This made me think back and now I feel pretty old lol. It’s been over 39 years for me.

I started flying RC 59 years ago (and Control Line models 8 years prior to that) with a Testors rudder-only Skyhawk airplane powered by a Cox Golden Bee .049 and controlled by a Testors single channel pulse proportional system with an Adams magnetic actuator. Then I moved up to Galloping Ghost. My, how technology has changed. Back in the early 1970's, helicopters were unheard of and I thought I was in hog-heaven when I got my 8-channel Heath-Kit radio system completed. Now I'm flying a Spektrum NX10 system and am totally spoiled. Trainers were really pitiful back in the 1960's. Since then I have flown just about every type of trainer at one time or another and I believe the four greatest training improvements have been buddy box transmitters, computer based flight simulators, electric motors and gyro stabilized receivers. The modern trainers like the Hobby Zone Aeroscout S2 are absolutely fantastic compared to what was available just 10 ago. The down side to all the new ARF's is that most new modelers never learn how to build anything and miss out on all the pride and satisfaction that comes from building a great flying balsa model. I enjoy flying my large gassers, electric ducted-fan jets, motor gliders, electric pylon racers and still get a kick out of flying my 31 year old Enya .53-4C glow powered Goldberg J-3 Cub and my 36 year old Enya-R120-4C glow powered Balsa USA Phaeton 90. But when the wind starts gusting to 25+ mph, I pull out the Aeroscout because it handles the wind very well with its AS3X gyro stabilized receiver. I have been very lucky to have been able to witness the vast technology progression and be able to remember actually flying the models and equipment that the old timers can only talk about today.

My first car was a Trans Am, one of the few back then with actual steering rather than a button for turn-reverse. It was a Christmas present somewhere in the neighborhood of '78 or so. The batteries were my first NiCads. That experience led to all sorts of different surface vehicles before I ever attempted a heli. So... The first heli, just a few years ago, effectively trimmed two fruit trees in the backyard. After several sets of rotor blades and repairs, I went back to buggies. Heh.

Don't have an exact date as it was a long time ago. Somewhere about 1980. Cars then airplanes, then boats, then back to planes, then back to decent cars and planes. There were helis mixed up in there too.

1966 at the age of ten I soloed a Goldberg Skylane (Enya 45/Kraft gold box radio) while on crutches with a broken left leg. Been building and flying RC since then to date.

60 years ago for me- started with control line cox .049 cub, and then r/c cars - pretty primitive compared to now.