Also in this article:
Models and Accessories
Aircraft in a Park

RC-flying in Italy
Ilkka Klemetti

When you travel abroad for a vacation, you may not think that in addition to ordinary sightseeing places you might be able to find model airplane activities in the area.

In the popular holiday city of Rimini, Italy, there is an active model airplane club La Fenice. In Vergiano, some 5 miles from the city, the club runs a model airplane field of its own. In addition to a large grass area there is a paved strip for models to take off and to land. The field is equipped with a sun shield and about ten concrete tables for assembling the models. The field is intended for the club members, exclusively. Usually, during the weekends some 20-30 enthusiasts gather at the field. The membership fee is 160 €/year. Although the fee doesn't include any insurance, the members consider the fee a reasonable price for a good flying place. In the club there are some 60 members.

Umberto Borriello started flying a helicopter a couple of months ago. He says he still is a complete novice on this branch. For a living, he is working as a chef at a restaurant named Pizzeria dell'Angelo. He says their pizzas are the best in Italy. I confirmed this later when I visited the restaurant and tried their gold medal award pizza.

Eighty year old veteran in aeromodeling, Raoul Ceccaroni has led courses in modeling for 33 years in the area. His specialty is RC-gliders. This time, he came to the field on a motor cycle, without any models. Raoul told that he still has in his archives copies of the Finnish modeling magazine Lennokki, published back in the 70's.

He told about the local competitions for RC-gliders. The models were launched from a sightseeing platform in the city of San Marino, situated on a mountain. Located some 1300 feet below, the competitors stood at a sports plan, where the models landed after flight. The launcher got the instructions by a CB radio. These competitions were especially popular among the German modelers. However, nowadays the trees and bushes have grown to obstruct the view, so these kinds of events have not been arranged for the three last years.

Giuseppe Giovagnoli and Ariane.

Giuseppe Giovagnoli had brought a Top Flite Elder and an Ariane powered glider to the field. The wing span of the latter is 11 feet and it is equipped with a .50 Saito engine. I too, could try out this model. It proved to be a stable and easy flier. In Italy both Mode 1 (throttle on right stick) and Mode 2 (throttle on left) are used on their radios. In Finland, the latter is used most often. Of course Giuseppe's radio was Mode 2, otherwise I would not have touched it at all.

Ariane is a stable and forgiving model to fly.

Franco Ferrini's Aero L39 Albatros electric ducted fan model is a Schreiner GFK product. Earlier, he launched it with a bungee, but now he has made a dolly for take offs. Remaining on the ground after take off, the dolly has a steerable tail wheel connected to a servo and receiver. The rx frequency is the same as on the model's rx and the wheel is connected to the rudder channel. Although the runway is smooth the take offs were fiddly, requiring a lot of attention from the flyer.

In the neighboring city of Rimini, downtown Riccione there is one of the best equipped model shops in the area: Modellismo Riccione. In the department nearest the street, they sell children's toys. Don't let this confuse you, just go through one door more and you'll arrive in a real modeler's treasury vault.

The shop is run by Chiara Angelini, in cooperation with her father Ivan. As usual in the downtown, this shop is small in area, but they still stock a huge amount of modeling goodies, from ARF-kits to the smallest hardware. A great deal of the products are in cabinets and drawers behind the counter, so shopping requires consulting and communication with the staff. Ivan is a long time modeling enthusiast and he can offer solutions to all modeling needs.

There are 60-70 different model kits on display. Some of them are manufactured by an Italian company Mantua which is better know from their model ship and boat kits. Mantua's trade mark for model aircraft is Aviomodelli.

Modellismo Riccione is situated in the center of the city,
at Via G. Verdi, 16.

Ivan and Chiara Angelini show an Aviomodelli Bipe Special ARF-kit.

The shop ships products overseas, too. Some parcels have been shipped to Japan. Modellismo Riccione has an Italian language web site at www.omnimodellismo.it. Chiara promises to reply to e-mail inquiries in English.

About 6 miles form Rimini, Parco Tematico dell'Aviazione claims to be the biggest aviation theme park in Italy. Considering the area of 20 acres, it is large indeed. In the park there are tens of aircraft on display plus some military vehicles, radars and anti-aircraft weapons.

Piaggio P.166 flew its maiden flight in 1957. The plane is equipped with two Lycoming piston engines with 340 hp each. The orange wings behind the plane belong to a Piaggio P.148 trainer.

All displayed airplanes are stored outside. As you can guess from the open display, there are no rare wooden flying machines from the pioneering years of aviation. Except for one airplane, all others are from post-war period. About half of the 30 aircraft are from the Eastern Block countries, for example, there are three MiG-21s plus one separate cockpit section. Due to the open storage, the planes are no longer in shining condition. There are just a few Italian aircraft.

The aircraft are well displayed and you can view them at every angle. The paths in the park are properly laid, and the separately sold guidebook includes essential data on every exhibit. Climbing the park hills in more than 100 F heat gets an easy sweat running on your face and back.

A rough finish on the plane and the influence of the elements are evident on this MiG-23.

In the museum building at the park entrance there is, in addition to photos, scale models and medals, a large collection of Italian flight uniforms and suits from the 20's to present day.

The Fokker Dr.I triplane replica presented in the museum brochure and in some of the museum souvenirs is actually not a replica at all. Bigger than the real Fokker, it is made from aluminum sheets and its purpose may be to act as a decoy-duck for the motorists on the nearby highway.

Due to its proportions, Fiat G.46 would make a good scale model.

Copyright © 2005 Ilkka Klemetti
23.8.2005 webmaster