176,174.52 raised in 2026. We have reached 35% of our goal.
Help us reach this year's goal of $500,000!
I was unaware of model airplanes until I met my husband, Dave. He wasted no time and took me to the flying field which was a huge grass-covered parking lot in front of Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. I was delighted when I saw those beautiful gliders flying, and I decided to join the Pasadena Soaring Society.
My life in Model Flying is actually owed all to my grandfather, so I guess this is more our story than just mine. His name was Stanley Colson. My grandfather was raised in East Boston as a kid. But when he was 4 his family moved to Everett, just north of Boston, where he would meet a neighborhood boy, Martin Phillips, who invited him to go model flying with him and his father. This invitation sparked a lifelong passion of designing and building model airplanes.
When I was in elementary school I became fascinated by Cox control line airplanes, especially the PT-19. I spent endless hours playing with those planes. I also picked up model rocketry from my brother and built many Estes and Century rockets as well as strapping motors on anything else I could launch.
I'm a disabled 66-year-old woman. My husband of 30 years has been around RC Airplanes, he's a master builder and went to Flite Masters in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I decided I wanted to be an RC Plane Pilot and I love it. 2 years in and I'm a pilot. I can't wait to fly with all of my new Gentlemen. I'm a pilot, I'm in all the way.
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.
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.
At the age of 6, my Dad had told me stories about his flying experiences in his1930 Golden Eagle Chief. He flew all over the Southeast advertising Radios made by the Jesse French Piano and Radio Company in New Castle, IN.
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.
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.
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.
