Originally, the group was planning to have the contest at the Kansas City Speedway, but due to congestion in that area, they decided to look elsewhere, said one of the pilots, Bob Hanford of Broken Arrow, Okla.
Mike Basta, vice-president of the association, was in charge of setting up locations. Through various avenues and connections, Basta and Kjellin started working together in January on getting the group to Marion.
Jim Lehrmann of Goessel, a member of the group, spoke with Jim O?Reilly of Wichita and Basta of Overland Park, who are both officers of the association. From that meeting, the city of Marion became a possible location.
?These planes are not toys,? Kjellin said. ?The planes are specifically designed to compete in local, national and even world championships.?
Each aircraft varied not only in color, but also in structure.
?The models are delicate and intricate constructions of balsa and tissue paper,? Kjellin said. ?Some are powered by engines, known as glo engines, some by multiple strands of rubber and others simply used pure aerodynamics.?
Hanford said he got started building and flying planes when he was 8 years old.
At 56, he is still going strong, having won seven first-place awards and one second-place while in Marion and despite rain and heat.
?My dad got me into this lifelong hobby,? he said. ?In fact, my dad was still flying planes at 83.?
Hanford, who is a structural engineer at Global Engineering in Tulsa, said he has met friends across the country.
?A lot of people in Marion welcomed us and we weren?t used to anything like this,? he said. ?We were so well-received and I definitely will be telling other model-plane members.?
In addition to Oklahoma, participants came from Arkansas, Texas, Colorado and Kansas.
?Saturday night the mYac (Marion Youth Activities Center) hosted a banquet for them; mYac also provided concessions for the whole event,? Kjellin said.
?I was very impressed with the quality of the participants,? he added. ?All were pleasant to work with and handled the rain delay with great patience.?
Kjellin said he hopes to have the group back next year.
?They stayed in our hotels, ate at our restaurants and bought gas and supplies in our stores,? he said. ?This looks to be an annual event and they expect more participation each year as the word gets out.?
