THE finest radio controlled military scale model aircraft will be on display this weekend at the Uranquinty flying field.
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The two-day Controller Military Scale Aircraft Display event run by the Wagga Model Aero Club will mark its 48th year this weekend, with free admission to the public.
The event, which falls on the weekend closest to ANZAC Day each year, brings in competitors from locations across the state including Canberra, Sydney, the South Coast and the Central Coast.
Long-time Wagga Model Aero Club member Tony McAtamney said those who participate go to extreme lengths to ensure their model aircraft look and operate almost identically to the real thing.
"They build the planes themselves. They can a metre to a metre and a half in wingspan, they can be large, they can be single engines, twin engines, we've had some out there with four," Mr McAtamney said.
"A lot of people build Spitfires and they paint them and decorate them beautifully, they put plane retracts on them so the wheels go up and down, they have a cockpit with a pilot in it and they dress them up beautifully."
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"I joined the Air Force Cadets for three or four years before I turned 18 and that gave me an insight into aeroplanes," he said.
"I visited the Royal Australian Air Force base in Richmond a few times and the base in Williamstown for a camp for a week and I had a fly in an air force plane and I got interested in aviation."
Mr McAtamney's love for aviation was passed on to his two boys who he joined the club with.
"We built our own plane and we had guys teach us how to fly and instruct us and one thing led to another, 20 years later and I'm still in the job. I just love aviation, I love aeroplanes."
The event is the perfect opportunity for other aviation lovers to get up close and personal with the craft.
Mr McAtamney said there will be a canteen with a good selection of food and drink, toilets and disabled toilet facilities, off-road parking and grandstand seating for the public.
The event will run on Saturday, April 23, from 9am to 4pm, and Sunday, April 24, from 9am to 3pm.
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