Quigleywins

Well It looks like the older you are the longer the report is . I'm 62 and still on the buddy box at the local club so I'm no expert. My story starts like many in my teens growing up with the kids in the district. I can remember I made many good friends and at one time all my friends flew. I started with the old Gorden Berford 1.5 cc tipan and a Hearns Hobbies Hot Rod,all control line but in the late 50 that all there was. Club meatings where held in members homes with the host Mother putting on supper I can still taste the hot dogs one Mum was famous for (we all wanted the meatings at that one house) Beryl I have never forgotten the nights at your house or the hot dogs. After around 12 years I put my Planes away I then did all the things that most of us do , Marriage Kids Devoice Changes in Jobs . At age 49 I contracted Gillian Beret Syndrome.This in a way was good as I was given a Ill health retirement from work' Now at 49 your not ready for the box so I found other intrests, Yes your right after my intrests faided in Irish Setters I found my way back to the R/C activity This took some time and lots of money. In around 1995 I aquired a Top Flite Mustang KIt (still not finished) again I put all aside . In 2006 I went to Geelong and aquired 2 ARF , now till that time I had never heard of a ARF You needed to see my face when the kid in the shop opened the box. Three weeks later I was in Melbourne getting all the rest of the gear. Now It took me a further 3 years before I made the attempt to fly and By now my collection had grown to 45 aircraft of all sizes and shapes. The pride of the fleet being my Top Flite Mitchel B25 with A pair of Alpa 81s. Now I know you are all saying ''What THe Hell ''.But if you like somthing then why not I like Piper Cubs too , and I have three of them. Teas on so Chapter 2 next week. Yours Paul T

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

well where to start,I am 46,I have been building models since I was about 7, started with the plastic ones small Revell models, wich sparked my interest in aviation in general.
got my first control line model at about 10, it was pretty popular in my neighborhood, the first one didn't last too long a COX Stuka about 3.5 seconds, next was a LilWizard goldberg kit,flew the heck out of that one.
after a few years of control line, building several balsa kits, and lusting after the RC planes in the mags, I saved up from my paper route and by the time I was 14 I had my first RC airplane, a Falcon 56 and a craft 4ch radio, and a K&B35 a horrible engine, but it got me in the air,after several models later, some good, some not so good,I got burnt out on models, and started thinking about "models"cars,women and surfing became my main focus not necessarily in that order.

after school HS,then Collage, the economy was in a sorry state in about 1985 I started working in construction mainly labor work, since it was the only work I could find,learning on the fly,I began getting my skills in order.
I have been doing it on and off ever since, I have a small company here in San Francisco, specializing in finish const.painting, trim moldings, and repairing Victorian homes, its becoming a lost art and keeps me buisy enough,its about details like modelingI also have 2 wonderfull boys, and a incredibly supportive wife of all my activities.

so about 6-7years ago I started to get a bug to do something different, my buddys were all into dirt bikes, and I did a bit or riding when I was younger, but the wife put the kibosh on that idea when the injuries started mounting, shoulders, broken ankles and various other problems too long to list, and my freinds started mounting up the hospital bills.

now I am a bit of a adrenaline junky, have been surfing since I was 11y.o.and still do,( we live 3 blocks from the beach)I have been all over the world in search or waves and adventure, so I wanted to get into something fun with some rush involved, but new to me at the time.

well I am searching the web, and I come across this RCU web site, looks cool, lots of information,I did a bunch of reading and reminiscing about how fun RC was, so I threw down the old CC and bought a NEXTAR trainer, joined a local club www.flypcc.org got some help with the first few flights, and I have been at it ever since.

my main interest is in WWII fighters, axis and allied,I really enjoy building planes, but I also have a stable of ARF planes as well, since building the hangar I wanted would take a lifetime and then some, I have several ARF's that I have done some upgrading on, and several kits that I have done alot of detail work on .

I have learned so much from this site in the last few years, and from my own successes and failures, tecniques I would have never thought of without reading it here.

