Biographies

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Deryl Rolle Biography

Model airplane of a vintage fighter aircraft flying over grass.

I really enjoyed flying remote control airplanes. I’ve been flying remote control airplanes for 25 years now. I’m all grown up with airplanes and helicopters, now I've stepped up with big planes now. I don’t do nitro planes anymore. All gas and turbines now.

Stuart Smith Biography

Man launching model plane near a sunny beach, two onlookers nearby.

I started flying RC 37 years ago. I got my private pilot's license 49 years ago. What I learned from RC transferred into full-size, and after building a number of RCs, I started building experimental aircraft. I am now building my 4th experience. I am finishing my 14th rebuild and just purchased my 31st airplane.

Andrew Keates Biography

Smiling man in a hat, outdoors, surrounded by greenery and yellow flowers.

Aeromodelling is something I started when I was about 10 years old. It challenged me to figure out how to build things, figure out why engines worked or didn't, and to get back to building after a crash. In part, it led me into a fascination with physics, a degree in physics, and a successful career in engineering, where I was a principal engineer at a large semiconductor manufacturer.

Robert Donnelly Biography

Man and woman smiling, holding model planes, standing on sunny desert ground.

I’m a 55-year-old small business owner who focuses on family and occasionally enjoys the sport of modeling. I'm very blessed to have my entire family flying, and our daughter, Skylar Donnelly, not only holds records in electric but is the first junior female world champion in F1B. I’m also a board member for the National Youth Aviation Academy. Thank you for doing what you do and providing help with getting our youth involved.

Jamie Fiffles Biography

Man kneeling beside a large blue model aircraft on an airstrip.

I’ve been building and flying model aircraft since I was six years old. Saved up all summer and bought my first RC radio at 11 years old. From learning to fly with a sterling fledgling and a Goldberg skyline 62, to building giant scale warbirds for decades, I've flown them all across the US, including Hawaii at major events, and I've competed at Top Gun for 10 years. To say it’s a passion is an understatement!

Larry Walker Biography

My love for aircraft began when I was a small child. My father worked for Boeing. He was in charge of the wing sections on the 747. I started out with a Cox Control Line Mustang P51. I quickly jumped to Radio Control with a couple of kits. I am now 60 years old and have been enjoying Radio Control airplanes, helicopters, watercraft, cars, and drones.

Albert Manansala Biography

Instructor demonstrating drone parts to three students in a classroom.

My name is Albert Manansala, now 55 years old. I have been RC modeling for 37 years. Right after graduating high school, I worked part-time at Willoughby Hobbies in Guam, which is owned by the late Capt. Dale Willoughby, an AMA HALL OF FAMER known as the FATHER OF SLOPE SOARING of AMERICA. He taught me everything I know about building RC airplanes and showed me how to find and ride the “INVISIBLE WIND” using our RC gliders.

Sam Tillery Biography

I have been flying model planes since I was a little boy, from the small, rubber-powered stick flyers, to the comet kits, onto the sterling Control Line and Radio Control kits. I was always building something that flew. Today, I'm in my 60s. I not only fly the models but also fly the real thing, and my workbench is cluttered with one being built and one being repaired.

Ken Baum Biography

Red sports car with a matte black hood parked on a paved driveway.

Doctorate in Educational Administration from Columbia University. Retired special educator and musician. RC pilot for 25 years. Lives in Westlake. Dog lover. Sponsor of St. Jude and Multiple Myeloma Foundation.

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