Saturday May 11, 2013 was the day of the Orlando Mini Helicopter Blowout at TORCHS. (The Orlando Radio Controlled Helicopter Society) We arrived shortly after 8AM to find the flight line was already active.

Some of the pilots got there on Friday morning, and were taking advantage of the  early flying opportunities, and the sounds of rotor blades and the smell of nitro exhaust filled the air.

Aaron and I got our pit tent set up and I went to the registration booth to get signed up so I could fly. I only managed one flight all day, but fun flies are not always about how many flights you get in, as much as spending time chatting and catching up with friends you have not seen in ages.

The weather was absolutely perfect for flying. It was sunny, clear and about 89 degrees...with a very light wind. Like I said...perfect conditions. Our fun was only threatened buy the weather one time, with a storm moving in from the west. Which ended up dancing around us and never even putting one drop of rain on our parade.

There were a few crashes throughout the course of the day as well, but none of them were major.

Bobby and Bert put on an awesome mid day demo which wowed the crowd, and had a few non-flying spectators watching in disbelief.
I heard one of them say " I had no idea a helicopter could do that"

After Bobby and Bert finished their demo...Bobby did a demo flight at center stage with our good friend "Gator". That was a hoot and I could tell Gator was feeling a little nervous. But who wouldn`t be nervous trying to do a demo flight with Bobby Watts?

In addition to the 3D demos, there was a demo flight by one of the professional F3C pilots who is on part of Team USA. What an awesome performance that was. I really wish I could have gotten his flight on video.

There was a raffle at the end of the event, and one of our local guys won the main prize. A Goblin 500 kit supplied buy SAB Helicopters and Bert and Suzi Kammerer.

The Orlando Helicopter Blowout, and the Mini Helicopter Blowout are two events that should not be missed. Especially if you live in Central Florida.