Transcribed and edited by JS (11/2007), Updated (08/2012)
I was born in Washington, D.C. on the fifteenth of September 1934, and raised in Laurel, Maryland. My modeling career started in 1945 at the age of eleven when my Uncle came home from World War II to recuperate from wounds suffered at the Battle of the Bulge. During his stay with my family, he taught me how to carve the pine and basswood models of that period. Later that year, we started on a Free Flight model with a CO 2 engine, teaching me how to build, cover with tissue, and trim for flight.
In 1953, I started my career in the Air Force and discovered the world of U-Control, and pretty much delved into all facets of Sport Scale and Combat. While in the Netherlands in 1963, I got into Radio Control with the Grundig Modular control system and a deBolt Jenny. Not having any place to build, I talked the Base Commander into converting one of the barrack day rooms into a hobby shop/building facility, which I ran and maintained.
Moving to South Carolina in 1965, I helped form and held office in the Charleston Radio Control Society. Wanting to get into stateside Radio Control, I built the Digit-Trio from articles in Radio Control Modeler, as well as built and repaired proportional radio control systems. I also repaired about fifty servos per week for John Mahoney at World Engines to afford the ever-increasing cost of the hobby on the family budget. I started instructing Radio Control at Charleston by teaching my oldest son at the age of ten with the Digit-Trio and a Midwest School Master. I guess we were successful; he is still at it thirty-five years later.
Retiring from the Air Force in 1974, I started a systems engineering career in Flight Simulation, which followed along the lines of my Air Force career. This change in my life left no time for my hobby due to constant short-term travel. This caused me to hang up modeling for ten years. Moving to Huntsville, Alabama in 1983, I was able to get back into the hobby, buying a new radio system and all the goodies to go with it. I joined the Rocket City Radio Controllers (RCRC) and was the Newsletter Editor for two years. Because of my experience in Radio Control, I somehow became the club’s expert on engines, airframes, and radios, performing many first flights on the new projects for fellow club members. Becoming a Contest Director in the early nineties, I have been instrumental in directing numerous contests for this area. I have been the RCRC chief carpenter for numerous facility enhancements. I have been a member of the International Miniature Airplane Club (IMAC) Chapter 518 Tennessee Valley Aviators for four years and its president for two years.
The most fulfilling aspect of the hobby is helping my fellow modelers get their new airplanes prepared for flight and instructing new members from their beginning through aerobatics.
This page is a text transcription of the original document, made automatically and may contain errors. .