“In the early 70s my neighbor was an avid RC enthusiast. A few years later I was at a flying field at Duke University and saw my first RC sailplane. I was transfixed, excited and began to learn all I could. My father and I purchased our first kit some months later; an Airtronics Aquila. That some neighbor from years before became of advisor. While we built that beautiful kit, we purchased another, Mark’s Models Wanderer 72″. It became the first sailplane we flew with our Futaba 3 channel radio. For the next 25 years, RC sailplanes and the hobby, in general, become a huge bonding experience for my father and me. Late-night building sessions with fingers covered in CA opened the door to many conversations that influence me today at 56. And the heartache of bringing home a box of balsa splinters after a winch or high start mishap turned into laughs many years later. Life and the hobby changed. Kit companies became fewer and the art of building gave way to prebuilt planes. I was thrilled when I saw what FliteTest was doing with foam board modeling. I see a future for families coming together under the joy of building and pain of picking up the pieces. This hobby can transform families and communities, turn folks into dreamers and creators, and just make our country better. Yes, I will return to the hobby soon. The building is different, but the memories made will be much the same, the friendships rich, and hopefully, the thermals cap suckers.”