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Spectators at the Giant Scale Fly-In on Saturday will get to see it streak by overhead.

Salinan Art Klenda spent the past year building the Super Decathlon, a radio-controlled replica exactly half the size of a stunt plane first made in the 1960s. A full-size version of the plane is familiar to Kansas State University at Salina students. The university recently purchased one for use in its aeronautics program.

Klenda will be piloting his plane from the ground on what may be its maiden voyage this weekend. His plane will be among 15 to 40 large-scale models at the fly-in. The public is invited to attend between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Smoky Hill Radio Control Field, three-fourths of a mile east on Schilling Road from the Ohio Street intersection. There is no admission charge.

Klenda's plane, with its 15-foot wingspan, will be the largest of the large-scale aircraft, which all have wingspans of 6 feet 8 inches or more.

"It's probably about the biggest in the state of Kansas," he said.

Klenda purchased a set of plans for the plane off the Internet and constructed it from scratch, assembling all the necessary wood and hardware and measuring and cutting all of the body parts himself.

"This way I can tell people I built it," he said. "It's more of a challenge if you build it yourself."

The result is an 11-foot-long, 80-pound plane that will fly at speeds of up to 80 miles an hour and is capable of flying 800 feet in the air.

"You'll lose sight of it before you lose control," he said.

Klenda was planning a trip to Kansas City to shop for a trailer to haul the plane to the airfield. Although both seven-foot wings come off, it barely fits in his van with the seats out, he said.

Local flier Marshall Stanton said Klenda is one of only a few dedicated fliers who build planes from scratch.

"That's very uncommon," he said.

The annual fly-in, sanctioned by the International Miniature Aircraft Association and the Academy of Model Aeronautics, is expected to attract fliers from Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri as well as Kansas. Many of the nearly 20 members of the Salina Area Flying Eagles will have planes there as well.

"We get together and admire each other's airplanes, enjoy the day and enjoy flying," Stanton said. "The builders of these radio-controlled models take great pride in them. Some are museum quality. There will be many highly decorated and beautiful planes."

Stanton was working this week to complete his airplane, an all-white one-fourth scale replica of a 1930s racer called Mr. Mulligan, in time for the fly-in. He began building the plane, which has a nine-foot wingspan and weighs 20 pounds, about six months ago.

"It's the most complex kit I've ever built, and it's taken the most time," he said. "I wonder if I ever will finish it."

Stanton has been flying and constructing radio-controlled planes since 1978.

"This one attracted my attention because I like 1930s-type airplanes," he said. "That was an era when planes were modified quickly before the war, and military planes and high-powered commercial planes were being developed."

The full-size Mr. Mulligan won two races in 1935 and had an unusually large engine for its day, he said.

"There's a certain kind of beauty connected with them," he said. "I happen to like it."

Stanton said he used a kit to build the Mr. Mulligan. Kits are challenging, although they come with precut components, plans and necessary hardware, he said. Kits appeal to more experienced fliers, who have the know-how to be innovative if instructions aren't complete.

It is more common for fliers to purchase prebuilt aircraft called "almost ready to fly," that require about 20 to 30 hours to install the engine and electronics and get it set up to fly.

For a new flier interested in getting started, a gas-powered ready-to-fly trainer plane with a five-foot wingspan can be purchased for $350, said Don Apostolico, owner of Don's Hobby Shop, 1819 S. Broadway. Small electric planes are available starting at $79.

"Very few people build any more," he said. "This is a 'microwave society.' People don't have the patience. A lot of people don't have the skill."

However, he said when young people find out about the planes, many are fascinated.

"I wish more kids in town would get into it," Apostolico said. "They would be doing something creative, and it's a heck of a lot less expensive than dope or booze."

Apostolico, who started flying model airplanes when he was 7 years old, said the hobby can lead to a rewarding career.

Stanton said last year a high school student joined the club and "learned as quickly as anyone I've ever seen." This year, he's flying remotely piloted aircraft for the military.

Apostolico started flying real planes at age 14, soloed at age 16, and had a long career as a pilot and flight and airplane maintenance instructor. He ran a technical school in Colorado for airplane technicians for several years before he retired and purchased the Salina hobby shop in 1995.

The shop sells and ships radio-controlled planes and kits internationally. Throughout his professional career, Apostolico continued building radio-controlled planes and competed for 30 years in the "Tiger Woods" class of precision aerobatics.

"It's a lot of fun," he said. "It's like flying a full-scale airplane, except your feet are on the ground."

Apostolico said that for years, modelers have copied full-scale aircraft. With advances in model electronics, engines and airframes, model planes have actually exceeded the ability of most full-scale aircraft.

Over the last 10 to 15 years, full-scale aircraft have begun to copy model flight maneuvers.

"I have an airplane that weighs 49 pounds, has a 10 1/2 foot wingspan and is nine foot long and can hover like a helicopter," he said. "They're trying to get the power-to-weight ratio right to be able to do that with full-scale aircraft."

Apostolico said he will attend the fly-in after his shop closes, but he didn't build a plane to fly.

"I do want to build, but I have no space to build anymore," he said.

He said he already has 11 large-scale planes in his house -- in the garage, the spare bedroom, the basement and the van -- and doesn't have room for more.

"I get attached to them," he said. "They're museum quality, beautiful flying aircraft."

They also represent a substantial investment.

The planes participating in the fly-in probably all cost at least $2,000, including body, motor and electronics, he said. Klenda estimated that his plane would have cost about $6,500 if he had built from a kit.

Stanton said although the hobby can be costly, it compares favorably with the price of other hobbies.

"It's better than paying a psychiatrist, and not as expensive as a boat," he said. "These are just big toys for boys. They're always more interesting than the little toys."

n Reporter Erin Mathews can be reached at 822-1415 or by e-mail at emathews@salina.com.

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