MODEL AIRPORT SHOW DRAWS 40 PILOTS

Learning to fly her "Garfield" airplane in acrobatic loops was the most difficult feat for Kathryn Renfrow, 12, a radio-control pilot.

But Renfrow didn't fly much Saturday during Cape Girardeau's first radio-controlled air show because the wind speeds were a little too high.

But about 40 pilots flew throughout the day, many more than once. Some pilots came from as far away as Paducah, Ky., to fly in the show.

The show was the first of its kind for the Southeast Missouri Modelers Association, sponsors of the daylong event at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

Rick Renfrow, a charter member of the SEMMA club, hopes the show becomes an annual event.

And with a "steady stream" of people coming to the show, it proves model planes aren't just for children, organizers say.

Although many in the crowd were children, their parents are just as interested in the planes. One pilot, Jim Pledger, said, "It's just an excuse to bring their kids."

Pledger has been flying radio-controlled planes since 1956. His first plane was controlled by a single channel "and you could turn right or left ... you quit when it ran out of gas," he said.

Now Pledger gets more enjoyment from building the planes than flying them.

Hand-eye coordination is vital to being a good pilot, he said, adding: "And mine is not what it used to be."

Flying a radio-controlled plane isn't like mastering a video-game joystick, said Jim Wunderlich, another club member.

"It's not at all like a video game," he said. Piloting a radio-controlled plane takes hand-eye coordination and an ability to keep track of the plane as it flies in a steady altitude.

When flying enthusiasts get tired of flying a particular model plane, they can always move to another type, Wunderlich said.

The model planes at the show ranged from electric planes to helicopters and even a replica of Snoopy's doghouse.

There's even a plane set up for beginning pilots. The club owns several "buddy boxes" that allow beginning pilots a chance to fly without fear of crashing.

A trained pilot, most all of whom are licensed by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, also has control of the plane via the "buddy box." Whenever a student pilot gets into trouble, the trained pilot can take over flying.

It took Kathryn Renfrow two years to get used to flying solo. She "got hooked" on flying by watching her father, Rick.

The flying season begins when the ground is dry and the weather calms down, which typically means after the winter thaw and spring rains subside. Members of SEMMA fly at an air strip near Gordonville off Route Z.