Biographies

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Norm Bickel Biography

I got started with the AMA when I was flying control line with my Dad and little brother, Ed. We flew many years.

Ed and I discovered girls and life happens. Dad passed away Ed and I met our wives Our work and families took precedence.

Years passed and my wife bought me a Big Stick 40 with the full radio. I really didn't get an opportunity to complete it until I retired.

I finished it and joined the Valley City RC club (Ohio) and I now have quite a small squadron that I fly with a great bunch of guys.

Richard Smith Biography

Red and yellow model airplane with large wheels in flight.

I am a 60 year old, who started learning to fly RC planes eight years ago. I grew up near a state park that had a small airfield where many pilots would gather to fly. I would ride my bicycle there (about 3 miles) and watch them fly on Saturday mornings. I always wanted to get involved. But, I didn’t know anyone in the hobby. So, unfortunately, I missed out on many years of enjoyment.

Around our 32nd anniversary, my wife and I were walking in the same park.

Steve Zimmerman Biography

I have always been interested in aviation.  As a kid, my bedroom ceiling was covered with hanging airplane models. My love of aviation was later fulfilled in my military service, having flown in an array of helicopters. The bug had bit and becoming a pilot was definitely on my bucket list.

Nathan Davidson Biography

Model military aircraft on grass.

My addiction started early as is the case most often. My great uncle brought me to the duluth rc flying club when I was about 7-8 and I watched him fly his plane he built in his garage. Not sure what it was exactly, it was shiny yellow, electric, and the wing was held on by rubber bands. I remember thinking that was crazy, but they still do it. I also remember it took most of the day to charge the brick of a battery he got 2:30 minutes of flight time on. Since then I was fascinated by the hobby.

Michael Cicco Biography

I started in this hobby when I was thirteen with a Sureflite foam Cessna, MRC four channel radio with a Enya motor and thought that it was a huge plane! Today forty-nine years later and everything I own is one fifth scale or larger with 85% being scale. In my forty-nine years of collecting/building I have amassed nearly every kit of every plane I liked that was available from the Sopwith Camel to the YF23 and have cut many more from plans either bought or designed by myself. 

Wells Doty Biography

I had a very rich uncle who sent me to school, let me cruise the world on many of his “yachts” and who let me go hiking camping and picnicking with his Army in Vietnam. I started R/C flying with a Mambo Special in 1967 and a reed system, graduated to a Kraft single stick system, and flew until I went to Vietnam. After Vietnam, I had two years of sea duty on my fifth destroyer, then three years in Spain, three years in the Pentagon, two more years at sea and then returned to the DC area where I retired from the Navy and I and my son resumed R/C.

Antonio Galan Biography

Man smiling with a large blue model airplane outdoors on a sunny day.

I was born in Florida and have traveled around the world and like most of us, we all started flying RC aircraft at a young age. So growing up in Florida we always had lots of activities to do and living near Navy, Army, Air Force bases and Cape Canaveral instilled a love of flying. I would ride my bicycle to the local RC field just to watch until I saved up enough money to buy my first Cox plane. It was a great time and great memories.

Justin Haynes Biography

A small, colorful model airplane on grass near equipment in sunlight.

So, my story.

I, like so many others in this fascinating hobby, have loved the beauty of flight as long as I can remember. Some of the best times of my childhood involved those wonderful 1.00 Styrofoam warbirds from the dime store. This would have been in the mid 80s and 90s. My imagination ran wild with one of those Spitfires out in the front yard of our country home.

Robert Miller Biography

I became interested in aviation at a very young age my dad was into free flight and UC as far back as I can remember, I would build and fly free flight model as the greatest thing on earth. I still have a model he designed in 1956 and cherish it dearly. He could build small rubber band models flawlessly I never picked up that skill. He started flying some R/C making some his own design.

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