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The successful maiden flight of a new AeroScout is pretty commonplace, and hardly news. But what if the plane has a 14’ wingspan, runs on 12S power, and was scratch-built by a first-time foamy builder?
“I didn’t really know where to start. What tools, materials, skills I would need – I started with what I had – just plenty of enthusiasm and encouragement for the project.”
My interest in aviation goes back to when I was very young and of course that resulted in getting into free flight gliders and then later airplanes powered by rubber bands or compressed air. Around the age of ten I played with a control line airplane running on the classic .049 engine and this was about the most I was able to do because despite wanting to get into radio control for airplanes it was out of reach due to the high costs of equipment and models in the 1990s and early 2000s. But I never really let go of that dream even though I put it on hold for a long time.
A handful of years ago, I was interested in some sort of RC Hobby. I began with cars. A friend and I went out and each bought a Traxxas Slash. I came to realize that RC was right, but the vehicle was not enough for me. I went in search of RC Plane clubs. I found my current club and fell in love with the idea of building planes from scratch and getting them to fly. I felt it to be far more rewarding than the cars. Well, it is a few years later, and I have to tell you, I am the president of that same flying club.
In 1961, when I was 7 years old, I assisted my 17 year old brother (AMA 22009) with his Nordic glider and U/C stunt and combat flying. He competed in some local AMA events. He died at the age of 18 from a brain tumor. At the age of 8, I inherited his planes and unfinished kits. I was afraid to fly any of them until I was married and 20 years old. I especially loved U/C but the RC bug hit me in 1977 and I maintained AMA membership (AMA 22284) since 1978.
My connection to model aviation began long before I ever touched an RC transmitter. When I was a pre-teen, my older brother used to take me along to watch him fly U-control airplanes. I can still remember standing beside him, smelling the fuel, hearing the engines come alive, and feeling the excitement of watching those models carve circles through the sky. Those moments planted a seed that stayed with me for decades.
My ram air guidance project received the first-place research award at NARAM 11 at the US Air Force Academy in 1969. That project led directly to the founding of MITS, Inc., to make and sell miniature light flashers for night-launched model rockets. Five years later, MITS introduced the Altair 8800, the first successful hobby microcomputer. In short, model rocketry plated a crucial role in the arrival of the PC. Details are in my new memoir, "Maverick Scientist."
Original article written by Richard Augur in 1997 for his club newsletter. Richard notes that even almost 30 years after this article was written, he still has the Esquire!
When my father, Bob Augur, built his Midwest "Esquire," a quarter of a century ago, he couldn't have imagined the impact it would have on generations of young people and future RC pilots.
I am Gautam Mehra, a 14-year-old student whose interest in robotics began in 6th grade and later expanded into FTC and RC aviation. I began learning through Arduino and Raspberry Pi projects using a robotics kit my parents bought me. I designed simple projects, such as a small robot buggy, and learned to use electronic components on a breadboard. Though I started my journey by taking small steps, I learned several fundamentals that propelled my fascination with robotics.
My name is Aiden, I'm 9 years old, and I live in Champaign, Illinois. I first became interested in flying at the Champaign County RC Club (CCRCC). I got to practice on a simulator first and then fly a real RC plane with a coach at CCRCC. That experience made me really interested in flying RC planes. Flying a new plane is always exciting.
