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Bella Italia RAC 2018

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Review 6.-8.July 2018, RAC Raduno Aeromodelli Classici 2018. At last, it’s starting again! After a two-year break and as requested by the Foligno historical organiser, we have put our beloved old stuff back on the airfield.

For this model flying retro meet, the approved historical period of the models is fixed: ’53-’93, so anything that flew in that period: trainers, F3A and other aerobatic models, fun models and so on.
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All of which is underlined by the change of name of the event itself, from “Raduno F3A Vintage” to “RAC Raduno Aeromodelli Classici” (RAC Classic Aircraft Meeting).

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This is the 7th occasion and consolidates the whole event into a broader and calmer, but above all, a non-competitive event, thus distinguishing it from the other F3A aerobatic competitions held at various other airfields.

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The venue is the same as in previous years: the Sagrantino-Parco Acquarossa airfield in Gualdo Cattaneo (PG). There are two access roads with secured entry, over eight hundred metres of runway, with many other attractions at the site such as a bar, restaurant and also an agricultural museum.

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RC pilots, many old and new friends who all share the same passion, model flying of the past. Model aircraft are displayed here that have long since ceased to be found at other model flying fields.

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Every year it’s the same, it’s the annual meeting place for retro model aircraft enthusiasts from Italy. It is like an addiction. Once infected by the “old model aircraft” bug, you can never get away. You see many old faces, but also new ones.

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The flying site is affectionately called “Centru de lu Munnu” by the inhabitants of Foligno.

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The aim of the organisers is to gather modellers, experienced or not so experienced, from all over Italy. Having fun considered to be more important than competitions.

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Many did not hesitate to drive for five or six hours by car and several hundred kilometres just to be there. Some participants are only present for one day, others for two days and still others are there for three days.

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A completely open meeting, without leaders, flight orders, controls, judges or rankings, just a simple desire to meet again, get together, have fun, fly as much and as often as you want, or stay under the pavilion and talk when the runway is occupied, or when you want a break from flying.

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An event that is almost spontaneous, but still requires some organisation.

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Printed caps and T-shirts for everyone, arrangements with the restaurant and to reserve the track, personal invitations from the known interested parties.

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But all those present contribute to this wonderful event. Beautiful model airplanes are brought to Foligno from the basement, friendships are cultivated, and new ones are made, memories are exchanged, and incidentally, a model building exchange is created where great things can be exchanged or purchased.

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Aircraft engines, radio control systems and other items can be admired and purchased here. Many a treasure finds its way into other loving hands.

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Some people arrived with five models and left with seven, plus a couple of pairs of wings still to be finished!

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Three days of flying, fun, jokes and cheerful get-togethers in the restaurant, with Friday being unusually wet due to a heavy afternoon rain and freshening the air.

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Unfortunately we inevitably had to record some model aircraft crashes, some with easily repairable damage, others slightly less nice damage, but we all know that’s a part of model flying.

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This time we didn’t have so many of the models that are prominent in Italy such as Kosmo, Komet or Galaxy, but there were many other designs that are considered exotic in Italy such as Gladiator, Hunter, Taurus, Kwik Fli, Akrobaby and a greater presence of control line models, especially in the GIP 46 formula.

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In between flights, we also had the opportunity to get a close-up look at the runway owner’s Piper Seneca, which was undergoing its annual maintenance with an engine test on the runway.

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Many of the participants were attending for the seventh time, however there were also new faces:

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Cristiano Giustozzi (Foligno), Leonardo Radi (Foligno), Angelo Severgnini and wife Patrizia (Cremona), Marco Toscani (Cremona), Marco and Matteo Buono (Rome), Ivano Garzena and Andrea Bramante (Turin), Massimo “Kanippa” Caniparoh (Pavia), Claudio “Capellone” Santocori (Rome), Ermann Felici (Rome), Ernesto Capobianco (Bari), Carletto and Giovanni Stella Fagiani (Macerata), Giorgio Zenere (Vicenza), Alberto Pomponi (Bologna), Claudio Busonero (Rome), Lucia-no Battoccolo (Ancona), Giuseppe Moschini (Rome), Simone Losi (Siena).

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As you can see, participants came from all parts of Italy. Only the locals were more strongly represented.

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Unfortunately, Benito Bertolani could not attend the meeting this year. Something was missing… Benito was on the road with his boys that weekend for the Free Flight World Championship. The dedication and enthusiasm of this great Italian aeromodeller is unbelievable, who, at eighty years of age, never tires of motivating himself and creating new things.

Please enjoy the photos published here.

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Images: Marco Buono
Text: Marco Buono / Modellismo magazine

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