281,463.55 raised in 2026. We have reached 56% of our goal.
Help us reach this year's goal of $500,000!
Chapter 1: Holes in the Silkspan
My earliest memories of model airplanes go back to when I was 6 years old. I can remember warm Saturday afternoons when my Dad would drive me and my younger brother Bob, he was 2 at the time, out to the local Control Line flying site. It was actually part of the Philadelphia Water Works, and it was located next to the Philadelphia Police Academy. So the site was commonly called “The Police Academy.”
I worked at a hobby shop just long enough to try out beginner airplanes.
Years later, we live on 11 acres and now have a grass airstrip. For years now, I have flown many RC aircraft. As my reflexes are slowing down, I'm enjoying the various helicopters which fly like drones.
Hopefully, I can get my wife to try one out when the weather is better! Even though I'm retired, I have less time to enjoy the hobby, as I am the mayor of our small town and a pastor.
It is very relaxing to grab a Huey and do figure-eights over our east pasture!
I began flying Control Line in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1959 with a Wen-Mc .049. I moved up to a Guillows Profile #3 within a few months and joined AMA (38937 J) so I could enter the GSCB balloon bust contests.
While still a junior, I began to build better airplanes and learned to fly Navy Carrier. I flew in most New Jersey Control Line contests until I graduated high school in 1969. I was out of the hobby while in college and serving time in the US Air Force.
I have quite an extensive 43 years to share. I have flown RC on the North American continent from Mexico to the Arctic North. I was an AMA Associate Vice President for Alaska and visited every club. I now live in Nevada and still fly RC.
I have been vice president for our club and was newsletter editor for 5 years. I have experiences for all my flying I could share.
It all started when I was 8 years old. I used to hang Revell plastic models in my bedroom from the ceiling. I went to those plastic .049 cox planes, which were impossible to launch on one piece of plywood on the grass. I kept trying but only succeeded in setting my glove on fire in the winter trying to start the engine. No injury.
When I was about 11, I got a plastic Cox line-control airplane for Christmas. After I'd crash, I'd order parts, wait three weeks, and repeat. My dad got my brother and I Lil' Wizard balsa airplanes. We flew them for a couple of years. Fast forward 35 years, and my sister-in-law got me a coax helicopter for Christmas.
Disabled Army Veteran who just got back into the hobby a little over 2 years ago. Enjoys flying EDF and Turbines with occasional prop planes.
Control Line '60s, combat and sport. RC in the '80s, sport and old time (1/2 A) Sam 93. RC in Chicago '94 to 2004, fun fly. RC Kansas City 2005 to now, plus indoor electric.
I got into RC aviation out of pure curiosity and quickly fell down the rabbit hole. What started as learning the basics—controls, crashes, repairs—turned into a real appreciation for how planes fly and how much skill it takes to keep them in the air.
Along the way, I've learned patience, problem solving, and that every mistake is just part of the process. RC aviation has become less about the planes themselves and more about the challenge, the learning, and the satisfaction of a smooth flight.
Kolbe grew up flying model planes, starting like so many others with a little HobbyZone Champ. After parking it in trees countless times, he moved on to EDFs and eventually turbines by the end of high school.
Kolbe continued flying model planes through his time at the Air Force Academy, and he is now awaiting pilot training at ENJJPT. He credits much of his success in full-scale aviation and aeronautical engineering to his strong foundation in basic principles from model aircraft.
Pictured is Kolbe teaching his youngest brother to fly.
