I got the chance to fly a 'real' airplane over the weekend, and of course the chance to really get up close to a bunch of different 'real' airplanes. I gained an even greater appreciation for R/C after seeing and feeling the similarities, both in the way they fly and the detail of the models. I got to look under the 'hood' of one of the full scale planes, and the 4 cylinder Lycoming engine looked just like a twin-cylinder four stroke, cooling fins and control arms and everything! I was even able to fly the 'real' plane, make good coordinated turns, etc., all from my knowledge of R/C flight - I was able to have an understanding of what was happening from outside the plane, and now had the added sensation of actual feel of flight. I really had no idea that R/C flying was so similar to full scale flying. It's been an awesome first year of flying model planes!!!