Well, there is an adage which goes along the lines of, "The aeroplane doesn't care what Ratings you have."


I'm one of those who is "self-taught" (or should I say self-learnt? ... I'm confused, now) and it's a stoney path to tread, there's no doubt. I got a lot of help from a chap called Langesweische, though. It might sound incredible, but, for the first year of my model flying, I wasn't even aware that model clubs existed. How could anyone so dumb possibly learn to fly? I never did get any instruction in the world of model aviation.

That's 27 years ago ... and a lot of flying.

But, just yesterday, I was out with a new model and I had to spend a full hour, alone in the circuit, just getting to grips with its idiosyncracies. Did some shocking landings, too, before I got on top of it. It did make me work hard. So, I guess I'm still very much a "learner".



When I first got into model flying and was driving to the flying field, I would get a real physical tingly buzz as planes came into view ... or as the sound of engines drifted in. Even the smell of exhaust would do it for me. And I still get that buzz; like butterflies in the tummy.

Is it just me?


Oh God, I hope there aren't dozens of people sitting at their computers and thinking, "Weird guy."