I really enjoy passing on any usefull information I come across as well, sometimes getting into hotly contested debates, posting about the things that interest me, and having the chance to look at some of the great work that the modelers on this web site produce, building a model from a box that not only looks good, but flys well is really satisfying,and I really get a rush out of flying still its just too much fun.

me and my H-9 P-51, working on a build, and in front of my house in SF

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

Going up top. These are truly unique stories, let's here some more, who are you and why do come here?

maynardrupp

I just turned 69 yesterday. Geez, now I feel old. I started flying free flight and indoor models when I was 13. I just found my 1953 AMA license. I competed in the Nats at Dallas, Glenview IL, and Willow Grove PA. I even won quite a few trophies. I quit the sport for college and then proffessional drag racing. I won several major drag racing events and a fair amount of money. I learned to fly at 17 and after drag racing and college I started to fly airplanes for a living. I worked for the same company for 31 years and flew their jets worldwide. I retired in 2001. I also enjoy sailboat racing and own a 35' sailboat. My wife and I live in the Detroit area and have two grown boys. One lives in Detroit and my younger son, (37), lives in Miami. We live on our Hatteras boat in Miami during winter. I re-entered the building and flying hobby 3 years ago. After a few weeks on the buddy box I was off and running. Now days my eyes are not super so I have to be careful and keep the airplane close. The skills obtained by flying real airplanes don't help as much as you would think when it comes to RC flying. The principles of flight do, but the actual manipulation of an airplane's controls is completly different when you are not in the cockpit. I now am working on pattern flying and have just built my 3rd. Sumpthin' Extra. I built 2 US 60s and have a SIG Waco SRE. I also have an Electric Lady sailplane. Next, I want a Focus Sport, but I sure wish it, or something comparable, was offered as a kit.

daven

My Feedback: (1)

Neat thread, great stories, thanks for starting this.

In July of 98' my Father-In-Law, who had been flying RC for years invited all the grandchildren out to the field to give RC a try on the buddy box. Our son was 10 at the time and I thought this would be a great hobby for him and to get him away from the Nintendo and Playstation. A couple other grandchildren and assorted younger relatives showed up and they all gave it a shot as I watched truly fascinated. I was shocked as each took there turn, and returned to the pits and pulled their gameboys out of their pockets. Virtually no interest was shown and I was amazed. I asked Jerry if he would give me a shot, and he said sure. I was hooked immediately, I think most of us remember that feeling.

He gave me a few magazines that I read about 10 times each in the first 48 hours I had them, and continued to buddy box me until I could solo. I thought it took forever, but probably was only a few weeks. In the meantime, I picked up an ARF sport plane (advanced trainer) called a BrightStar and flew the crap out of it. I think I was learning pretty quickly, because less than two months in Jerry had me start flying a Quickie 500 plane (scratch built by Art Smith) with an OS .25 fx on the nose. He would let me take it off and fly, but he took care of landing duties since they were all done dead stick. He told me that the last race of the year was taking place in October (I had been flying just under 3 months) and if I wanted to race his plane, I could. I was more nervous than I can tell you, but really wanted to give it a try. Race day finally came and I don't think I have ever felt that many butterflys in my stomach. First heat came up with my knees knocking and I just tried to keep the plane out of the way as I buzzed around for 10 laps, turns out, I came in 2nd place in my first ever heat. 2nd heat comes up and after several laps actually got the plane down some and actually felt like I was in the mix and on the race course. Swapped leads with another racer at least once and for about 1 lap was actually in 1st place. That was right about when I came around pylon #3 and another plane which didn't quite make it around pylon #3 T-boned my airplane (actually Jerry's). It was a built up wing airplane, and practically exploded as the O.S. powered prop of the other plane chewed through the center of that poor quickie. Debris literally dropped from the sky like confetti for a good long while as I stood there staring at where the plane use to be.

Winter was basically upon us after that race, and I spent all winter building and thinking about racing airplanes. I was averaging a new one complete about every 6 weeks and built up a small fleet quickly. Most Saturday mornings were at Jerry's where he would show me the finer points of monokoting, fiberglassing, imbedding 1/64 ply in tail surfaces, etc... I really had NO mechanical aptitude, but learned quickly and became at least a serviceable builder. Spring of 99' came and we continued to race and build, hooked more than ever. I moved up to the quickie 500 OS 46fx class that summer and continued to race the .25 class also. Later that same year, Jerry borrowed me a Jett .40 motor to race in what we call around here the "Big Race", and I flew my first AMA 428 race (planes around 160 mph at the time) after flying about 1 year. Finished the year 1st in our local .46 Standard Class, won a couple of the O.S. .25 races, and was hooked on the FAST 428 class (even though I was struggling just to keep the plane near the course). Winter was pretty much the same, building like crazy to support 3 seperate racing classes.

Spring of 2000' arrives and I tell Jerry that I want to go to the Nationals in Muncie, Indiana that summer and race 428. He was intrigued and said sure. We got all prepared, borrowed a motor home and 4 of us made the 700 mile trip. What an experience, I can't even tell you. The field and course were awesome, and the fliers were unbelievable. The planes were mostly fiberglassed and painted and gorgeous. Our Monokote covered models weren't nearly as pretty, but we were there to compete, which we attempted. Unfortunately, we were lucky to finish a heat without getting lapped. Finished right near the bottom of the heap, but knew we would be back, and my goal was to win it some day.

