Written by AMA Staff (2002); Edited by JS (12/2005), Reformatted by JS (09/2009)
Tom Hunt, 45, began flying CL models in high school. After earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Northeast Massachusetts University, he began working at Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation. Tom works as a senior aero-test engineering specialist at Northrop Grumman Corporation.
As an innovator in aerospace engineering, Tom was one of the first engineers to begin using the CADAM computer graphics system and is today a nationwide expert of the CATIA program used by nearly all aerospace firms.
Tom has created a number of special RC designs including a ducted-fan F-14 Tomcat and the Vertigo, a vertical-transitional flyer that can take off vertically and then move into forward flight. Tom’s unique designs have appeared in many model publications including Model Aviation, Flying Models, and Radio Control Modeler.
In the late 1980s, Tom became involved in electric-powered flight. Electric is now the only power source he uses. In 1994, he founded a model manufacturing and design company called Modelair-Tech, entirely dedicated to electric flight. Tom has created dozens of designs, plans, and kits.
As a competitor, Tom is a regular at the National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats) since the 1980s. In 1997, he was the high-points winner at the Electric Nats in Muncie, Indiana and received the Electric Grand National Championship Award.
In 2001, Tom headed a design team that produced a large RC model known as the CrossSounder. Tom and a crew of fliers made history by making a complete round trip from Long Island, New York to the shores of Connecticut. The flight was more than 30 miles and was completed nonstop with a single battery pack.
Tom was responsible for the restoration of the Keystone Radio Control Club’s Electric Fly, once the world’s largest electric-powered model aircraft show. Tom created the replacement show, known as the Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) Fair, held every September in upstate New York at the Peaceful Valley campgrounds.
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