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From the Ground Up: A Lifelong Passion for Flight
From a young age, I was captivated by remote control vehicles. If it could go faster, handle better, or pack in the latest electronics, I was all in. That fascination quickly grew. As I entered my teenage years growing up in Wisconsin, just a short drive from EAA, I found myself constantly inspired by the world of aerobatics and the incredible things aircraft could do in the sky.
Retired Army Aviator and Lieutenant Colonel. Flew the iconic UH-1 Huey. Cold War and Afghanistan Veteran. Lifelong model airplane builder and recently into scale R/C planes.
My journey into aviation began in the early 1990s with the RC hobby. What started as an interest in model aircraft ignited a passion for science, problem-solving, and flight; eventually leading me to Embry-Riddle, where I earned multiple degrees.
Model aviation has been one of the greatest hobbies in my life. I had the opportunity to get involved with model aircraft back in 1969 from my Dad. I started building with my Dad's guidance, Free Flight gas models, as well as tow-line gliders. Built many TOP KICK tow-line gliders and A-class Miss America cabin gas models. We flew with the "then" SAM 1 club here in Colorado. My Dad was the driving force in my Free Flight gas and later rubber models.
Born in 1940, paralyzed from the waist down with polio in 1944 but made a remarkable recovery. Fascinated with aviation as a youngster and built many 25-cent stick/tissue/dope/rubber Free Flight models. Eventually built many Control Line semi-scale and stunt models with Fox 19 & 35 engines as the engine of choice.
I was born into a family with a father who flew the “HUMP” (in a C-46) in WW2 and loved model airplanes. He encouraged my brother and I to build simple model planes. He created a place where we could work with the scrap balsa he had. As we grew and got better, he encouraged us to repair and fly the planes others gave to him. We were “serviceable” at flying U-controlled planes and really good at chasing Free Flight airplanes. In our town, we were part of the “Mini-Air Modelers” club. Money was tight in our family, so Radio Control was not an option for a long while.
My Dad was the first in the family, along with my uncle, to embrace the love of flight! My Dad served in Korea, and after he left to come home, he had a stop over in Japan where he purchased two line control planes and then had them shipped over to the states. My uncle, who was a World War 2 veteran, would assist my Dad, not with flying them but with rebuilding them after he crashed them.
Ray submitted the following video that offers details about his life, including how model aircraft helped him stay busy when recovering from a tragic accident: https://youtu.be/rDHHt1EKzn4?si=TVQnTl6Pq5MDIOig&t=89.
My AMA story begins when I was in grade school and went to a Civil Air Patrol event in a plowed-out corn field where a remote control aircraft club flew balsa and fabric-covered RC planes. I was captivated. Later on in junior high, I had a Cosmic Wind Control Line plane, Free Flight helicopter, and glider. None made it to high school, and I took a break from the hobby until I was living in an apartment and going to school.
