I grew up with machines, had my first airplane ride in a J3 in the spring of 1956 (third grade), and got hooked. The first time I got my hands on an airplane was the spring of 1966, in a Cherokee C 140. I got hooked even more.
I tried college twice, but it didn't agree with me. I was a Chinese translator for Uncle Sam (US ARMY, 14th ASA FS, Hakata, Japan) from '69-'72. I spent years in "the trades," including automotive, electronic, HVAC, and then went into teaching math (and an elective, model aviation!) at a middle school.
I retired in 2014 and now own a full-scale plane, a 1956 Piper PA-22-150 Tri Pacer which, as near as I can figure, came out of the factory just about the time I took my first ride in that J3.
I've built model planes since I was 8 years old, first with plastic, and then with stick-and-tissue rubber FF. I always dreamed of doing RC stuff someday.
I started with RC in the 80s with a styrofoam glider converted to RC with rudder only, using an old Cox .049 left over from my CL days. It worked!
I went on to other RC planes but always stuck with small ("SMALL") airplanes and engines. I converted a few Guillows models to RC and built a few kits.
I don't do much with RC these days, but I still build Peanut-Scale FF models every now and then. I'm busy with the PA-22 and flight lessons, even at my age (77). Never stop learning!