10 years later, we are still racing and competing. Have traveled around the Country to many races, made some nice finishes and finally accomplished my goal of winning the Nationals this past summer. Jerry also made his best finish, bringing home some Nats "wood" by finishing in the top 10. Don't see things changing anytime in the near future, its been a great ride, and I'm not ready to get off the roller coaster.

I post on RCU (and moderated for many years) to try and return the favor for all those that helped me when I asked all the dumb questions. When I tried crazy things and wanted to go faster, and to help publicize racing in general. Don't have the time I use to have to post, but still like to spend some time here.

stevenmax50

My Feedback: (1)

OK, here is my story.
Dad was an Army lifer and the last 3-4 years he was active he was a game warden at Ft Gordon GA. About once a month he would go up in a Huey to cruise the base perimeter to see where poachers were coming on base to poach deer. This was around 1974 and I was around 13. I actually got to go up with him a couple of times. Talk about a cool ride. So I was hooked on aviation. Unfortunatly my eyesight was far from perfect so piloting was out of the question. So after graduating high school I joined the Air Force as an Avionics Tech (instrument shop). I spent 4 years on the C5 at Dover DE with transient 141's comin down nightly from Mcguire. After I got out I moved to Dallas cause I heard there was work there. I worked at Braniff in the mid 80's. It was then that I bought a copy of RC Modeler magazine out of nothing more than curiosity. My wife at the time took it as a hint, eevn tho it wasnt, and bought me a model for Christmas that year. It was 86?
Anyway, I wound up building that plane, a Seamaster 60, but never flew it cause I was chicken. I finally built a 60 size trainer and did fly it many times. Crashed it too. Thw wife also bought me a Super Aeromaster. Another one I built and then sold due to bein a chicken.
All this time I was working on the heavy iron ( 727, 737, DC-8, 747, 757) for Braniff/Dalfort. And then UPS as a Heavy Maint Rep. I travelled alot so I had nothing to do with the hobby until 2001 when my current (and hopefully the last) wife got me back into it. She and I own a small business and since 2000 I have only worked contract work in the biz. I spent a little time travelling to Korea as a 747 tech rep. And most recently as an avionics tech on Blackhawks and Apaches for the US Army Tech Test Center at Redstone Aresonal in Huntsville. But I have an old injury to my leg that finally got the best of me. I just could not spend the day crawling all over a/c without alot of pain. So I am semi-retired now. Still help my wife out at our business, a Day Spa. Yes, now I talk to women all day about their tan and skin care. Not a bad gig at all. And easy on my body.
I have a PT60 my wife got me back in 01 and I am back to flyin it. I am also building a Tiger 60 with a Magnum 91 4s.
I have always loved aviation. It is in my blood completely. My RC fix requires that I eventually wind up flying scale warbirds. I still consider myself a beginner even tho I have started this hobby 3 times now. This last time I took of and flew unassisted. The knees knocked alot, but I eventually settled down and its fun again. It has been too cold to do anything here lately so I havent been in the air in several weeks. I hope I can get it back again with little nerves.
RCU is a great site. Iuse it to learn, learn , and learn some more. Ask a question. Get 2dozen answers. Its great. Iknow several guys from church who want to get started in the hobby and Ihave sent them all here toRCU first. Ialso have them on my Realflight flt sim. Baby steps. HopefullyI can get a couple of them into the local clubthis spring. Helping people to come into this hobby is as fun as flying.
Keep em flyin' fellas.

wcmorrison

My Feedback: (2)

I became interested in model by observing my big brother. He was into them abit. I was may 8 or 9 years old at the time. He would build stick models, the light them on fire and glide them to their deaths. Later, he built a control lin plane, maybe when I was twelve or so. I knew how to solder, and he did not, he made a mess of his solder work.

Then at 13, I got a McCoy 29 and Ring Master kit. Broke in the 29 but never finished the Ringmaster. Watched others fly control line and sold the McCoy. Finished highschool, into girls, off to college. Married and joined the USAF as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer. I got to play with real airplanes for 26 years, retired and went to work in aerospace industry as a System Safety Engineer.

Then I decided to get into models again. This time Radio Control. That was 1998. Been flying since. Love engines, can not get interested in electrics, oh, they are okay but no smell of burnt Castor oil like my old McCoy would make.

