A high flying good time

Pilots from around the province touched down in Azilda over the weekend for the eighth annual Northern Ontario IMAC Challenge, where they put their International Miniature Aerobatic Club planes to the test.

Contestants competed in various classes, performing routines for judges to score based on their ability to follow the predetermined patterns and some unknown moves too.

Lee Prevost, contest director, said the yearly event held here is the only one of its kind in northern Ontario. Pilots of all levels are invited to participate, all the way from beginners to advanced flyers. The planes they use come in “all different shapes and sizes,” he said, from small electric aircrafts to more larger planes.

Prevost, who not only ran the event but competed in it too, said he's been flying remote control planes for as long as he can remember.

“I've flown planes since I was born,” he said. What he likes most about it is the challenge — improving his skills is the best part, he said.

“This kind of stuff is very precise,” Prevost said.

There are about 60 people involved in Sudbury's IMAC community — about 20 of them are considered pilots.

- Posted by Jenny Jelen