Community invited to fly, paintball model airplanes for a cause this weekend
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IDAHO FALLS – It was a clear day as the Desert Eagles Model Airplane Flying Club took flight in a small open field near Doug Andrus Trucking south of Idaho Falls Wednesday morning.
Club members gathered to prepare for their annual paintball shoot and open house this weekend, which consists of shooting paintballs at model airplanes as they pass overhead.
“It’s a blast,” Club Treasurer Tye Tomchak tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We’re going to go from 9 a.m. to noon and we’re going to shoot paintballs for about 45 minutes and then have a couple of demonstrations. We’ll then go back to shooting paintballs and have demonstrations again.”
The event is happening Saturday and is open to anyone. A variety of model airplanes will be on display, which will be flown by club members. A buddy box will also be available, where a model airplane pilot will allow those who are interested to fly a plane.
Tomchak invited EastIdahoNews.com to shoot the airplanes ahead of this weekend’s event. See how we did and what it was like in the video player above.
RELATED | Public invited to fly, paintball model airplanes for a cause this weekend
The Desert Eagles Model Airplane Flying Club has been teaching aviation enthusiasts how to build and fly their own model airplane for more than 20 years. Some of the club’s 42 members are actual pilots who fly real airplanes and many are veterans of the U.S. military.
Club member Al Tucker served in the Air Force for 24 years and one of his main tasks was working with ICBM missiles.
“I troubleshot and repaired the electronic systems for the ICBMs. That’s what I started out doing. I ended up as the Command Inspector for Strategic Air Command. My job was to make sure all the missile bases were doing things correctly,” Tucker says.
Early on in his military career, Tucker was sent to Germany with the Tactical Fighter Wing to coordinate the maintenance of the F-4 fighter jets as the squadron worked to intercept potential Russian aggression against Europe during the Vietnam War.
Tucker says the highlight of his experience was being able to work with so many people from all walks of life. It was an honor for him to serve his country and he’s enjoyed being part of the model airplane club all these years.
He’s looking forward to showing people what the club is all about during Saturday’s event.
“We’ll have different types of aircraft in the air off and on. We’ll have somebody flying a helicopter,” says Tucker. “Weather permitting, we’ll have a couple of airplanes that look like lawnmowers, flying. We want to keep the crowd interested while the guys flying the paintball birds are taking a break.”
The event is free but there is a cost to shoot paintballs. It’s $2 for 10 paintballs. All the proceeds will go to the Veterans Mobility Corp, a nonprofit that provides wheelchairs to veterans and children.
Frank Smith, the president of the organization, says enough money was raised at last year’s event to provide three wheelchairs for local veterans and he’s hoping even more money will be raised this year.
“We’d like to see as much money as we can get. Every little bit helps,” says Smith.
Organizers are hoping for a good turnout. They’re promising a good time for all those in attendance and they’re inviting you to come and support the cause.
“We shot 2,000 paintballs last year. That’s how many people were here. We’ll have four stations and two airplanes in the air the whole time,” Tomchak says. “If you’re a little nervous about flying an airplane, come out because these guys have tons of experience. They’ll help you because they were in the same spot when they started flying.”
The field is off a gravel road north of Doug Andrus Trucking along New Sweden Road. Look for a sign with the Desert Eagles Flying Club on it. For further directions, click here.