So early models led to the USAF. I dealt with F-100s, F-5s, T-38s, F-4C/D/E/G, A-7D (TF-41 engine really), F-15 and F-16s in the USAF. Never had to deal with bombers or transports, just fighters. Later at Lockheed was on the F-35 team for a while.

Aviation and what makes it work has been in my blood for neigh on to 50 years. I am knocking on the door of 70 now and still flying, albeit, teeny weeny prop airplanes not jets.

Now I am a retired Colonel, been there, done that. No regrets!

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

I got my start in 1949 in Cub Scouts. The Den I was in had a model airplane building contest. I built a solid wood Piper Cub. I did not win but I have been building ever since. In 1953 I got a plastic Sabre U-Control RTF with an OK Cub 049 B in it for Christmas. That summer I spent many hours learning (on my own) to start and tune the engine. I never did get the plane to fly. Then I found a plan in a AAM magazine for a half A control line model that I liked. I built the plane and it flew very well. I continued to build and fly up through high school, took a break for college and grad school (aerospace engineering), starting work, getting married, buying a house, and having two kids. In 1968 after 9 years, I was ready to get back to modeling. Cleaned all of my old engines and started building control line again. In 1973 I decided it was time to try RC. I joined the Mid Hudson Vally RC club, built an RCM Trainer 60, installed a Fox 60 Eagle I, and bought a Kraft Series '73 SS radio. I soloed my second time out (no buddy boxes, just pass the transmitter back and forth between instructor and student), On the fourth flight after soloing, I managed to fly the plane dead square into the side of a high school building. That is when I learned about depht perception or rather my lack of it! So I sent the engine off for repair and built another trainer. In 1974 we moved to Roswell, Ga. In 1975 after flying for a year off the back roads of rural Georgia, I helped found the Roswell Air Force (RAF). In 1978/1979 we lived in Boca Raton for 18 months where I flew with the Gold Coast RC Club. In 1980 we returned to GA and the RAF. All this time I was building between two and three planes a year. Crashed them at a lesser but still good rate[>:]. In 1989 I helped found the Georgia Model Avaiators club(GMA). I still did most of my flying at the RAF field since I had to pass it to get to the GMA field, but in 1994 the RAF folded because of a lost field so it was on to the GMA. In 1993 I retired from IBM after 30+ years and started my own software company as an IBM business partner (aptly named Spitfire Software). This did cause me to cut back on both building and flying. Four years ago I fully retired and have been back to building and flying almost full time!

I currently have 10 planes ready to go with radios and engines installed; batteries on trickle charge. The oldest one is a GP Super Sport 60 with a OS 61 SF engine that I built in 1989. The newest is a GP quarter scale RV-4 ARF with an OS 75 AX that I finished before Christmas and will maiden in the spring. I like to build and fly sport and scale planes. Currently I am working on a GP Super Skybolt ARF which will have a OS 61 SF in it. After that I plan to build a Jemco PT-19 kit which I have been sitting on for 25 years. My current favorite flying plane is a GP Escapade with a Magnum 46 XLS. I had a great flying season this past year. I got out to the field 2-3-4 times a week, did no damage to any of my planes, and only one rough landing. That was when I let a cross wind get under the wing of a Sig Kadet Senior. Boy, was I red faced after that landing. I consider myself a better than average builder and just an average flyer.

Bruce

psuguru

I was frightened by a Westland Sycamore as a small child and have been trying to get my own back ever since.
Dad was understanding and allowed me to have a Veron Bee-Bug control liner at age 10 (1962). That never worked. There then followed a sucession of failed attempts at model aviation until I went to University. I had become very proficient at building! I made a Veron Impala when I should have been studying and that worked for me quite well, until the dog retrieved it one day. Macgregor Galloping Ghost, Rand LR3 and ME Heron power pod (the Impala, not the dog).
I then flew "full-size" professionally for a time but had to give up due to medical problems, thereafter confining myself to private aviation when I had recovered sufficiently.
In 1983, hubby and I were driving past "Radio Active" models in Chelmsford Essex and he said , "I've always wanted one of those". Whoosh! We were in there like a rat up a..... well anyway, we bought a Precedent Hi-Boy and all the gear and joined Chelmsford Model Flying Association. Steve found the crashing a bit too much for him, but I had long experience of that particular ennui and had learned how to fix models as well as build them. (Tip No 1: Do not fly with the runway bent round the corner of a chain-link fence). I've been tinkering continuously since then.
I never get the flying practice that would allow me to become really good, but I guess I'm at the sort of level that would count as aerobatically competent. Having full-size experience, I try for more accuracy in manouevre than most RC-only pilots seem to settle for, but watching 10 minutes of stall-turns must be quite boring for the onlookers.
I have my retirement planned out, building wise. First on the list of my 25 kits is a Focke Wulf 190 D2 that we bought in 1985(!) Steve had pestered me to buy it for ages, but I had resisted it until we were driving past Radio Active after I had had a small operation and was feeling unwell. Suddenly, I found myself carrying a big box back to the car. The swine!! That was the start of the hoarding.
After moving home in 1986, I joined the Anglia Model Flying Club (maybe the oldest remaining in the UK, SMAE No 0007) and slowly am gravitating towards the Old-Gits' section.
Flyable models are:

