Biographies

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John J. Rynkiewicz Biography

I'm John J. Rynkiewicz AMA #39761.  My story starts at Christmas 1973.

My parents gave me a Cox PT-19 trainer powered by .049 glow engine for a Christmas present. My father and I made various attempts to get successful flights on that little plastic airplane and eventually we were able to conquer it. Maybe only one or two laps at a time but sooner or later we were able to run out full tanks of fuel. At least one more Cox .049 powered biplane was purchased and was semi-successfully flown.

Leslie Barnett Biography

Man standing behind large wooden model airplane in a room with wooden floor.

Born in Mexico from English and American parents. Flew my first RC plane when I was 7 with an Aeronautical Engineer who worked building Lockeed Azcarate Lasa 60 planes in Mexico. Became an American Citizen when 17 and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Now 77 years old I continue to fly and build RC planes. Currently building a 1/4th Scale Beechcraft Staggerwing from scratch. I am a proud member of DCRC RC club in Boyds Maryland.

James Gundlach Biography

Magazine page with stapled print text and handwritten notes.

Retired, Mechanical Engineer, 90 yrs Old, Lived in New Orleans, LA all my life except for 3-1/2 years in the US Air Force stationed at Schilling AFB, Salina, Kansas. Fascinated with airplanes since childhood, and built solid models during WWII, then Control Line and Free Flight through college years at Tulane University.

Brian Leuthold Biography

Yellow biplane on grass runway with hills in the background.

So my story starts years before I was born.  My dad soloed by the age of 16 in a J-3 and later joined the Air Force as an electrical engineer and worked on early flight sims. After the service my dad got his dream job working for Piper Aircraft in Lock Haven, PA where he played a key role in developing the first auto pilot system Piper used, the wing leveler.

Lawrence Erbach Biography

Two people standing outside holding remote controls, with a model plane on grass.

Larry Erbach’s fascination with flight began almost as soon as he could walk. Some of his earliest memories involve standing in the yard with his grandfather, who brought home kite sticks—scraps from the millwork company where he worked. With those simple pieces of wood, Larry spent countless hours building kites of every shape and style, discovering the joy of creating something that could ride the wind.

James Lacy Biography

A group of people stand around someone seated, looking at a model airplane outdoors.

I started flying models around 1968. I was a junior in high school. I started out in control line. My first plane was a Sterling Ringmaster. The picture I enclosed shows me with my plane at the local high school with some of the boys that got into the hobby. The picture was taken by the local newspaper and made the front page.

Lenny Muroff Biography

Person smiling, kneeling on grass with model airplanes in front, holding orange and black plane.

My name is **Lenny Muroff**, and I live in Port St. Lucie, Florida. After spending more than five decades in the Ophthalmology field, I am now happily retired.

Around 2017, I had a patient who worked in law enforcement and was affiliated with a local RC club—the Port St. Lucie RC Hobby Group. As a photographer, I had developed a strong interest in flying drones, so I decided to visit the club.

The first person I met was **Patrick Lyons**, one of the earliest contributors to our drone group and, in my humble opinion, an expert pilot.

Richard Moss Biography

In about 1974 I was living in New York and my father came home with a magazine. I was 14 and remember it like yesterday. It was a Model Airplane News. I believe it had a picture on the cover of Larry Wolf's A-4 Ducted Fan Jet. I sat up all night and read that magazine cover to cover and by the weekend at least ten more times. I remember I went to school and told my friend about this magazine and how it was full of these things called Radio Control Airplanes. He told me that another kid in our class actually had one.

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