YOUNG GUNS AT TOP GUN

Frank Tiano continues to revise Top Gun to keep it current with industry trends. In that spirit, he introduced a new class on the 30th anniversary of the scale invitational. Young Guns is intended as an opportunity for the youth in the hobby to compete to gain valuable experience so that they can take their place in future competitions. For most of the “young guns,” this was their first Top Gun. While waiting for the flightline to open, several of these new Top Gun pilots were gathered in a circle on their phones and tablets, laughing and giggling until an adult (me) showed up. Then they went silent— but just for a moment. When I asked, “What’s your favorite thing about Top Gun?,” Cody Hague—at nine years old, Top Gun’s youngest pilot—was first to respond with the word “Fun!” The others chimed in with words like “Awesome,” “Great,” and “Amazing.” It was obvious that the group was having a good time. The conversation turned a little more serious when they were asked about the competition. The most important thing for them was that they got the chance to fly against each other. The playing field was level, and their age was no longer important. They could equally relate to one another as an established peer group (kudos to Frank Tiano!). Just like all model aviators, they loved talking about their airplanes. Brady Ornat went into considerable detail explaining how he used chalk dust to weather and dirty up his Top Flite P-40. He created rivets using a soldering iron, adding, “You have to be careful not to put a hole through the fuselage.” Zavi Machinchy was the leader within the group, offering up details on his L-29 and about the other aircraft as well.

Later, I met up with Kris Gunter and his dad, Dylan, as they worked together under the tent to fix fuel lines on Dylan’s Cougar. With guidance from Kris, Dylan was using a safety-wire twist to ensure that the fuel lines would be secure. Each of the young guns had a strong role model, the common thread being dads and granddads. —Carl Layden