No the GWS Tiger Moth isn't a giant flying insect, it's a highly decorated piece of remote flying aviation history, according to Sam Jay.
A veteran remote model airplane controller, Jay and his spouse Beverly Hudson represented B.C. as the pilot for the World Tour Tiger Moth event. A little overwhelmed, Jay accepted the position with great pride. "I was incredibly excited to fly the Tiger Moth. It's a really neat thing to be a part of this tour," he said.
To date, over 80 pilots have been connected to the Tiger Moth since the race started in 2004. In 2004 a brand new GWS Tiger Moth was built to begin a world tour of the Moth. Pilots from all 50 states, parts of Canada and around the world were to give the Tiger Moth a five- to 10-minute flight, take in-flight photos and then autograph the Tiger Moth.
The Moth's maiden flight was flown on March 7, 2004 by Luis Hoyos, with the tour commencing in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 14, 2004.
Jay was born and raised on the Sunshine Coast and had an interest in model airplanes beginning at a young age.
"I started out with "slimers" - grease planes that make a lot of noise, great big planes. I spent so much time building my first plane - and our first flight out, I crashed it," Jay recalled. "So I tried it again, but I destroyed the second one too. After that I gave it up for while. I had no idea how to control these airplanes I was building."
After a few years' hiatus, Jay met up with locals in the area and rediscovered his love of flying.
"For our first date, Beverly and I went out flying, and since then she took up an interest in flying, too," he said.
While Jay's lingo and expertise on the subject might overwhelm even the most eager of flyers, his dedication to the sport is what garners attention from others in flyers. "We started to go to flying events and chatting with people in flying forums to start with," Hudson said.
"We launched our website almost a year ago, and we've already had 12,000 visitors," Jay added.
Their website boasts photographs taken by Hudson, who earned cover shot of Fly RC magazine's December 2006 issue, which she proudly shows off. Since earning the cover shot, their website had 1,000 hits in one day.
"We really wanted people to know about the Tiger Moth and its flying record. After I'm finished with it, I send it to Whitehorse, and then it goes to Hawaii for completion of the world tour," Jay said. "After that, the Tiger Moth will rest in the American Aviation Museum."
For more information visit their website at www.teamtracon.com.
