying together. Attending fly-ins and swap meets around the country has allowed me to get to know folks whose paths I may have never crossed.
Flying has also afforded me the opportunity to share my Christian faith with others. It seems that any activity can be done in a way to glorify God.
The Woodford County Aeromodelers has existed since 1995, when the Woodford County Parks and Recreation Board and the Fiscal Court constructed the current facility known as “Cool Meadow.” For 31 years, scores of model pilots in our community have enjoyed the ups and downs of the hobby (no pun intended).
Though Cool Meadow has served many of us well for decades, the growing activity around the airfield has made the hobby a bit more tenuous.
The disc golf course, dog park, the new location of the Crittenden Cabin and the fishing lake are wonderful additions to the park and our community. But they have collectively crept closer to the once wide-open field we have enjoyed for so long. This reality prompted recent discussions with the Woodford County Park Board and the Woodford County Fiscal Court.
Working with a committee, the Aeromodelers and the Park Board agreed on a memorandum of understanding to relocate the field further west within the park boundary to a location unaffected by other activities.
In September, the Fiscal Court voted unanimously to allow the concept of the relocation, subject to the final approval of the physical work required to develop the runway at the new site. As president and representative for the Woodford County Aeromodelers, I’d like to offer our thanks to the Park Board and Fiscal Court for making the relocation a possibility. As a result of their commitment, the passion of the exciting and rewarding hobby of model aviation will live on in Woodford County for generations to come.
In addition to serving as president of the Woodford County Aeromodelers Club, Tony Hardin is an associate pastor at Journey Church, chaplain of the Versailles Police Department, and lives in Troy with his wife, Christine, a pediatric nurse.