Written by AMA Staff (12/2009); Formatted by JS (04/2010)
Flying fast models has been a passion for Jon Sharp, who said:
“I got started in Radio Control back in the late ‘50s. I flew all kinds of models I built myself, having fun, building bigger, faster airplanes. I raced Formula One and some 40-sized also. “Along the way, I worked at Lockheed Martin, working on a whole bunch of airplanes such as F-117, U-2, F-22, F-35, and so many others. I just trace all that back to those days of flying in the park with my little Control Line airplane.
“We’d load up the station wagon, and on Saturdays and throughout the summer, it was down to the park, eating peanut butter sandwiches and flying all day long. All that I’ve done started with that.”
Going fast in competition carries over to Jon’s aeromodeling. Patting a model racer, he said: “This is an airplane that we’ve set probably a half dozen speed records with. We won three consecutive Reno National Championships with it, and it’s gone over 409 miles an hour on the racecourse.
“All carbon fiber made from molds, my wife and I built all the parts here in our hangar. I trace it all back to those AMA model airplane days. It’s all gotten me to where I am today in aerospace.”
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