LODI, Ohio — It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the American Airlines Gas Model Club, as they flew nearly a dozen planes through the darkness of the 2024 total eclipse of the sun.
The club, established back in 1938, used remote-controlled planes that were specially outfitted with an array of LED lights as they took flight against the surrealistic backdrop of dimmed lighting and darkness produced by the sun's magnificent corona.
Club Vice President Art Ritchie told News 5 that flying in darkness is nothing new for this team of RC model airplane pilots.
"Our club loves to fly at night, we do a lot of night flights and who could resist the chance to fly during the day, then fly during the dark of the eclipse, then fly during the day all in one day," Ritchie said. “The guys I’m flying with I’ve been flying with them for over 40 years, we've been doing this since we were teenagers.”
Club member Jim Carlton said advances in model plane technology made the eclipse flight even more memorable.
“This is just a really strange opportunity; how often does this happen," Carlton said. “They’ve been able to make batteries so small, with powerful motors so we can fly just about any aircraft now, so it’s so much fun."
Club member Donald King told News 5 he felt fortunate just to be able to see the eclipse in person and fly planes with his long-time friends.
“I almost died from COVID three years ago, I was in the hospital for 6 days," King said. “We fly here after dark and out here it’s pitch black, when you make a low pass at the runway the LED’s will light up the runway, let's see if we don’t run into each other, that’s happened.”
Michele DeLong, whose family has owned the 98-acre parcel for nearly 200 years, which now includes the airfield, told News 5 she believes her great-grandfather was likely working the Harrisville Twp. property when an eclipse took place back in 1918.
“I can just see him out here plowing wondering why it was getting dark," DeLong said with a chuckle. "I was just taking pictures one after another of those planes trying to get in front of that eclipse, it was amazing, it was an amazing idea.
Meanwhile, Ritchie said the LED planes can sometimes fool local neighbors into believing they've seen a UFO.
“So this airplane has 100’s of LED’s in it and there is a computer that controls the patterns and the colors," Ritchie said. “We always warn the Chief of Police because he does get some strange calls when we’re up here flying our models.”
The American Airlines Gas Model Club will host its next flight gathering on the first Friday in May.
