In the 1980s, the state of Maine had a surprisingly large RC airplane community, I joined the RC Gulls in Bangor and met someone who was to become a lifelong friend throughout our many subsequent moves. He took me under his wing and six months later I started feeling "as one" with the model. Because he lived only one street away, well within walking distance, we spent many evenings in each others shops. And our wives liked each other. Except for the seemingly endless winters, I was in modeling heaven.
For the next nine years, my friend and I built many models, most from kits but some we cut ourselves from plans. As I became more interested in crafting miniature replicas of full-scale aircraft, he drifted toward larger and larger airplanes. Because I believed giant scale would require more of a budgetary commitment than I was willing to make, I hesitated to join the GS movement. Besides, I had built and successfully competed with a Carl Goldberg Ultimate 10-300. It won contests, got me published, and had a satisfying amount of scale detail.
Then I built an Art Chester Jeep. With a 48-inch wingspan, it was a quarter-scale model, and therefore qualified for IMAA. I can still see the looks I got when I carried the Jeep to the flight line and placed it among the 10- to 20-foot wingspan true giants. I can also recall the awe I felt as I watched those same airplanes carve graceful arcs across those clear blue, if a bit chilly, northern New England skies.
I was hooked. But before I could start on my first "real" giant scale model, it was time to move again, this time to a place that capt1597 might be familiar with.
Only one post to go.