Best in the West RC Jet Rally

The ‘Willow” was back in full effect for the bi-annual display of some of the best remote control jets, helicopters, pilots and modelers around not only the region, but around the globe. Fansmanship covered the spring version of the Buttonwillow event, “California Jets 2011,” and was back to cover the fall rally, “Best in the West 2011,” which did not disappoint.

The weather was cooperative, as the winds were low and the sun was sky high. Although one of the industry’s titans who was present at the spring event, Florida-native David Shulman, was not present, rally coordinator Joe Castelao was able to recruit one of Europe’s best, England’s Ali Machinchy, to serve as the headliner. This was an exciting thing for all enthusiasts from the region that were present, as for most, this was the first opportunity to see the flying ability of one of the greats from overseas.

The event organizer, Joe Castelao, put together a well-oiled machine that featured a vast collection of talent, some special features that were not expected by all fans that attended, and a flawless execution of the entire rally as a whole. There wasn’t a hiccup all weekend.

Here is a short clip of Castelao being interviewed by a local reporter at the outset of the event.

Early Friday morning, the runway was littered with all of the best models that were brought to the event from around the world, as the pilots were lined up and ready to get their birds in the air. The conditions were so nice early Friday that there seemed to be a race to get in line on the runway. Below are just a few of the sport and scale models that were featured.

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The Victory scale model was once again a big hit. There were two brought to the event and one was sold. This was again undoubtedly my favorite model of the entire event.

This sport jet was the largest sport jet at the event. The video below gives you an idea of the sheer size and power of this huge sport jet.

The difficulty of flying an RC helicopter is extremely high. The difficulty of flying an RC helicopter of this size is off the charts.

The aforementioned Ali Machinchy from across the pond flew a scale A-10 Warthog designed by Henry Nguyen.

Machinchy then had a tandem fly with Dave Presta, as they flew the two victories that were brought to the event. With the sun setting, the way the clouds began to turn orange meshed perfectly with the slow and majestic passes of the victories. It was a great way to end the day.

There always seems to be at least one major crash every one of these events, and early the following day, that’s just what happened. Speaking with the pilot of the destroyed jet, he was more than just a bit incensed. He informed me that he was coming in for a landing and some “rookie” didn’t realize the jet in front of him was slowing down to land and ran right up the back of the jet, destroying both jets. This is what a totaled turbine looks like.

For a frame of reference, here are a couple of models of what Jet Cat engines look like brand new. From new and shiny to toasted and totaled. Ouch.

Towards the end of the day Saturday, Castelao brought in some professional fireworks and incorporated them into a flight. The fans were pumped.

At the end of the event, all the jets were lined up and the fans were allowed out onto the runway for a fan vote of the best jets at the event.

“The Willow” was once again a success. The pilots, modelers and vendors that made it happen for all the fans that attended deserve a great deal of credit. Also, upwards of almost $1,000 was raised for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which is always a nice touch to any event. Fansmanship can’t wait for California Jets 2012 in the spring!