AMA Foundation Board Chairman
In 1954, I was 6 years old. I was trying to start an OK Cub .049. I cried the rest of the day, and anybody else who has had that experience knows why. I would remain frustrated up until I got my first Cox .049. At that time, my model life got much happier. That little engine was a manufacturing miracle. I would continue to build and fly models for the next 71 years.
At first, everything flew on a string. And that was a good thing, because just about anything will fly on a string. A young kid could glue up some balsa, dope it, get the elevator working, and you'd have success. There were crashes, but there was plenty of success to keep me going. To be a modeler, one must be humble. There's a joy in making something that flies.
Eventually, I had to grow up. I started out as a laborer in construction. I was 16 and had just graduated from high school. I slowly moved up the field to apprentice and eventually a real carpenter. I wanted to go to college. I applied for a Junior Time Study Engineering position at Marion Power Shovel Company located in Marion, Ohio. If they liked you, you could start in this position with no background or training. They would pay for your college costs as well. I got hired, went to work in their steel foundry, and started school at The Ohio State University.
Marion Power Shovel had a contract to build two massive rocket transporters for NASA. This was the '60s. The space race was on. The foundry would cast all of the crawler assemblies. Here's where I started to learn about the art of manufacturing: blueprint reading, pattern construction, how molds worked. This marked the beginning of my education in manufacturing. So, I worked on the Apollo Program.
After this stretch, I had 3 little kids. I became a daddy. I needed to move up the salary food chain. I got a job with SKF Industries. I was a real Time Study Engineer at this point. We moved to Kentucky. There, the next part of my manufacturing education would expand. SKF made prevision bearings. I learned much about how to make small, precise things.
One of the major pursuits of SKF was the pursuit of automation. To get there, you need small conveyor systems that connect all of the machines. Eventually, SKF created their own conveyor system. This was after many failures with conveyor systems. What they created was a new idea in how to build conveyor systems. Seeing an opportunity, I went to Sweden and convinced SKF to let me introduce their new product into the US marketplace. I started Span Tech LLC.
This eventually worked out. I became a supplier to mostly automative customers. This world was not a dependable source of trade for many reasons, so I decided to move into the food manufacturing industry. This time, I would use a conveyor design much better suited for food manufacturing. Chalk down another 5 years until this plan started to prove out.
During this period, I learned how to fly airplanes. Later, I would become a helicopter pilot as well. I have about 4,200 hours of pilot time. My model life is very much alive. For the past 10 years, I've been flying Indoor Penny Planes. Over my modeling career, RC Gliders have been my primary interest. My current endeavors are centered on learning how to machine molds. From models, I'm learning composite construction.
My love of building and flying has been the single constant in my life. It sure is fun. But I gotta tell you that when my old model buddies get together, we usually talk about some Free Flight experience. Free Flight is truly a thing of wonder. You have to let go.
