The Other Side of the Tree Line
As seen in the Summer 2021 issue of Park Pilot
Rachelle Haughn interviews FAC Vice President Mike Welshans
This is one of Mike’s favorite photos, taken in the 1990s at an FAC contest with AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame member, famous modeler, and designer Earl Stahl.
Born and raised in the Detroit suburbs, Mike Welshans began building model aircraft when he was 6 or 7 years old. Although his aircraft preferences have changed throughout the years, his love for the hobby has not wavered.
Rachelle Haughn: How and when did you learn to fly?
Mike Welshans: I’ve built models [for] as long as I can remember—from about the age of 6 or 7. I never got one to fly until I joined the Cloudbusters [Model Airplane Club; cloudbustermac.tripod.com]. The help you get from fellow club members is a major reason [why] I belong to multiple clubs including, locally, the Detroit Cloudbusters and Detroit Balsa Bugs, and nationally, the FAC (Flying Aces Club; flyingacesclub.com) and the NFFS (National Free Flight Society; freeflight.org).
RH: When and how did you get involved with the Cloudbusters?
MW: In the late 1970s, my wife, son, and I attended the Michigan State Championships for Control Line and FF (Free Flight) modeling. At the time, it was held in a Detroit suburb. I was hooked and wanted to learn to fly. Trying it on my own wasn’t working, and one day I was in a local hobby shop and asked the owner some questions. Another customer gave me a Cloudbusters card, and I attended the next meeting. I was surprised that there were so many people with the same interests. I joined them in 1978 and have been a member ever since.
Mike presents the Walt Mooney award for FF scale to Don DeLoach at the 2019 Nats. Photo by Rick Pangell.
RH: Do you mostly fly Indoor or Outdoor FF rubber-powered models?
MW: The majority of my models today are built for outdoor flying, mostly FAC events. I do occasionally fly a bit of Indoor duration and scale, but not a lot. RH: Why do you enjoy rubber-powered aircraft?
MW: I love FF modeling because to fly the models successfully, you really need to learn aerodynamics and how to trim a model so it will fly in a circle and come down in the same field or park you are flying in.
RH: Do you still compete?
MW: I do still compete. These days I also do a lot more of management-type jobs with contests, and I serve as the vice president of the FAC. Currently, I run all of our Cloudbusters monthly Indoor contests from October through April, and the Cloudbusters’ Spring Fling in May, one of the larger Indoor contests around. I also run the FAC events at the AMA/NFFS Outdoor Nats in Muncie, Indiana, and this year I will be running the FAC events at the AMA/NFFS Indoor Nats because it will be held in the Detroit suburbs in July. I will still attend a couple of larger contests in Muncie this summer and several contests at the Cloudbusters’ local flying field.
RH: How long have you been the vice president of the FAC?
MW: Beginning in 2018 with a four-year term. I have already accepted a nomination for an additional four years or as long as I can stay healthy. With that said, I was added to the FAC Rules Council in 2004 and to the board of directors in 2010 or 2011.
RH: What have you not yet built but hope to some day?
MW: If I ever get around to it, a twin-engine rubber scale model, likely a Westland Whirlwind.
RH: What is your favorite aspect of the hobby?
MW: Helping other modelers, especially beginners. I remember how hard it was for me to learn to fly and I have had great teachers over the years. I try to pass that on. Contests and winning are fun, but just flying models for the pure joy of it is more fun these days.
RH: If you could spend a day at the flying field with one person, whom would it be?
MW: My wife, Elaine, if she wanted, but more likely my flying buddy and contest traveling mate, Ted Allebone.
RH: What other hobbies do you have?
MW: I probably have too many interests, but keeping busy as you get older keeps you alert. Besides model aviation, my other interests include collecting Dinky Toy models from the United Kingdom, collecting Edgar Rice Burroughs books (the author of Tarzan and many other subjects), which I have been doing since I was 16, and working with a national dog rescue, English Springer Rescue America, for which my wife and I are quite active as volunteers. We’ve had springer spaniels for 25-plus years, and all but the first one have been rescue dogs.
A model of a Piper PA-16 that Mike completed in winter 2020-2021.
Written by Rachelle Haughn
