Christmas 1965, my Dad wanted to get into aeromodelling. Mom and Dad were raising four boys, and there wasn't a lot of extra money, but Dad new that if he got me and my next brother down included in the deal, Mom would go for it. So they got my brother and I a Cox PT-19 trainer complete kit. Well, we had to wait till spring. I was very enthused about all this, my brother was just so-so.
Spring came, soon as the snow was gone, we went across the road to a factory that made tin cans, they had a very large field with a parking lot right next to it. Dad thought we could take off from the pavement and fly out over the field. We spent several evenings learning how to manage the engine, and then went across the road to fly. Dad flew first, got dizzy, and crashed.
Fortunately, the airplane was all held together with small rubber bands, so crashes were fixed with more rubber bands. We fixed it, and Dad tried again, this time with less than a full tank, and was able to last the flight without getting so dizzy he crashed. Dad's secret was that he wanted to fly RC and was using this as a Segway to RC. I got my turn, and was completely hooked, hook, line, and sinker. No turning back for me. My brother gave it a try, but wasn't enthused with it, and never did it again.
Dad and I embarked on an aero relationship that lasted until November 21, 2023, when he passed away at 88. He had been building and flying up to about 10 days before he passed. As we grew, we learned from lots of magazine articles, especially Chuck Cunningham. We were the ones that showed up at the flying field with airplanes that nobody else had. We started all this in 1966, and I have still not built a kit. I design all my own airplanes. I am now 70 years old and retired, building a new addition to our home in Michigan for my new aero workshop. I am looking forward to many new and unusual designs yet in the coming years.
