It's all my father's fault. When I was about 5 years old, he brought home a Frog rubber powered plane kit. The smell of the glue and the dope and I was hooked.

Then he started looking in hobby shop windows and I saw my first model engine. All shiny and with an anodised blue head. I was more hooked.

Next some people started to fly control line models in a park near us. I would watch in fascination as they spent hours flipping and flipping and flipping and sometimes they even flew.

Some time about the age of 10 a next door neighbour turned up with a 1.5cc diesel engine. We spent hours mixing fuel, starting and tuning that engine. The hook was further in.

And when at the age of 11 my Patrol Leader in Scouts told me he flew control line models and invited me to have a look the final stage took place. I bought an engine (OS Max 15 II), joined the club and started learning to fly control line. I kept this up until I was about 16 and school started to become a bit more serious so at this stage I took my first period of leave from the hobby.

But when at age 23 I had married, and had a job I again got back into control line. This time it was racing and it lasted for about 5 years until my son was born and family duties and the cost of building a house again put the hobby on hold. But it was still there waiting and when we moved away from the city to a regional area when my son was about 10 it again came back (like Malaria). This time it was RC models and the first session lasted three years until we moved overseas for a couple of years.

Finally after years of working I retired and what better hobby to get back to. That was about 7 years ago and I am now the proud owner of a large shed full of models.

Addicted? Probably but I can't think of too many other greater hobbies for someone who likes to tinker and build things.