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My involvement in model aviation started about 43 years ago. So having many ‘rc modeling’ experiences and adventures over that timeframe, I thought that I would simply start at the beginning. So, as Snoopy from the famous Peanuts comic strip was so fond of saying, here goes:
“It was a dark and stormy night.” Well, it wasn’t exactly at night, and it wasn’t stormy and dark either, but it was actually a very tranquil late summer sunny afternoon.
I'm about to turn 87. I'm still flying RC but not as aggressively as previous years.
I grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, home of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the world’s largest sport aviation convention and airshow. My father began taking me to the EAA airshow when I was 1 year old.
By the age of 10, I was riding his bike out to the airport twice a day and volunteering during the EAA convention to earn admittance to the daily airshow. It was throughout this period that I vowed to one day become an aerobatic pilot.
I have always loved all forms of aircraft and enjoy flying my RC planes a lot. I like the hobby so much I came out with CG Machine (Center of Gravity) that builders and hobbyists could use easily with their weight sensors like Xicoy to get their CG perfectly. It is patented and called the RCCG Machine. I like to help out anyone in the hobby as much as I can and hopefully it will benefit everyone to get the proper CG of their Aircraft before the maiden flights.
I am a retired Human Resources Manager. I have been a model airplane enthusiast since the 1970s (AMA 357495) when I bought my first Kraft radio and built a Sig Kommander. In July 2023, I gave a class on aviation and radio-controlled airplanes. The 2-hour class was conducted for 20+ Boys and Girls Club attendees in Trinity, Texas, where I live.
My journey into radio-controlled aviation began long before I ever held a transmitter. As a teenager in the Police Explorers program, a routine stop with the lieutenant in charge became a defining moment. At his father’s home, I saw a large F4U Corsair suspended from the ceiling, while in the backyard his father was teaching himself to fly an RC helicopter. That unexpected encounter planted a seed—one that would quietly grow for years.
I started flying model airplanes with my father when I was 10 years old.
My first airplane, a Christmas gift, was a Testors P-38 Control Line airplane with twin Wen Mac .049 engines. We never could get both engines running together, so we always flew it on a single engine. From there, I went on to flying various small Control Line models until I bought my first large, .35-powered model, a Carl Goldberg Voodoo airplane.
I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, as I usually tell people, on the outskirts of a village. Apparently, I showed an interest in aircraft at a very early age (probably about 2), and I remember my Dad teaching me to build plastic models when I was too young to hold the Exacto knife.
My first RC project was actually a helicopter. A steep learning curve but well worth it.
From there, planes, cars, and boats were easy. I usually build my own kits.
It's part of the fun. I have done a few from scratch since I have acquired a 3D printer. I have joined many clubs, met a great bunch of guys. I don't get to fly much anymore. I am 82 and acquired some back problems, but I still occasionally manage to get out.
When I was 14 years old, my dad worked on aircraft refuelers at Chicagoland airports. I used to go with him any change I got. I saw all kinds of airplanes. I got into model airplanes. It's a great hobby.
