Model plane pilots gathered near Nixa to celebrate National Model Aviation Day

May 09, 2024

by: Jessica Hammer

Posted: Aug 20, 2023 / 01:00 PM CDT

Updated: Aug 20, 2023 / 12:17 PM CDT

NIXA, Mo. — The heat didn’t stop model plane pilots from gathering at McCauley Field northeast of Nixa on Saturday.

McCauley Field is the home of the Ozark Mountain Barnstormers RC Airplane Club, which got together this weekend to celebrate a special day for model planes.

“This is the National Model Aviation Day,” said John Knowles, president of the Ozark Mountain Barnstormers RC Airplane Club. “We celebrate this every August and it’s just a time for us to get together and invite other clubs to come and fly with us and just have a good time. We had probably 18 pilots and lots of visitors today, so it was a good turnout. Some of the planes you can buy are already built and then other guys like to build the planes from scratch out of kits. Some of these planes cost, you know, up in the thousands of dollars. Your average plane is, you know, $200 or $300. I started out when I was a teenager and then a lot of these guys are pilots or military, so that’s where they got interested in it, and then we just have all ages.”

Planes varied in shapes and sizes, and even time period. One plane was a model from World War I and another was a replica of the plane Ameila Earhart flew when she was lost at sea in 1937.

Pilots also varied in age. Many were older, but the youngest pilot was 11 years old.

The Ozark Mountain Barnstormers RC Airplane Club hosts several events throughout the year, including a family picnic, which will be held September 16.

Previous: The Atlas arts center, and its full theater menu, is a gem on H Street Next: University of Wyoming's McCoy Leads Earth System Model Project with $1M DOE Grant

Send inquiry

Send