S.E.F.F. or Southern Electric Flyers Festival takes place each year in the middle of Georgia. One of the worlds largest festivals of its kind is found outside of a very sleepy town called Americus. Here lies a wonderful gem of beauty and function, in the form of a very well manicured field, complete with a huge pond for water take offs and landings, and grass so smooth you would swear your on a huge fairway at a golf course!
But it gets even better. Right in the middle of this perfect fly site lies the one single thing that every RC pilot or crafter desires. An impressively stocked HOBBY SHOP just a hop, skip, and jump away from the fly sites, literally!
It is simply a RC'ers dream come true.
Hodges Hobbies, on Hodges field completes the package and makes this event one not to miss! Did i mention that the gathering is held over 7 days!?
Well This festival is electric only, which meant there was a distinct lack of noise in the air, minus of course the sounds of tiny props pushing planes faster than I'd ever seen in real life. Our camp was set up next to the field that was being used for DLG (Discus Launch Gliders) which do not have motors, so catching some Z's was never an issue. And since these types of planes are very appealing to me, I sat in awe watching the planes get thown into the sky and floating back down only to be caught and relaunched. So graceful. So Quiet. So beautiful. I love the idea of no down time due to batteries needing to be charged. :) Very attractive planes those DLG's. That is until one of the Horizon Hobby guys let his full carbon DLG touch two separate power lines which led to a spectacular fireball that brought his plane down in a not so graceful puddle of goo that resembles magma. Total loss for him. :(
This was my first festival like this, normally I am involved performing, teaching, vending at, or helping promote or putting on music festivals, so this was quite different and thus didn't really know what to expect or how to properly prepare. So I left my planes at home with the mindset "Well, I wouldn't go to a concert to play my instrument."
I went to observe and learn. And I did ALOT of both. :D
There were designated fly spots for all kinds of crafts not excluding Helis (including sport, 3D, scale, multi-rotor, and even a 45 lb Jet copter!). There was times each day for Extreme Speed that the real demons and freaks came out to scream! Unbelievable. The videos just cant capture their awesome-ness.
Paintball fundraising that supplied the ammo, guns, gear, everything to take your turn to shoot a ritewing out of the air as it cruises by in endless circuits giving you ample time to line up and bring your target down. Very fun idea!
Also the combat line ups was huge!
And the fun sure doesn't stop after the sun falls, no way. Then things start getting trippy when 30-40 night flyers come out to shine, strobe, flap, and twist. Night combat looks very difficult.
Night Bowling is just too much fun to watch! Next year ill have my own shot at this. :)
The daily Noon demos are what really seals the deal each day. This is the time where the big companies get to demo their latest and upcoming gadgets, gizmos, and crafts. This is also when world class teams take the stage to show their skills and crafts. Never before had I witness such astounding skill and jaw dropping moments. There were many many times I found myself speechless and in utter awe at what was taking place before my eyes.
Just when the awesome level of going off the charts, Mac (the owner of the whole shabang) takes center field with his GIANT B-27 and X-1 rocket glider. The sheer size of this beast is numbing. The way he flies it (prop hanging, head level inverted loops, flat spins, perfect 4 point turns, and more) will leave you breathless and the intensity of the X-1 going back up will take you by surprise every time. At the end of the festival they made a massive candy drop for the kids. One cannot help but smiling as a stampede of kids hurl towards the drop zone leaving in its wake a steady stream of lost shoes in the scramble.
All in all, this was one of the most memorable gatherings I had been to. I ended up buying a CNC-HP Wing kit and a DLG short kit to build at a later time when I have better understanding of these low profile, high performance planes. :)
If you want to take your RC hobby to the next level, make it a point to attend a festival like this. You wont regret it. The freinds you make, the family that is forged, and the information gleaned will last a lifetime. I just wanted to share this with you all. Hope it gets you thinking..
^_^
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