Flying high
Smithfield teen to compete in model airplane flight World Championships
The arsenal of loops and dives Angstrom Eberenz pulls off on a given day with his model plane is getting an impressive addition: a 10,000-mile swoop Down Under.
Eberenz, 15, of Smithfield, will compete with Team USA at the 2026 Control Line Aircraft World Championships in Perth, Australia in May.
Pilots control the planes with a handle connected to the plane by thin wires, which lets them adjust the direction.
Each event has its own series of stunts the pilots need to carry out. And the reaction time they need isn鈥檛 too far off what a top might need 鈥� some models will go as fast as 200 mph.
Eberenz got interested as a child living in Carmichaels, when he saw signs for the Brodak Fly-In, an annual competition that brings in control line enthusiasts from around the world.
When he was 8, his father reached out to some of the pilots to teach Eberenz the finer points of flying.
He spent the week in Waynesburg practicing at the Fly-In, then flew in the basic event at the end of the week.
鈥淎nd won,鈥� Eberenz said.
He鈥檚 continued his winning ways, expanding into speed, racing and Navy carrier events.
At the National Aeromodeling Championships (NATS) in Muncie, Ind., he has earned three National Championship titles in precision aerobatics, several Navy carrier titles, and eight national records.
Eberenz鈥� favorite is Navy carrier, which consists of 14 laps 鈥� seven as fast as possible, then seven as slow as possible 鈥� then trying to land on a carrier deck and catch the line.
He likes the uniqueness of the event, which fewer people do now. And the slim margin for error is exciting.
鈥淥n the slow laps, it鈥檚 just very hard, especially with any wind, to try to keep the plane from coming in or hitting the ground,鈥� he said.
For the World Championships, he鈥檚 focusing on one event. He鈥檚 Team USA鈥檚 junior representative in aviation precision aerobatics.
The event consists of 17 maneuvers 鈥� from squares and circles to hourglasses and clovers 鈥� to be executed in a set sequence in just over five minutes.
Angstrom and his father, Brendan Eberenz, have been doing four to six flights a day when weather permits, running the entire sequence or honing in on specific stunts.
鈥淏efore, we were flying all of our different planes for the different events,鈥� Angstrom said. 鈥淏ut now it鈥檚 just focusing only on one plane. Don鈥檛 fly anything else, just really focus on it. We fly pretty much every day.鈥�
After the 2025 Nationals, Angstrom trained intensely for two-and-a-half months in his backyard before competing at Team Trials in Granite Bay, Calif.
He had to contend with 20 mph winds 鈥� conditions where, in a normal practice session, he鈥檇 pack up the plane to avoid damage.
鈥淭here were all these guys out there who鈥檝e been doing it 30, 40, 50 years, and Angstrom was the only one to put up a practice flight,鈥� Brendan said. 鈥淎nd all those guys were just gawking at him, eyes on him, watching him 鈥� they were too scared to put theirs up, but they were definitely all eyes glued on him for what he was doing.鈥�
He ran into more adversity during the contest itself. Everything was lining up for a win until the final flight, when he left out one maneuver.
鈥淚f I would have done that maneuver, even like not too great, I would have actually had first place,鈥� he said.
But when the eventual winner bowed out, Angstrom was next in line for his first trip to the World Championships.
He joins an elite five-person team which also has slots for three adults and one female pilot.
For the World Championships, he鈥檚 swapped out his Nationals plane for a take-apart plane that will be more travel-friendly.
Angstrom also plans to get additional training from some of the veterans of the sport before he leaves for Perth.
鈥淲e鈥檙e getting prepped, but putting in a lot of work here to make sure we鈥檙e in front of the right people and doing the right things to prepare for the World,鈥� Brendan said.
The Worlds also have a different scoring system. Instead of the U.S. system, where each maneuver would be scored on a scale of 0 to 40, the World Championships use 1 to 10 鈥� but with multipliers added for difficulty.
鈥淧eople can try to work on the harder maneuvers that get you more points,鈥� Angstrom said. 鈥淏ut also, you want to make a good impression on the judges from the beginning so they still think of you as a good flyer. If they mess up at the beginning, they dock you a little more.鈥�
No matter what happens, he knows 鈥淭eam Angstrom鈥� will be in his corner.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty exciting for a small-town kid who鈥檚 home-schooled to be hanging out with the best of the best world champions, and getting this opportunity to represent our community and just have this experience,鈥� Brendan said. 鈥淲e travel all over the country to different events, which is fun in itself, and now traveling to another country is just amazing.鈥