As I read the Facebook post today of a 15 year old boy joining our club (Central Coast Model Aero Club), I was reminded of how I got started in seriously flying radio controlled model aircraft.
I inherited a love for aviation from my Dad, who was a crew chief in the US Marine Corps during WWII, island hopping through the Pacific, patching up Dauntless SBD dive bombers. I, in turn, flew control line planes as a boy, and dabbled a bit in flying full size aircraft as a young adult. When my own boys came along, we got started with control line planes, and when they got old enough, my boys both joined the Australian Air League, and then the Australian Air Force Cadets.
As they got into their teenage years, I decided to bite the bullet, and spend the money to get us into radio controlled flying. Back then the dollars weren’t all that much, but for us it was a lot. Our family didn’t have surplus finances, but I felt it was a good investment. So, I bought a kit for a Great Planes Trainer 40, an OS Max FX46, and a 4 channel HiTech radio, and we got started putting it together.
Initially, I didn’t even know that clubs existed for model aircraft enthusiasts, and our initial flight attempt was at a Christian Camp, which had some open areas. Not knowing much of anything about what we were doing, I put the plane down on the field, at the end of which was a creek and a stand of trees. Pushing the throttle all the way forward, the plane accelerated like a bat out of a cave, but for some reason it didn’t go up into the air much at all, striking the trees at full throttle a few feet off the ground.
Now, certainly, that couldn’t be pilot error, could it? And, as a former engineer, there couldn’t be anything wrong with the way I built it, set it up, and verified everything with numerous tests. 🙂 Oh well, obviously I missed a few things, and the result was that the plane was in multiple pieces, and we never did find the engine! It’s probably still there in the creek.
Well, I’m a great believer in restoring what is broken, and so I rebuilt the plane, and replaced the engine with a new one. It’s a bit like what God has done in my life, and in the lives of many others. Broken people that some would say are only destined for the rubbish bin. Ones that seem to have no value. Yet they are loved. Loved by God, and, believe it or not, loved by others down here. Loved so much, that Jesus Christ was willing to die for their brokenness. Way back, hundreds of years before He came to earth, the prophet Isaiah told us what Jesus would do:
“All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity (sins) of us all.”
So, needing a new “engine” and broken parts restored to be like new, I believed in what Jesus did, and called on Him to be my Lord and Saviour and became a new person in Christ. Something that is available to everyone. Well, that was also my approach with the Great Planes Trainer 40. It doesn’t perfectly fit the picture of what God did in my life, but numerous times things would happen, and either my boys or I would crash the plane. By the way, after hanging in the garage for over 20 years, I finally restored it again – nearly ready to fly. Here it is:
Eventually we added another plane, a Duraplane, that was supposedly indestructible, with an OS Max LA46. But we managed to break it as well.
Eventually we joined a club, but it didn’t have the sort of support that we have at CCMAC, and most of the time we would be flying by ourselves at the field. We would fly the planes, do some dogfighting (not recommended!), and continue until nothing would fly anymore. Going home we would then repair everything, and then at the very next opportunity, get out there and do it again!
The boys grew up and went their separate ways, and my wife and I moved from Melbourne up to Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney. Being near the lake for many years I just focused on enjoying the water, but I kept my planes – what was left of them – hanging in the garage, as a reminder of the good ol’days.
Finally, nearing retirement, I decided to get out of competitive sailboat racing, and was looking for something else to focus on. Getting back into radio controlled flying was a natural, and boy, have I been enjoying it!
I’m continually adding aircraft to my hangar. Some of them are the old ones that I flew over 20 years ago. There’s about three of those in the repair/restore queue. Then, I just might help my son complete his big Citabra Decathalon that he never did finish building. And, one of these days I’m going to experiment building some planes out of foam board. So, keep on watching the YouTube videos, and see what’s happening next!