“I have been building model aircraft from the time I was 6 years old with solid balsa planes. I progressed in skills into rubber powered flying models and then on to control-line planes with engines when I was 8 years old. I continued with control-line flying through college years and then got into radio control in 1969. I designed and made kits for a trainer plane in the early 1980s. I got my 2 sons involved when they were still in diapers and we had great family times together out flying our AC. They have continued to enjoy the hobby now into their adult years. I designed an aerobatic plane for competition in 1990 and flew it in several contests. The love for aviation got me into a wonderful career in aviation where I invented several items for aircraft with 14 patents. Without my early years in model aviation, I probably would have gone down a different career path instead of the one I went on.”