Biographies

A handful of years ago, I was interested in some sort of RC Hobby. I began with cars. A friend and I went out and each bought a Traxxas Slash. I came to realize that RC was right, but the vehicle was not enough for me. I went in search of RC Plane clubs. I found my current club and fell in love with the idea of building planes from scratch and getting them to fly. I felt it to be far more rewarding than the cars. Well, it is a few years later, and I have to tell you, I am the president of that same flying club.

In 1961, when I was 7 years old, I assisted my 17 year old brother (AMA 22009) with his Nordic glider and U/C stunt and combat flying. He competed in some local AMA events. He died at the age of 18 from a brain tumor. At the age of 8, I inherited his planes and unfinished kits. I was afraid to fly any of them until I was married and 20 years old. I especially loved U/C but the RC bug hit me in 1977 and I maintained AMA membership (AMA 22284) since 1978. 

My ram air guidance project received the first-place research award at NARAM 11 at the US Air Force Academy in 1969. That project led directly to the founding of MITS, Inc., to make and sell miniature light flashers for night-launched model rockets. Five years later, MITS introduced the Altair 8800, the first successful hobby microcomputer. In short, model rocketry plated a crucial role in the arrival of the PC. Details are in my new memoir, "Maverick Scientist."

I am Gautam Mehra, a 14-year-old student whose interest in robotics began in 6th grade and later expanded into FTC and RC aviation. I began learning through Arduino and Raspberry Pi projects using a robotics kit my parents bought me. I designed simple projects, such as a small robot buggy, and learned to use electronic components on a breadboard. Though I started my journey by taking small steps, I learned several fundamentals that propelled my fascination with robotics.