[*]Seagull Edge 540 78". OS120AX and Futaba 7 Ch FASST.[*]Galaxy Models Mystic. OS FS91-IIP (was Laser 90) and Futaba 7Ch FASST[*]Ben Buckle Super Sixty.OSFP35 and Futaba 6Ch 35MHz PPM[*]Recently sold my Chris Foss Acro-Wot. Enya 61-4C and Futaba 6Ch 35MHz PPM[/list]Building
[*]"Radio Active" Graphik 60. Will have Irvine .61 and 7Ch FASST, retracts.[*]Keil Kraft "Ranger" (from plans). Will have ED Super Fury and bits of wire![/list]

EscapeFlyer

My Feedback: (1)

My story starts with the airplanes my dad had hanging from the ceiling in his bedroom when I was a kid. They were a couple of .049 planes.

In MN, one used to be able to watch the sky and see almost any aircraft there was in the air during the late '70s. I'm 34 now, and I hardly see anything in the air. I also remember the sonic booms. They were fun to listen for.

After we moved to North Dakota, that interrest was put to the back of my thoughts untill we moved next to the Williston airport. I looved it. I used to watch the airplanes out my bedroom window with binoculars. My brother-in-law flew rc when I was in my teens. He used to take me to watch him fly. I really idolized him and wanted to participate, but never really persued it.

After my family moved to Brighton, CO, my dad bought another airplane to build and was shocked to hear me ask to build one too- since I was studying the clarinet with professionals there. I was hooked. Soon it overtook my interrest in the clarinet, and I spent EVERY dime I had and didn't have on the hobby (Notice I never called it a sport!).

After I got married, the hobby bankrupted us, and I had a hard time recovering, but thankfully my wife stayed by my side. I went into truck driving and started to rebuild my life. The hobby wouldn't die though.

I moved my family back to MN in 2002. I started flying with a friend who was happy to meet someone that enjoyed building as well. Here I was able to try new methods and learn better skills. But the drive to fly was starting to die. Having kids and dealing with those priorities will do that!

Anyhow, I now find myself wondering what's the point. I start a project with enthousiasm, but I always loose interrest 1/2 - 3/4 the way through it. I also find myself losing faith with companies that buy everyone out and discontinue the competition. Their options are good, but their options are limited, and quite frankly, I'm bored with their product.

At this point, I don't plan to go any further in the hobby, unless I see a little repect from the company that offers the last of what is available.

So why not just build from plans?

I have a few great airplanes to build from plans, I just have to find the desire again.

Brian

KC10Chief

My name is Matt. I'm 31 years old and I have a serious case of ADD. I always hear about ADD and how people drug their kids for it and silly stuff like that. Personally, I think that ADD is a good thing. My 11 year old son has ADD too. It's great! Anyways, I have lots of interests that come and go, but one that I've always had, is an interest in aviation. I've always loved all things that fly. Birds, planes, etc. I've always been interested in RC, but couldn't really afford it until about 1998 or so. I also have my private pilots license, I spent 8 years as an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force, and I'm currently a flight engineer on the E-3 AWACS in the Air Force. I just can't imagine a career that doesn't involve airplanes. Both of my parents are private pilots, but they don't fly planes any more. My dad and I both have a couple of powered paragliders. LOTS of fun. I've been into RC hard core for about 12 years now. I've built more planes than I can count. Only one was an ARF. I love to build kits. I always have a project or two going. I've designed and built a lot of my planes. I wouldn't exactly call myself a guru, but I can build and fly anything. Big stuff, small stuff, complicated stuff, fast stuff, 3D stuff, etc. I can fly it and fly it well. Sites like this one, are a great source of info. I learn stuff all the time from reading posts on here and other websites. I love RC planes though. I've inhaled enough balsa dust that it must be a part of my DNA. After my tour is up in Alaska and I move back to the lower 48, I plan to build my own, full scale airplane. Most likely, the Zenith CH 701