Photos by JEANNA DUERSCHERL | The Roanoke Times

Larry Hairston Jr. (middle) helps Jimmy Stewart (left) and his son J.P. Stewart get their plane started during the second annual Paul Offermann Fly-In.

Matt Shimchock spots Larry Hairston Jr. so his plane doesn't collide with another one.

Larry Hairston Sr. and Larry Hairston Jr. watch in the field as they wait for their turn to fly.

The spotter asked the 12-year-old whether the boy's plane had sufficient fuel.

"There should be enough," said Larry Hairston Jr., half listening, staring through sunglasses into the blazing glare above.

Spotter Matt Shimchock, 34, grinned and grimaced at the same time.

The boy was like a kid who had missed a big fish after a whopping yank on his hook. He wasn't about to quit.

Minutes passed. The boy's dexterous thumbs worked the controller to keep aloft the radio-controlled plane with its wing span of 77 inches.

Larry Hairston Sr. walked up.

"Junior, I imagine you're getting pretty low on fuel," he said.

The son heard the father, the guy who buys the planes.

Junior had guided the plane through a host of maneuvers -- including rolls and soars and revving it nose-up like a show dolphin standing on its tail.

Reluctantly, Junior touched his plane down, landing on the 33-acre hobby aircraft field maintained in Salem by the Roanoke Valley Radio Control club.

"Junior is really good at landing," Shimchock said.

Junior and other young club members, as well as adults, participated Saturday in the second annual Paul Offermann Fly-In.

On the day before Father's Day, Shimchock surveyed the scene and described one key appeal of the hobby.

"How often do you see fathers and sons sitting together all day, without arguing, having fun?" he asked. "We all come out here to have a good time and we leave everything else at home."

The club has 108 members, including 11 junior members.

"We have to emphasize the youth because that's the future of the club and even the future of aviation," said Russell Stiff, a longtime member.

He said many pilots began their careers as youthful fliers of radio-controlled aircraft.

Larry Hairston Sr. was asked to describe his son's current interest in the hobby.

"Right now, it's excessive," he said, laughing. "Whenever he gets a free minute, he wants to go flying."

For the Hairstons, it all began about a year and a half ago with a chance meeting. Larry and Pretrena took their son to a hobby store as a treat after he had a flu shot. The Christiansburg family met David Crouch at Crossroads Hobbies and Crafts in Salem. Crouch invited them to a club event the following weekend.

"That's how I got hooked," Junior said. "It didn't take much, really."

Crouch became Junior's teacher. He and others at the fly-in Saturday said the boy shows real promise.

"I taught him in two to three weekends and he was soon flying solo," Crouch said. "I think he's in it for the long haul."

"Junior's learning curve has been very steep," Shimchock added. "He is getting exponentially better all the time."

Shimchock and his son, Stephen, 11, fly planes together, as do James "J.P." Stewart, 13, and his father, Jimmy Stewart.

On Saturday, club members teased Larry Hairston Sr. that his son is teaching him to fly the radio-controlled aircraft. Hairston readily agreed.

"I fly some. I'm just not as experienced or as good as he is," said the dad.

To get Junior started, the Hairstons spent about $150 on a used plane and related gear. Their latest purchase totaled about $2,700.

"The newest one is still at home in a box," said Hairston Sr.

Junior said he knows an errant or reckless move could be expensive.

"If I crash, it hurts his pocket," he said, gesturing toward his father. "And I'm not going to say I've never made a mistake."

The father was asked whether his anxiety will soar when Junior flies the new plane.

"You better believe it," he said.

But the son's whole-hearted embrace of the hobby makes the obviously proud father glad.

"There are a whole lot of other things he could do that aren't so positive," he said.

For more information, go to www.rvrc.org.