At the age of 8 years old, I won a Sunday School contest and the prize was a ride in an airplane. Ever since that day I have wanted to fly for a living. With the support of my wife of 46 years, I have accomplished that goal. Just recently I have retired as a pilot for LifeFlight of Maine, and I now have much more time to dedicate to my other passion, which is radio control model aviation.
Throughout the years of flying full-scale aircraft, I have also flown hundreds of RC models. Everyone gave me a chance to better understand the inner workings of that aircraft, and knowledge that translated easily over to full scale flying.
Initially this hobby occupied many hours of my time at the flying field with the few aircraft I had that were airworthy. Usually when I left the field the number of airworthy planes had dwindled. Over time I have gotten better at successful landings and my building skills have helped to make my aircraft more predictable (and safe).
The number of hours I spend building these days has far exceeded the hours at the field flying, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It is so rewarding for me to take an old discarded model that nobody wanted and rebuild it (see below photos). I love the detail work that makes that aircraft look scale.
At one point in my flying career I flew a business jet which was housed in a hangar alongside a restored P-51 Mustang. I asked the owner if I could take a bunch of photos of his plane in order that one day I could build a scale model of it. Well, I have started this project and I hope to have my 1/5-scale version finished by early this summer.
