Aviation has always been a part of my life.
Growing up, my father was a private pilot and we flew for fun all over southern California. We'd fly from Montgomery and Gillespie fields in the San Diego area in Cessna 172s, Piper Archer 2s and Cessna 152s. We had so many adventures tied to aviation growing up - from day trips out to Catalina Island, hamburger runs over to Borrego Springs airport to a cross country family trip in an Archer 2 from San Diego to west Texas...I will never forget those experiences.
Growing up in San Diego in the 70s and 80s, aviation was everywhere. We were just a short drive from Miramar and the naval fighter weapons school that would become famous for a certain movie that bears its nickname...in school, many friends were navy families and that offered many opportunities to go on base, and even to go out on carriers for dependents day cruises off the coast of San Diego.
Model Aviation was always a part of that. My father and I both had fun with control line in the late 1970s. We came back to the hobby together in the late 1980s and early 1990s, both learning to fly R/C at the same time.
My father went on to become the president of the R/C club he and I learned to fly at, the Chollas Park R/C Flyers in San Diego, California (AMA#1567) for many years.
I got married and moved to Nebraska in 2005 and once I was settled, started to look for an R/C field. I found the Lincoln Sky Knights (AMA#405) and found a great group of flying buddies. A few years later as I got more involved and felt the need to give back to the hobby, I became a leader member and then the club president.
The Sky Knights just celebrated our 72nd anniversary as a chartered club and we had a big fun fly to celebrate. To make that time really special, my father made the long trek from California (by car this time) and we spent the weekend flying and talking R/C planes.
