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Medals and Awards from Previous Wars
Great War 1&2

Background:

I’ve been interested in airplanes and aviation for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I used to do chores in order to earn money to buy those rubber band powered balsa wood planes to fly out of the parking lot of my parent’s dry cleaning business. My favorites were the Sleek Streak and the Star Flyer as they had landing gear. I also used to take 2 Skeeters and assemble them together ala Twin Mustang for a dual propped job that flew really well. Eventually they weren’t enough and I entered the world of control-line model airplanes. My first was a Cox PT-19 Trainer, but it didn’t last long because I flew off the paved playground at the local elementary school and plastic doesn’t stand up well to pavement. The next one I got was a balsa wood kit, a Carl Goldberg P-40 Warhawk. I painted it with enamel paint because I didn’t know about Aerogloss Dope, so needless to say it didn’t stand up well to model engine fuel. Of course, it didn’t really need to because it didn’t last that long either. Eventually I stumbled on the magnificent idea of flying off of GRASS instead of pavement, and my planes tended to fare much better. My favorite liner was the Goldberg Stuntman 23, and I still have one today. Lots o’ fun.

Liners kept me busy for a good number of years, and there were a few of the more complex rubber powered free flight models thrown in for variety, but RC began calling when I was about 15 or 16. My first RC model was a Carl Goldberg Falcon 56 Mk. II, powered by an OS .35 RC and guided by a Futaba FP5FN 5 channel AM transmitter. Since then I’ve built and flown countless models of almost every type, including helicopters. But there’s nothing like flying a good old-fashioned biplane to really get my blood flowing. They are by far my favorites, which is why I love Red Baron so much. The designs of Anthony Fokker in particular have always captivated me, particularly the Dr.1 and the D VII, and one of these days I’m going to build that D VII kit sitting under my bed. So many hobbies, so little time……..

Albbuilder: Me at about age 7 or 8 building a stick and tissue rubber-powered model of an Albatross, possibly a Dva.

Allstar: A .15 powered bipe, great fun, retired, stripped the radio and engine out of it and sold it at a garage sale for $10. I got my fun out of it first though.

Bbspecial: The Black Baron Special, one of my favorite planes, and one of the shortest lived. Collided in mid-air with one of my flying buddy Randy’s airplanes during a pseudo race. Totaled both planes. I would have built another but the kit went out of production.

Bradtrain: My brother-in-law’s Great Planes PT40 trainer. Notice the bright colors. He picked them out (flamboyant personality), but in reality this sucker shows up well, no problems keeping track of it. Needs a little repair but still flyable. The PT40 is the only trainer I have flown that flies well inverted. In fact it flies so well it can very easily take a novice pilot well into aerobatics, yet it is very docile for the raw beginner. My first recommendation for trainers.

Champstart: Me starting "the Champ", my second airplane (actually the third RC I ever built, but I was afraid to fly the second one). This plane got me flying RC after the demise of my Falcon 56.

Cherokee: A Great Planes Cherokee 40 I built for a friend. My first encounter with flaps. Great flying airplane.

Erincat: My daughter Erin when she was about 3 posing with my Scat Cat 500. This is the plane I currently fly the most, when I do get to fly. Very fast (100 Mph range), yet slows to a walk to land. It will actually hover in a mild headwind. One of my all-time favorite "sport" planes.

Falcon56: Me with the RC plane that started it all.

Helib4 and heliafter: My Schluter Mini-Boy helicopter, b4 modification and after modification. I lengthened the tail boom to accommodate longer blades and redid the tail feathers. 15-20 year old design, recently retired after blade strike (can’t get parts anymore). I flew it for about 3 years, only crashed twice. New heli’s under the bed, waiting to be built. My next project…….

Mestang: Me and my Dynaflite Mustang. This plane gave a whole new meaning to the words "take off". Very unstable on the ground, but a sweetheart in the air. Used to do low inverted figure 8 pylon racing with it with Randy. I forget exactly how this one ended, but it is no longer with us.

Moth: GeeBee Tiger Moth, modified for bolt-on wings (stock kit had rubber band on wings). Powered by an OS .26 4-stroke engine. Very realistic in the air. The only plane I’ve ever seen do a controlled and recoverable flat spin. Still flying.

N17liner: Rubber powered Nieuport 17 kit I modified for .020 powered control line flying. Flew terrible. Actually, I built this for an 8^th grade history class project. Beat to death in storage and eventually scuttled.

Phaeton: My favorite bipe, at least 10 years old now and still flying. Never crashed. Many, many hours on this one.

Sportsterbipe: A Great Planes Sportster Bipe I built for a friend. Great looking and excellent flying airplane. I’d get one myself but that’s all I need is another kit under my bed!

Starstart: Me starting up another great "sport" plane, the Star, designed by my friend Randy. This thing had 1 ½" wide ailerons which produced a roll rate beyond belief. Flew like it was on rails. I think a radio glitch killed this one.

Sukhoi: A Sukhoi SU26 I built for a friend. Had an on-board smoke oil pump for dramatic air-show effects. Good flyer but tricky lander.

Tazpilot: I’ve always put creative pilots in my open-cockpit planes. Taz started out in the Black Baron Special and moved to the Tiger Moth, the Phaeton has Sebastion the Crab as pilot, and my Mustang had a Kewpie doll in it. Great fun!

Trainer40b4 and trainer40after: My second built and third to fly RC plane. B4 in original and brand new colors, after is after many crashes and rebuilds. Went from trike gear to tail dragger, lost the cheek cowls, got a bigger engine, and gained several pounds of epoxy. When this one finally met its end, it was a blessing.

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