85,171.87 raised in 2026. We have reached 17% of our goal.
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Soaring Ambitions: The Story of the Alabama Aeronautical Team at South Choctaw Academy
In the heart of rural southwest Alabama, something extraordinary is taking flight—literally.
What began as a simple idea at South Choctaw Academy has grown wings and become the Alabama Aeronautical Team (AA-T), an innovative Saiasi Foundation-led initiative powered by curiosity, collaboration, and the belief that great things can emerge from small communities.
I was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1932. I built many of the WWII planes as stick and paper models. When I was a senior in High School, I had my first Control Line model. The next few years I was busy with the US Army, education, marriage, and children, but still I would occasionally build a rubber-powered model. In 1980, I joined AMA and built my first Radio Control model, a Sig Kadet with a Fox 40 motor.
Several members in our club are somewhat surprised that I am still designing, building, and flying at 87. One afternoon, a young man came over to me where I was installing the wing and asked about my plane. I said it is an E-Venger pattern plane I recently designed for a friend that is an AMA Life member, Otto Dieffenbach, that I flew pattern with back in the 70s. He said he was curious to know if it was the type of plane they used to fly in pattern contests years ago. I said it is.
I’m 64 years old and have been modeling for 33 years. I've loved aviation my whole life. I’m a lifetime member of AMA and a strong supporter of anything to do with kids and model airplanes.
When I was 14 in 1973, I had become infatuated with flight in all its forms. I decided that I wanted to learn to fly R/C models. I approached my dad (a Civil Engineer) and told him that I wanted to sell my mini-bike and get into R/C. He thought about it and came to the conclusion that it could be educational. Man, was he right!!! I recently retired after 28 years on the Space Shuttle Program (during which I was awarded a Silver Snoopy), and 3.5 on the Orion spacecraft.
I started flying in 1992 in Connecticut at the age of 15. I have always loved aviation, and that summer in 1991, the local club had put on a display in our local park. I remember seeing a Carl Goldberg ultimate and thinking that was the coolest thing I had ever seen. That winter, I built myself a trainer and started learning to fly. I flew the next couple of years before I went off to college.
Location: Sheridan, Wyoming
Club: Flying Cowboys R/C Club
I built my first RC sailplane with my father as a teenager and was hooked. Fast forward 45-plus years, and I’m back flying again :) I started a “flight club” at the local high school (SHS) with drones, Flite Test kits, and it took off. I am still very much a novice pilot, but I enjoy the friendships that come with flying with other people versus alone.
In 1984, I was working for a cosmetic manufacturer, and I needed to meet with the engineer to discuss plans for a new product line. When I met with him, I noticed he had a set of plans on his desk for a biplane. He said he was building an R/C plane and wanted to increase the plans to quarter-scale. Two weeks later, I had a Great Planes trainer 40 ordered with all the equipment to get started. It took me around five months to complete and arrived at the Flying Hawks club field to start my first flight.
My journey began with a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, stage 4. After undergoing treatment, I found myself unable to work. My son-in-law was determined to get a Tower Hobbies trainer to fly, and since I’ve always had a passion for airplanes, I spent a considerable amount of time with him, trying to figure out the intricacies of it all. The following Christmas, I received a wonderful gift—a Great Planes slowpoke sport 40.
