Matt Ott here. I have been a member of the AMA for about 20 years now. I am now 63 years young. This is how I became involved in model aviation: I have a friend and former coworker Ron T. who had been flying models most of his life. He is now 72 years old. He invited me to come to a church gymnasium to see him fly indoors with rubber-powered and micro RC planes. There were guys flying RC planes, some of which were kits and others were scratch built.
This was in a time of early electric RC planes and still using NiCad and nickel metal batteries. There were also a number of people who were flying microlight rubber-powered planes that could fly at a walking speed and circle, rise and gradually circle back down to the floor. I WAS AMAZED to say the least. I was immediately hooked. The only other exposure to flying models was when I was a kid and my dad would take me to watch guys flying Control Line planes.
So then I was informed that to fly with them at the gym I would have to join the AMA and the club. The club was as The Silent Flyers of Marlton, New Jersey, and they also had a nice sized outdoor field provided by the community. I joined up and bought my first plane, the HOBBICO SUPERSTAR EP, which was a 48” wingspan wood and monocote electric high wing trainer. I was supposed to meet Ron at the field and he was going to fly the plane, trim it, and teach me how to fly. He was late and I was impatient and tried flying and succeeded in crashing immediately. Then Ron showed up and said YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE PATIENT AND WAITED. So I thought my flying career was ended. Ron told me that the plane was rebuildable and loaned me his iron, heat gun, and some monocote covering and tasked me with repairing the plane.
Good building/repairing experience which proved to come in handy later. So, with my repaired trainer and some learned patience, I made a new attempt. This time, I had a more successful attempt. Having Ron trim and fly the plane, we learned that the plane was a pretty good flyer. So, with more time (more than I expected) and my increasing patience and care of the plane, I LEARNED TO FLY. Still to this day, my heart rate increases and excitement builds just thinking about flying anything. I have had and still have many planes. I have crashed many planes. The important thing is to keep trying and learn from your mistakes. Safety must be the most important aspect of your flying.
Since learning to fly, I have been in several clubs and have gone to many flying events in the RC community, and it has always been a great experience, even when I have a crash or bad take off or landing.
Since getting into the hobby, I have found that the vast majority of the people are friendly and kind. The camaraderie and fellowship is one of the reasons I am in a club. I could fly at locations other than club fields and sometimes do but actually prefer flying with others. I have been given several planes and equipment by fellow club members and also share what I have to pay it forward.
I must say that bringing model aviation into my life has enhanced it greatly, and I always have something to build, repair, work on, or fly. With my interest in model aviation, I have also become more knowledgeable and interested in full-scale aircraft and enjoy modeling World War II aircraft.
My interest in aircraft has also led to my current job, which is building and aircraft maintenance at The Wildwood Naval Air Station Museum in Cape May, New Jersey, which was a WW II bomber, torpedo bomber, dive bomber, and fighter training base.
One thing that I am sad about is that most of the good hobby shops that you could browse, shop, and dream in have closed down, but on the other hand, you can get just about anything online these days.
GO OUT AT FLY SOMETHING TODAY.
Sincerely,
Matt Ott - proud AMA member
