“Dreamed of become a pilot at around 5 years old when I took my first commercial flight. Through my childhood, my family would pile in our car and spend many hours, on Sunday afternoons, at our local airport watching the the small general aviation and commercial planes take off and land. At 12 years old, I built my first RC glider, a Gentle Lady, and my passion for “all things with wings” took off. I have been flying RC aircraft nearly 45 years now, and even became a licensed Private Pilot in 1998. Many of my closest friendship have been formed from my involvement in flying Radio Controlled aircraft. I have also taught several young people, throughout the years, to fly RC as well. One of our families friends son just recently passed his commercial ratings exam and is on his way to becoming a professional pilot. I strongly believe that the RC community is responsible for also inspiring many of our greatest developers in the full scale aviation world! One of my heroes growing up, and to this day, is Burt Rutan. His connection to the RC community has been well documented. And without his connection to this community, we would be living in a world without, possibly, some of the most cutting edge innovations throughout the aviation and space communities. I could go on about others, but must say, in closing, that building and flying remotely piloted aircraft for most of my life, has made me the person I am today. Thank you.”