Biographies

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Kolbe Villa Biography

Father and son with model airplane and remote control, smiling on a path in a grassy park.

Kolbe grew up flying model planes, starting like so many others with a little HobbyZone Champ. After parking it in trees countless times, he moved on to EDFs and eventually turbines by the end of high school. 

Kolbe continued flying model planes through his time at the Air Force Academy, and he is now awaiting pilot training at ENJJPT. He credits much of his success in full-scale aviation and aeronautical engineering to his strong foundation in basic principles from model aircraft. 

Pictured is Kolbe teaching his youngest brother to fly. 

David Trotter Biography

Aerobatic model plane with red, white, and blue design on gray floor.

I am fairly new to the hobby, although I dipped my toe in as a teen with a Cox 0.49 glow engine, line-controlled P-51 Mustang.

After a divorce 12 years ago, I was searching for new friends and a new hobby to keep myself occupied. I always liked and wanted model aircraft, but my situations would not allow it.

Bud Glass Biography

Smiling man with a white beard in a blue shirt.

I built my first kit—a Ringmaster Control Line model—in 1958. It was ugly, but it flew, and I was hooked. After a long hiatus for military service, four more years of school, marriage, raising kids, and a career, I returned to the hobby around 2001. I no longer fly Control Line, but with more than 70 RC models, it's fair to say I'm still hooked. 

Luis Glinos Biography

Man kneeling on grass beside a large model fighter plane.

I fell in love with RC flight at 14, and I've kept a transmitter in my hands for more than three decades. I sold every toy I owned to buy my first airplane—a Thundercore .40 that was wildly underpowered but full of promise. There was no buddy-box back then—just a mentor ready to grab the radio and hope for a save. I learned the hard way, and I've loved every minute. 

Chris Giles Biography

Two people smiling, holding a large model plane on a grassy field.

As a dad, I have tried my best to follow my son's passions. He's a builder, creator, and inventor. Autism has played a part in his ability to hyperfocus and his will to answer his "What if?" questions. We found a registered field for RC planes on Oahu and have been guided by the kindest crew of guys. 

Retired pilots, engineers, current pilots, and others, the Pacific Islanders Flyers have taken my son under their wings and motivated him more than I could ever do. My son, Aiden, now teaches other children how to fly three times a year on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. 

Raymond Lefrancois Biography

Black and white photo of a boy smiling, holding a model airplane in a living room.

I was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts—a poor kid with a funny French last name. Little did I know that three famous gallic aviators would pique my imagination and shape my destiny. 

Louis Blériot, the first to fly across the English Channel in 1909. As a wee child, I pictured myself sitting in the bottom of his daring creation, waving at the peasants below as I flew over the white cliffs. 

Later, I read Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's exciting stories of daring flights that I replicated in my dreams. 

Larry Renger Biography

I started modeling at age 6, and I'm now 83 and still active. After graduating from MIT with a degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics, I spent 8 years in the Aerospace industry but then escaped to spend 35 years professionally designing model aircraft and toys. 

Jess Walls Biography

Father and son smiling, standing on red and beige ground.

My dad owned Walls Hobby Shop in San Jose, so model airplanes have been in my life since birth: solid models, static plastic models, Control Line, Free Flight, R/C, indoors, and outdoors. I fly full-size airplanes, too. Model flying was put on hold while I raced motorcycles and started a family. 

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