My story is not quite as glamorous, but it is my story none-the-less.

For me, my inspiration to get into RC came from my love of full scale flying. The trials and tribulations of learning to fly was a path I began to travel at 16 years old. I soloed at 16, got my private license at 17, and instrument and commercial shortly after. Making that happen was no easy task, especially for a kid in high school and early college.

One definite advantage that I had in that regard was that my father owned an airplane. I paid him for fuel only, which at the time worked out to about $35 an hour. My parents helped pay the instructor during my private training, although I took care of the next two ratings almost entirely.

However, as I got into college and the non-discretionary expenses (as a kid, all your money goes to play) began to kick in, my money began to flow out as fast as it came in and sometimes faster. With my parent’s divorce and my father moving about 80 miles away and taking the plane with him, I continued to fly but not nearly as much as I had used to.

Enter RC:

RC is something that always felt unattainable. It was for the elite and/or the retired guys with lots of time and money, or so I thought. However, when the bug really hit me (May of 2004), the same motivation that saw me through my full-scale experiences, kicked in again. I was a gnat’s hair away from buying a cheap little electric plane on e-bay when I discovered RCU. Money was a concern, of course, and I felt really guilty shelling out over a hundred bucks on a RC airplane that I knew nothing about ($100 bucks on RC stuff, a thought that I laugh at now). However, at the recommendation of folks here on the board, I purchased an SIG LT-40 kit for $72.99 – I could handle that. I would just acquire the other stuff as I went, and by the time I finish the kit, I’d have it all.

Without further ado, I began construction of the LT-40 kit. Taking my time, stopping and clarifying at every juncture, posting pics here on RCU when needed, learning about everything – and I mean EVERYTHING as I knew NOTHING when I started, in addition to limited time and intentional pacing due to the cash flow required to get the engine, radio, servos, etc, the build took me from late May 04 to Jan 9th, 2005. But, man had I done a good job, it was damn near perfect, with many upgrades to boot.

On Jan 10th, the day before school began again, the airplane was flown for the first time. It wasn’t me at the controls, although I got to get some stick time that day and was surprisingly good – I think my full scale knowledge helped there. Watching that thing fly, my baby, after all that I had put into it made me want to, as the poem goes, “reach out and touch the face of God”. In my mind, having built that thing with my own hands that was capable of the magic of flight made me feel like I was somehow more “in-touch” with the whole field of flight…I could create the power of flight with my own hands – it made me feel more worthy to call myself a pilot.

Here’s my biggest downfall to date – I was scared to death to crash the thing after the work I put into it and the way it made me feel to see it fly. And, to date, a year later the airplane is still as good as the day I finished building it – but that’s because it only has 11 flights on it, and that’s all I’ve done all year.

In an attempt to build a little fleet so that if I did, God forbid, crash the thing, I’d still be in business, I acquired another kit (Goldberg Chipmunk – still in process), Modeltech Piper Cub ARF, SIG EP42, and a GWS slow stick. But for some reason, none of these newly acquired planes are ready for flight, although 2 are not far from it.

So, up until 12/31/05, I had built a kit, and had done a REALLY good job of it, btw, partially built 2 ARFS, started another kit, and had made a few friends at the RC field. Not bad….but all in all not good enough.

I think my biggest problem with RC is fear of crashing, seconded by the fact that I have always been a quiet and conservative guy, not too honed on social skills. And frankly going out to the RC club is a slight overwhelm to me…I’d rather fly by myself, frankly. BUT I AM FIGHTING THIS, as I know the social part is a large part of the hobby.

So this year is going to be different. I have just purchased and installed RealFlight G3 and am practicing and getting stick time galore. I am actively finishing the two ARFs that are on the bench right now. When they are complete, I’ll have 3 flyable airplanes. Then, I am going to head out to the club again and really push myself to a solo. I’ll continue to hone my skills until I am comfortable and confident with my ability.

As was said earlier in this thread, everybody has a different story, and everybody moves at different speeds. I have been having a really good time with it; that is when I am doing it. But something has to change to push me to the next level, and I think the G3 simulator, getting the other two planes flyable, and frequenting the club and meetings more often will be enough to push me over the top.