129,515.12 raised in 2026. We have reached 25% of our goal.
Help us reach this year's goal of $500,000!
I started flying in 1992 in Connecticut at the age of 15. I have always loved aviation, and that summer in 1991, the local club had put on a display in our local park. I remember seeing a Carl Goldberg ultimate and thinking that was the coolest thing I had ever seen. That winter, I built myself a trainer and started learning to fly. I flew the next couple of years before I went off to college.
Location: Sheridan, Wyoming
Club: Flying Cowboys R/C Club
I built my first RC sailplane with my father as a teenager and was hooked. Fast forward 45-plus years, and I’m back flying again :) I started a “flight club” at the local high school (SHS) with drones, Flite Test kits, and it took off. I am still very much a novice pilot, but I enjoy the friendships that come with flying with other people versus alone.
In 1984, I was working for a cosmetic manufacturer, and I needed to meet with the engineer to discuss plans for a new product line. When I met with him, I noticed he had a set of plans on his desk for a biplane. He said he was building an R/C plane and wanted to increase the plans to quarter-scale. Two weeks later, I had a Great Planes trainer 40 ordered with all the equipment to get started. It took me around five months to complete and arrived at the Flying Hawks club field to start my first flight.
My journey began with a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, stage 4. After undergoing treatment, I found myself unable to work. My son-in-law was determined to get a Tower Hobbies trainer to fly, and since I’ve always had a passion for airplanes, I spent a considerable amount of time with him, trying to figure out the intricacies of it all. The following Christmas, I received a wonderful gift—a Great Planes slowpoke sport 40.
Model aviation has been a big, enjoyable part of my life, beginning with control-line and current involvement with drones. This activity has fostered many wonderful friendships. Our local flying field was the Falls Church High School football field. It was there that I met J.E.Albritton, who has competed in international events.
One of our local club activities was Thermic 50 flying. A few of us competed in CL speed and stunt events up and down the east coast.
I am a second-generation model aviation enthusiast. From my earliest memories, I had airplanes in my hands. I started flying Control Line planes with .049 engines when I was about six. My dad flew Control Line and Free Flight models. My oldest uncle flew Control Line and Free Flight. My youngest uncle flew Control Line and RC. I started RC flying in 1980. I am one of the instructors in my club. I have trained many people to fly and enjoy RC flying. I am pictured on the left, my late father is in the middle, and my dad's last remaining brother is on the right.
My journey into the world of RC aviation began a few Christmases ago when my son Charlie received his first RC plane. What started as a simple gift quickly turned into a shared passion. Watching his love for aviation take off was inspiring—and a year later, I received my own RC plane for my birthday so we could truly enjoy the hobby together.
I have been building and flying model airplanes off and on since I was 5 years old, in 1950. At 5 years of age, I loved the Comet Sparky, a difficult-to-build model. However, I actually built one on top of the box with a single-edge blade and Testors wood glue! Painted it like the box picture with dope.
My name is Steve Markowitz, and I have been an AMA member since 1989, right out of college. Growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, my father attempted u-control, and I did not like it. In my 4th year of pharmacy school at The University of Pittsburgh, an older gentleman took me under his wing and explained to me about Radio Control flying. We did some buddy box, but I was a mess. He did give me a Cessna to play with. My first flight by myself, it got stuck in a 50-foot tree in the woods. I came back later with an axe to retrieve my airplane.
I purchased a used book authored by the late AMA Pioneer Bob Aberle. I poured over it for 7 years before I had the courage to try RC flight.
Although starting this endeavor late in life, I built simple planes from blue foam and applied what I learned from my book. Now I’m 13 years into this sport, which over time became my passion. I’ve done other things in life, but my life has been enriched beyond measure by meeting other people in this sport that helped, coached, and mentored me along the way.
