“I fly both as an instrument rated private pilot as well as an avid pilot of RC model aircraft. But, most of my time is spent flying RC – both LOS and FPV. It is my way of unwinding after a long day in my day job as a designer for a major commercial aviation software application. It is my way of expressing my passion for aviation with my friends and family. And I wouldn’t be involved in aviation as a profession or as a full scale pilot without the influence that model aviation had on me in my youth. I learned to fly RC when I was 13 – and that was 25 years ago. It has stuck with me in a way that very few interests have. You see, RC airplanes are different. They are the last vestige of true aeronautical freedom. The freedom to test my own aircraft designs that will never see manned flight, the freedom to safely experience flight inches off the ground through FPV goggles that would not be safely possible in a real aircraft, the freedom to relive a WWII formation flight with my friend that will never again occur with some of the real full size aircraft of that era. RC – and FPV in particular – is often my preferred way to explore some of the beautiful Colorado mountain areas where I fly, and that freedom to explore at and below tree-level is unmatched by any other type of flying. My fleet of RC aircraft includes electric warbirds, 3D aerobatic planes, fast wings and jets, and slow bush planes. It also includes scratch built quadcopters, experimental designs, and a collection of floatplanes. The ability to own this large of a variety of aircraft types with their individual quirky characteristics and sometime steep learning curves is just not possible in the world of full-scale aviation. It is the only way for a person of average means to experience and honor the full range of the wonder that is flight. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to Oshkosh as much as the next guy, but when I fly RC, I get to fully participate in the aerobatics and the low flybys – and share them with my friends and my family.”