Stetson Flyers

Stetsons Aerobatic Rally 2025:

HOT sunshine greeted eighteen pilots at the 2025 version of a Stetsons Aerobatic day this year. An increasing breeze during the day was very much appreciated by all and definitely added to the fun in balloon bust and spot landing events.

Starting things off, advanced RPAS pilot Michel flew some 400- and 700-foot passes for everyone which was great to truly see what those heights look like.

We were treated to some superb flight demos in both C/L and R/C disciplines, with Dwayne and Xavier flying circles around us with excellent sequences. Thanks, guys, for showing us how it’s supposed to be done! Are you dizzy yet?

The R/C guys were not to be outdone and enjoyed watching Dave and Xavier (again!) flying sequence lines and some really cool barnstorming moves. Seeing Dave’s knife-edge snap roll on the deck is a gut clincher for sure! Xavier’s knife edge full loop with his mid-sized F3A aircraft was a real treat. With Dave Percy calling on the PA, Gary flew a BASIC sequence, to give folks an idea what entry-level aerobatics can look like on the R/C side.

This year’s Ed Rae event was postponed from Saturday to Sunday because the forecast was calling for calmer winds on Sunday than Saturday. 

The day started out as a beautiful day, light winds and kind of cool. The mozzies were out in force! As the morning progressed, the temperature became more June-like and the wind picked up (good old mother nature pulled the patented switcher-roo on us!) One good thing about the wind it kept the mozzies away (I hates them!) 

By the time the 9:00 morning brief happened we had 25 registered pilot’s and a fair number just out to enjoy the nice warm weather and pleasant day. The wind kept up, but wasn’t terrible and not too many had any trouble with it since it remained, for the most part, down the runway from the east. 

There were generally at least 2 -3 planes in the air most of the time. And I noted that even when there wasn’t a lot of flying, everyone was enjoying the weather and having a great social gathering. 

The Stetson Flyers Club airfield cleanup day was held May 9-10. Twenty-seven members volunteered to help maintain the airfield, make repairs and to make it safe and enjoyable for another flying season.  

The rolling of all grass surfaces started on Friday afternoon and continued until 11:30 am on Saturday. In total the runway was rolled four times. The exchange of the seasonal shelter from winter to spring is a welcome change as it signifies good weather, special events and BBQ’s!  The most labour-intensive part of the clean up was filling in potholes along the laneway along with scraping of loose paint, repainting curbs and touch-up other surfaces including flight benches, picnic tables, flight line and spectator fences.  In all two full gallons of brown paint were used within a few hours.  The painting brightens the facility and helps the curbs be more visible, avoiding the tripping hazards.  The windsock, the Canadian flag and the parking lot warning markers were all replaced.