FAIRFIELD BUSINESS OWNER David James indulges his passion for aviation, in part, by flying remote control airplanes. Although he no longer competes, he flies demonstration at air shows. In pursuing a lifelong love of aviation, David James of Fairfield flies regularly but keeps his feet on the ground manipulating remote controlled airplanes.

The hobby has taken him across the United States flying demostrations and competing.

“I’ve always had a passion for aviation,” James, 30, says. “I took my first flight when I was about five years old.”

He then would pick copies of RC Modeler magazine when he went to the grocery store with his parents, and when he was 11 his father kicked in half the costs for an RC airplane.

That model airplane was a high wing model similar to a Piper Cub and had a 60-inch wingspan and .40 cubic inch engine.

From there he has progressed to more than a half dozen RC airplanes with wingspans of up to 12 feet, or about 40 percent the size of a real airplane.

AVIATION ENTHUSIAST David James of Fairfield looks over a few of the remote control airplanes he flies for fun and in demonstrations. Depending on the model, the planes are covered in fabric or sturdy plastic and weigh at about 40 pounds.

James reports that RC airplanes cannot exceed 100 pounds for safety reasons and that a special waiver is required to fly a plane over 55 pounds.

Over the years, the 30- year-old has competed with other fliers and has won several freestyle events in which the aircraft are put through aerobatic paces that are choreographed to music.

Competitions can be to fly the model planes through compulsary maneuvers, and are divided into classes according to ability.

James says he prefers freestyle flying because working through compulsary maneuvers can be boring.

TRANSPORTING LARGE REMOTE control airplanes takes a lot of room. This trailer provides space for half dozen planes and includes workshop space and living quarters. “I don’t compete anymore. I do it for fun,” he points out.

As a member of Corsicana Miniature Aircraft Club and International Miniature Aerobatic Club, and as a team member of Texas Heatwave based in Dallas, he now spends time flying demonstrations at shows for miniature and full-size aircraft.

For the past five years he has spent a week in May at the Joe Nall Fly-In at Woodruff, S.C.. The event this year included 954 airplanes, including bi-planes, warbirds, jets, aerobatics, corporate jets, sea planes and helicopters.

“Anything you can imagine in full-scale they’ve got it in RC,” James says.

He has built RC airplanes and has had planes built for them. In addition to the repair facilities in the trailer he has a full workshop at home to work on the models.

FLYING REMOTE CONTROL airplanes requires manual dexterity as the pilot manipulates ailerons, rudder, flaps, landing gear, throttle and more to put a craft through its paces. The Fairfield flyer took several of his RC airplanes to South Carolina, transporting them in a 32-foot trailer that has living quarters and a workshop.

RC airplanes are powered by 2-stroke engines fueled by a gasoline-oil mixture.

An aerobatic plane that James flies is a reproduction of a Pitts Special biplane, a 40 percent scale model of a competitive aerobatics airplane sponsored by Corona Beer. The model has all the markings of the full-size aircraft, including the pilot’s name.

The RC Pitts is powered by a 150 cubic centimeters, twin cylinder engine of 16.5 horsepower.

RC airplanes, which fly 100-120 miles per hour, are hand-propped to start and are controlled electronically from the ground.

The control console allows the operator to make the same adjustments as are required to fly a full-size airplane, rudder, alirons, flaps, stabilizer, retractable landing gear and throttle.

Not content to just fly from the ground, James also flies a Cessna 170 airplane, a tail-dragger, and has accumulated about 65 hours but has not yet earned a private pilot’s license.

Part of the problem in finishing flight training is finding a tail-dragger instructor—-most planes, today, feature a tricycle landing gear with a nosewheel, whereas a tail-dragger lands on two main gear and its tail.

The tail-dragger requires special handling when taxiing— the pilot can’t see over the nose—-and handles differently in wind and on landings.

James ground-looped his airplane a few years ago, causing several thousand dollars in damage.

“I haven’t flown in about six years,” he notes, but still plans on earning his pilot certificate.

In following his full-size flying avocation, the 30- year-old has made a treck to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh at Oshkosh, Wis., the largest airplane fly-in and trade show in the country.

“It’s something to experience,” James declares.

Flying his Cessna and RC airplanes would seem to be a good fit, but the two do not necessarily complement each other.

“Flying RC helps you fly full-scale. Flying full-scale hurts you flying RC,” James says.

The 30-year-old is the son of Tom and Susan James of Fairfield.

He is a partner in I-45 Wrecker Service, I-45 Cafe and I-45 Shell, and is a member of Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department.