Warbirds Over Delaware

25th anniversary of this East Coast scale event.

- Sal Calvagna

How do you successfully host a premier giant-scale RC event like Warbirds Over Delaware for 25 years? Well, a good way to find out is to see the contest directors and club members of the Delaware R/C Club busy at work. Like a gourmet chef, the club starts with just the right amount of flying, friends, and fun ingredients and then they spice it up a tad with plenty of food, sponsorship, volunteers, and a perfect venue to serve up a first-class event. Then they do it 25 times, all the while making each time a little better than the last. I have to admit that I have come for more years than I care to remember to enjoy this smorgasbord of scale warbirds and excitement.

On the Field

As its name implies, this event is a giant-scale military RC airshow, which is extremely popular and open to the general public. The event attracts thousands of spectators annually to its Lums Pond State Park venue in Kirkwood, Delaware, with the RC pilots coming from near and far. To help with the massive logistics involved in setting up the many tents and airplane encampments, this year’s event was held from Wednesday, July 6, through Saturday, July 9. For a good spot, you really do need to come early because, by Friday, there are so many tents set up that the event looks like it could qualify for its own zip code. This year, there were well over 200 highly detailed giant scale warbirds in attendance.