Want to know more about RC Jim? Here are some more details.
Typical of many young boys back in the 1950s and 60s, Jim got a start in flying model airplanes with a Cox 049 powered, plastic, control line plane. I think it might have been a P-40. That interest in planes was certainly fuelled by his Dad’s love of aviation. He had been a US Marine crew chief in WWII, island hopping through the pacific, patching together shot-up SBD Dauntless dive bombers.
By the way, every time they did a major repair, the pilot would require one of the mechanics to take a ride with him to check out the plane. This involved all kinds of high G aerobatic manoeuvres. My Dad was always one to raise his hand and go along for the ride!
Along the way, Jim did have a go at building some balsa models, including a SE5A biplane. The 35 McCoy in it had a go at slicing the end of his thumb nearly down to the bone. Strange, the way they locate the mixture control so close to the prop. Some years later, he had much more success flying a Ringmaster with an OS engine.
Growing up with an automotive engineer Dad, it’s no surprise that Jim pursued a similar career. Of course, as a teenager, he also contemplated a career as a race car driver, but that was a bit farfetched. None the less, at the completion of his engineering degree, Jim was working at the General Motors Proving Ground, with the freedom to drive his test cars around on some pretty nice test tracks.
While Jim loved his job, God had some other things in mind for him. During his time at General Motors Institute, he sensed a call into full time Christian ministry. So, following his marriage to his ‘perfect girl’ around the time of his graduation, the two of them moved from Michigan to Tennessee to get their training in ministry and theology. There Jim received his master’s degree.
Their involvement in ministry brought them to Melbourne, Australia where they led the establishment of what would become Living Springs Baptist Church. It was a multi-cultural church, with families from all over the world.
During that time, Jim’s two sons were approaching their teenage years, and the love for aviation was being passed on to them. With Dad’s encouragement they started flying the control line planes, and eventually got into radio control with a Great Planes Trainer 40 and a HiTec radio.
Being self-taught, it’s understandable that this plane was smashed multiple times. The first one was full throttle into the trunk of a tree, with the motor continuing flight into a nearby creek. We never did find that! The plane was rebuilt, re-powered with an OS Max 46 FX, and continued to be abused by the trainee pilots. On one occasion the wing was broken in half, and another time, that happened to the fuselage. That plane has been restored by Jim, and is still flying today (Click here for video).
As they progressed in their abilities, Jim and his boys acquired a Duraplane. It was also powered with OS Max, this one a 46 LA. It was fully aerobatic, and was designed to be highly resistant to damage, having a high density foam wing with a moulded in aluminium spar, a PVC square pipe fuselage in the front with an extruded aluminium section going back to a balsa tailplane.
They continued their philosophy of continuing to fly on a particular day until nothing would fly anymore, followed by a week or so of repairs!
Through this time, Jim and the boys were involved in the Australian Air League, and then moved into the Air Corps Cadets. As that group also involved girls, Jim’s older daughter also was a part of that. She ended up going to the Australian Defence Force Academy, becoming an electrical engineer, and continues to serve today in the aerospace realm. The older of the two boys decided to pursue a career in aviation, and following a time flying KC135 tankers for the US Air Force, he became a commercial pilot, and is now a pilot with United Airlines.
Once that church was on its own feet with a reasonable size congregation and a building, Jim and his wife entered new roles being part time in ministry and supporting themselves with secular jobs. They ended up with Jim being a pastor in Toronto NSW leading up to his retirement.
Living at Lake Macquarie, and with his boys being mostly away from home, Jim focused on boating related activities, with the planes left hanging in the garage. That continued for twenty years or so.
As retirement was approaching, Jim had been involved with a sailing club, racing an Impulse sailing dinghy. That was happening on Sunday afternoons, and the church wanted him to move from being the assistant pastor to be the only pastor, as they searched for a replacement. Jim decided that his involvement in sailing would interfere with that, so he decided to give that up. At first, he thought that racing remote control sailboats would be a good hobby to replace that with, but when he saw that his RC sailboat came with a four channel transmitter, the penny dropped, and he thought: I can fly my planes with this! One thing led to another, and he never did race the RC sailboat, but instead went head over heels in getting back into RC flying.
Jim is now happily retired, busier than ever in working on his planes and producing videos to help others along in the hobby. Of course, with his Christian background, reaching out to lift up others is a natural. Jesus Christ came to earth to do that for each of us. As we accept His simple gift of new and eternal life, it’s only natural that we would want to reach out to others. The most important part of that has to do with one’s eternal destiny, but it’s also consistent to help others in practical ways regarding everyday life, and even our hobbies!