This is Cali Style VTPR aerobatics. It’s a style of R/C glider flying that is unique to California and specifically Ellwood Mesa. We fly very close to the ground in very light winds with gliders that fly the same upright as inverted and do all manner of wild tricks. Some of our favorites are extremely low passes where we frequently touch the belly, tail or wingtip to the ground.
This photo captures everything about what I’m trying to do with these gliders in a nutshell. The glider is my own design, called the Le Fish, which has been a commercially successful kit since 2006. Last year, my close friend “Swiss Peter” Richner perfected a means of building the Le Fish and other aerobatic gliders to previously unheard-of low weights, and the past 9 months have been a frenzy of experimentation and pushing forward of boundaries.
Today we can do things with our gliders that have literally never been done before in our sport / hobby, and it’s the greatest feeling in the world. I feel so lucky to be so deeply involved with the development and spread of this kind of flying. It is joy personified and taken wing.
Read more about the history and development of VTPR aerobatics.
