http://will.atlas.uiuc.edu/prairiefire/pbCoreEpisode/pf2008-02-07 WILL, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Series Episode In the 2008 season premiere, host Alison Davis Wood finds out that many of the world's radio-controlled model aircraft and boats are made in Champaign-Urbana. The program spends a Saturday morning at the Urbana Farmers' Market and features a World War II story about Champaign's Iris Nig Lundin, who left her teaching job to become one of four female navigation instructors. Abstract Segment Champaign, World War II, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings By producer Denise La Grassa When World War II broke out, Iris Nig Lundin of Champaign left her small town in Minnesota and joined hundreds of other women in the newly formed Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. She became one of the first four female navigation instructors. In our conversations, what really impressed me was her strength. She left a secure life in Minnesota to join the ranks of the Marines, who were the toughest of the tough. This was the first time many of these men who were her students had encountered a female instructor and she really held her own. When I listened to her stories, I was moved by her description of how she went to bat for African-Americans on the military bases where she worked. She was brave enough to tell a higher-ranking officer that he shouldn’t be treating a steward in a demeaning manner. Later in her life, equality was very important to her.  Abstract Denise La Grassa Producer Eleanore Stasheff Editor Segment Agriculture/Agribusiness, Business, Food/Restaurants, Urbana, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings By producer Virginia Steffen My crew and I arrived at the Market 6 a.m. on a June morning, armed with camera, tripod and sound equipment. The day was still not too warm, and the sun had barely risen. We started by interviewing Mary Finch about her crafts. Then, we relocated to shoot another interview, and another, and another, until people started filing into the rows of venders, ready for another week of shopping for local food and goods. As the crowd hit full-force, the heat did, too. It was a bright, hot day, but we barely had time to notice because we were so quickly moving around to get patron interviews, and shoot footage of people shopping and musicians performing.  I love Market on the Square, because of all the local excitement going on. There is such a genuine feeling of community here on Saturday mornings in the summer. We saw friends hugging, venders and patrons chatting up like good friends, and lots of community people out enjoying this homegrown taste of summer. For me, highlights were: getting up on the roof of the city building to interview Kathy Larson with the market behind her, and shooting footage of local performer Michael Powers.  Michael is such a great local character, and he is a lot of fun to videotape because he enjoys interacting with his audience members and the camera. Abstract Virginia Steffen Producer Virginia Steffen Chief Camera - Segment Segment Champaign County, Hobbies, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings By producer Alison Davis Wood There is something about the idea of defying gravity that is really addicting to people. Why do people always want to attempt flying through the air? Probably the safest way to explore this desire is by learning to fly model aircraft. At least then when you are learning to fly you don’t have to leave the ground. Champaign-Urbana has a large number of model aviation enthusiasts because the twin cities are home to two of the largest manufacturers of model planes. These companies even have professional flying teams which travel around the world testing and racing company products. The members of the local club are just as serious about their hobby. Their model aircraft airport is immaculate and I’m sure it is one of the best in the country. My first time seeing model planes fly up close was when I was taping this story. Videographer Julius Bolton and I attended the CCRCC’s “Giant Scale Fly-In.” The planes were awesome in their size and resemblance to actual aircraft. In our quest to get the best shot, we asked club members if we could get out on the runway to get closer to the planes. Normally they would have said absolutely not, but today professional flyer Frank Noll was on hand. They said he was such a skilled pilot, they felt confident that we would not be struck by his six-foot plane. So Julius and I headed out to the prairie grass on the far side of the runway. I think Frank liked the challenge of having human obstacles and he wanted to get us the best shot. Before I knew it his incredible plane was hovering just feet away from us.  It was amazing and a bit frightening, as we had just heard stories how the propellers on model aircraft can cut off fingers. We wanted to get home with all our digits and limbs intact! But we didn’t need to worry. Frank had complete control of the plane and he swooped it by us several more times before taking it in for a perfect landing. Remember you can learn to fly a model plane at the club’s free instruction nights. These happen every Thursday in good weather. If you want to experience model aviation for yourself then don’t miss Great Planes Model Manufacturing’s E-fest, Feb. 9 and 10, 2008, on campus at the University of Illinois. For more information visit http://www.gpe-fest.com Saturday is THE day to be at E-Fest because they have open flying all day with pylon races, ultimate combat and a unique “blackout” where pilots trim their planes with lights and fly in the dark. Abstract Alison Davis Wood Producer Julius Bolton Chief Camera - Segment WILL-TV, University of Illinois Copyright Holder Publisher ¬© 2008 University of Illinois 2008-02-07T20:30:00-06:00 2008-02-07T20:30:00-06:00 video/mp4 http://will.atlas.uiuc.edu/prairiefire/episode/pf2008-02-07 Moving Image MPEG video MPEG-4 160787884 00:28 eng http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/mpeg4/pf2008-02-07.mp4 WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2008-02-07T20:30:00-06:00 2008-02-07T20:30:00-06:00 video/x-flv http://will.atlas.uiuc.edu/prairiefire/episode/pf2008-02-07 Moving Image Flash Video Flash Media 8 95028450 00:28 eng http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/flash/pf2008-02-07.flv WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2008-02-07T20:30:00-06:00 2008-02-07T20:30:00-06:00 video/vnd.rn-realvideo http://willmedia.will.uiuc.edu/ramgen/pf2008-02-07.rv Moving Image 00:28:00