My earliest memory of flying and model aviation is trying to build a pair of wings when I was eight and living on my family's farm in central Illinois. My father came by and asked, "What are you up to?" I answered, "I'm gonna fly out of the barn on this!" My dad looked at the wings made of sticks and feed sacks and said, "That doesn't look very strong." It broke in half when I lifted it up.
My dad said, "Hmm. Maybe that's not such a good idea," and walked calmly away. That was my dad! He never called me stupid or berated me; he always looked for my strengths and encouraged me in almost anything that I wanted to do.
I grew up on Ashley Farms in central Illinois; it's recognized as a heritage farm and has been in the same family for over 150 years. My father, Jack, was a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific. He left the army as a Master Sergeant and wanted to go to college, but my grandfather needed his help, so he went back to the farm. My father was many things in addition to being a farmer: a skilled craftsman, woodworker, and a welder, among others.
I wanted to be just like my parents. Our home was one of learning. We subscribed to newspapers and magazines, including Popular Mechanics, Life, and Newsweek. By five, I learned to read. From the beginning, I was trained to take my place in society. Mom and Dad were both active in scouting. Mom was a den mother for the Cub Scouts, and Dad was a troop leader for the Boy Scouts. I had the opportunity to attend Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico with my family. I was 13 and the youngest to go on the mountain man tour, another experience that will live in my memory forever. I later became an Eagle Scout.
My parents were industrious. My mother was a seamstress who made her own clothes, along with her children's, as well as clothing repairs and alterations for hand-me-downs. I had an early start in electronics working with my dad. He was a ham radio operator who built some of his own radios. He and I built a Heathkit Console Color TV when I was a teenager.
I loved aviation from an early age. My father built a balsa Dacron-covered Piper Cub model with a small 2-stroke engine and a single tube radio that allowed it to have rudder control only. That airplane still hangs in my garage; it reminds me how far we have come. When I was around 12, my father and uncle saved enough money to buy a used Cessna 172, which we flew off a grass strip on the farm. That further cemented my interest in aviation.
Photography was also always part of my life. Our family made our own black-and-white Christmas cards developed in our farmhouse basement darkroom. Aviation and photography combined to give me a love of aerial photography. I spent many wonderful hours with my father flying the Cessna around the Illinois countryside while I took pictures with either 35mm or 2 1/4 cameras out the side window. I still have many of those pictures in my files, and I now take photographs from drones!
My dad didn't tell me that I had to become a farmer, but said that if I wanted to do that, I had to go to college and get a degree in agriculture and business. My path became television, film production, and still photography.
I graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with a bachelor's degree in mass media communications and went to graduate school at Indiana University Bloomington where I earned a Master of Science degree in radio/television production.
When I graduated from Indiana University, my first and only full-time job was at the University of Akron (Ohio) where I eventually became a TV producer/director. I worked there for 30 years.
I had always wanted to fly model airplanes after seeing my father build and fly models. After some years at Akron, I discovered the Corsair Model Aircraft Club (CMAC Club #502), which flew at the Summit County (Ohio) fairgrounds. I joined the club and was the young guy standing in the back of the room for many years. Eventually, I made friends with Bob, a senior member who taught me how to fly a Kadet LT40 with a 2-stroke engine. I used a 72-megahertz radio and a corded buddy box to learn to fly. It was one of the proudest days of my life when Bob unplugged the cord and said, "OK, take off." I did the required maneuvers. When I landed for the last time still in one piece, I turned around and the many members of the club present applauded and congratulated me for soloing, another happy early memory.
I spent years trying to find more time to fly and finally found some when our club relocated to a farm in Kent (Ohio). We flew there for 10 years. By that time, I was elected as a trustee of the club. Then, the Kent farmer decided that he wanted to go in a different direction, and we had to find a new home. By that time, the CMAC members had entrusted me to become president. So, I helped move the club for a second time!
Here I was, new president, organizing a major move in 2020. At this point, I would like to thank AMA for helping us move with a Flying Site Improvement Grant; without that, I don't think we ever could have done it.
With 30 days to go before CMAC lost our field, I made a contact via EAA Chapter 5 (Experimental Aircraft Association) with a landowner in Ravenna (Ohio) where the Thunderbirds, another AMA club, flew. We packed up and moved our sheds, clubhouse, and mowers to the Jetway airport, a grass strip full-scale private airfield. Since moving, we've improved the field with a plastic fabric runway, enlarged parking, and built a shelter. Weather permitting, we fly there all year. Club meetings are held there from April through October, moving to an indoor location in Kent from November through March. We have 36 members, meet at least nine times a year, have float flies, picnics, a Flying Pig skill competition event, and an occasional "Frozen Fingers" event. Our club partners with EAA Chapter 5 for a Build-and-Fly activity that annually builds a model airplane with EAA young people.
I am now 75 years old and "retired." I don't call it retirement, as I've decided to spend as much of my life as possible in continuing to advance the interests of model aviation, full-scale aviation, and the training of our youth through the EAA and AMA. I would like to thank all of the people who helped me along the way, although it would take another 15 pages to list all of them.
Aviation has been a lifelong interest for me and has provided me with many wonderful friends and happy memories.
