Biographies

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Katie Pates Biography

Woman smiling, holding a trophy with a plane figure on top.

My name is Katie Pates, and I live in Dearborn, Michigan. I started flying RC planes when I was 13. My grandpa would build the planes, and I would fly them. I flew until I was 18, and then life took me in another direction. When my 40th birthday came around a couple years ago, I thought I would start flying again and I pretty much picked up where I left off. I'm not good at building, so I buy and fly the pre-made foam planes and they are just as fun as the balsa kits were!

Lawrence Peterson Biography

Man assembling a model airplane at a workshop table.

I began flying Cox U-control in the early sixties on eastern Long Island. Then I joined the USAF in June 1970 going thru basic in Lackland AFB and weapons tech school at Lowry AFB sent in January 1971 to Nakhon Phanom RTAFB Thailand 456th MMS A-1 Gunshop working on the A-1 E/H/J prop planes. 

William Fisher Biography

I am in a family of model flyers. My 93-year-old uncle flew strings 'dogfights' before I was born. My first gas plane was a plastic, stringed, yellow .049 P-51 Mustang in 1973.

I built my first balsa windup in 1973, a stick windup then a 3D balsa windup. We then built the Spirit of St. Louis 4' balsa windup. 

When I joined the military, I built and flew my first RC plane in 1985. Fast forward to recently, and I bought my first helicopter, an articulated contra-rotator. 

Daren Hudson Biography

Man with a remote-controlled model airplane on grassy field.

I am the District I senior associate vice president (AVP) and AMA district outreach team (ADOT) coordinator. I've spent a lifetime in and out of the hobby. I started modelling like many have, in a cul-de-sac with .049/ 1/2 A powered Control Line planes with friends until we ran out of glow fuel! This led to bigger models and RC, along with attending airshows in Rhode Island. My love of aviation and aerobatics was fostered by model aviation, and it led to a fulfilling career and now a rewarding hobby.

Robert Paris Biography

Man in military uniform prepares to board a parked helicopter on a wet, muddy terrain.

I flew two tours as a helicopter pilot with the 48th Assault Helicopter Company. We were based out of Ninh Hoa, along the coast, just north of Cam Ranh Bay Air Force Base in Vietnam. I was drafted at 18, just out of high school, and completed the Army Helicopter Pilot program. I ended up being only 19 years of age flying armed helicopter gunships in Vietnam. My call sign was "Joker 70." I was born in Compton, California, and now reside in Lahaina-Maui, Hawaii. I'm retired today and still fly model airplanes. My AMA number is 15016. 

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