I first got into model airplanes when I was in 2nd grade because of my father. He would stick build (all we had back in the day) U-Line airplanes with .60 glow fuel engines. He would let me help him with some of the little things like doping the model. That is pretty hard to mess up. And he would let me start the engines. I to this day still have a scar across the top of a few fingers from when they backfired. There was a bit of pain involved, and I was introduced to a "chicken stick" which saved me from cutting off my fingers. My father got out of the hobby due to financial reasons, just as it was getting exciting for me, but what's a kid to do.
When I was in 9th grade my father got his pilots license, those were some good days. He was even in the Reno Air Races once. Nope, no trophy.
After graduating High School, I moved to Reno, NV, and shortly after that, I joined the US Navy and volunteered for submarine duty in 1980.
1981 - For those of you who remember this, Heathkit was a fantastic electronics store. You could build a TV from the ground up, try doing that today. But while I was stationed in Virginia Beach, VA, I saw a 4 channel RC kit and I had to have it. I bought it and built it. I did this all while I lived in the barracks (not much privacy). Then I purchased a model airplane and built it. Put it all together and I was ready for my first RC Airplane Flight.
Well, turns out I didn't build the airplane perfectly, but a buddy of mine hand launched the airplane, it went up and headed out towards the ocean.
Having never flied an RC airplane, I of course I made a critical mistake, I let the airplane fly too far away and to this day it is flying across the ocean. Seriously, I'm sure it landed in the Atlantic ocean within minutes of being launched. And that was the start of my RC hobby.
In 1994 I was stationed at Cape Canaveral, FL and I discovered a local RC Club in Cocoa. It was made up of mostly WWII men and a few others, including a few kids. My trainer was named Forest, yes, like Forest Gump. He taught me "Three Mistakes High", meaning I can have 2 mistakes before he took over the aircraft. It works! We didn't have a buddy box, we had to pass the transmitter, and be quick about it.
But I must say, while RC flying was a lot of fun, I actually enjoyed the veterans talking about their war stories and showing the photo albums. These were pilots and navigators. The navigator/bombardier. I would spend more time listening to those stories than flying. They were a good group of guys.
Of course Forest taught me very well and I was on my own in no time, for a few years.
Do you remember the TV show "Home Improvement", more power? I stick built this one airplane, recommended engine was something like .60, but I mounted a .75 and that airplane crashed every time it went into the air. First, the old guys just laughed at me on my first flight, one of the ailerons ripped off. They said "Didn't you here the buzzing? You should have let off the gas a little." So I fixed that, flight #2, the prop nut spun off just after takeoff. Flight #2, I don't know what happened but it ended up engine buried in the sand.
I moved away from Cocoa Beach in 1997, I never really flew again. I stayed in the hobby, remain an AMA member, purchased new models that I wanted to build, and built some of them. I even started to get into Electric Power, but still, never flew again.
In July 2026 (last month) I gave away all my RC hobby to the local club, and hoping it will go to good use and to aid in pulling in the younger generation.
I'm moving yet again and I hope to find a club near my next location, and I will get back into the RC world now that I am retired and have lots of free time.
What I have learned from writing this Bio is, time passes fast. Take advantage of your opportunities when they present themselves. Share your stories with other interested people.
Born, School, First Bad Job (1962 - 1980) Retired Navy - Submarines (1980-2000) Retired Engineer (2000-2024)
