I've been building and flying Radio Control airplanes since 1972.  My AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) number is 36662.  Over the years, you would expect that I've flown many different types of model airplanes.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

I started out flying an AAMCO "S-Ray" finished in black with a white wing.  I flew this airplane for a few years until it finally reached a point that it required more time to maintain than I spent flying it.

At this point, I began flying my Dad's AAMCO "H-Ray", which had spent the time I was flying the "S-Ray" gathering dust in the basement.   Finished in bright orange and white and powered with a smaller engine, it was a slower flyer and easier to see.   I've been flying that plane ever since.  Well, not quite the same plane.  The original "H-Ray" eventually met an untimely demise which I seem to no longer remember the details of.  I built a new fuselage from scratch based on the plans with a few modifications.  The original airplane had tricycle landing gear, the new airplane emerged as a taildragger.  That was the most significant modification.  The remainder of them were internal to the airframe and were simply to make the model sturdier and more serviceable.  But I am still flying it with the original wing from my "S-Ray" and the original rudder and horizontal stabilizer assemblies from Dad's "H-Ray".  In fact, the original "H-Ray" wing (which is identical to the "S-Ray" wing) is in the process of being fitted with flaps and ailerons.

A few years ago, I bought a used model for $10 of unknown nomenclature.  Originally powered by a Cox Black Widow .049, I made the decision to power it with an Enya .09.  The airplane is made of solid slabs of balsa wood for the fuselage and the wing, which has a slight undercamber to it.  It sports rudder and elevator control only, has no landing gear.  It is an absolute ball to fly!  As of this summer, it has been decommissioned for a while.  The wood was never sealed when the original builder constructed it and it is now suffering from oil soaking damage.  I haven't made up my mind whether to attempt to repair it, build another just like it or put it out to pasture for good.

My next airplane is/was a Lanier "Shrike".  A very fast and highly maneuverable ship designed for RC Combat.  I began building this airplane in July of 1998 and took it out for it's maiden flight August 19, 1998.  I say is/was because it didn't survive it's entire maiden flight.  Because of the type airplane it is, it is extremely sensitive to the flight controls.  Being a maiden flight, the controls were not in trim yet and I made the brief but grievious error of taking my eyes off of the plane for a split second.  At an elevation of about 40 feet and a speed of 70+ miles per hour, you don't have a lot of time to react to an unexpected dive.  I suppose you can guess from that vague clue what happened.  Suffice to say, it left a nice impression in the field, about 6 inches deep and shaped exactly like the front of the fuselage.  In spite of all of the damage to the radio system, engine and fuselage, the wings surprisingly survived with practically no damage.  In fact, most of the airplane is repairable. I will only need to build a new fuselage.  It will fly again!

I recently finished building a kit purchased back in 1973 which is no longer produced.  It is a Bridi Hobby Enterprises "RCM Sporster", a low wing, 4 channel taildragger designed for sport aerobatics flying.  I'm sure I have built kits with worse directions and plans, but I really can't remember when.  It is finished in white, tan and maroon.  It flies like a dream and when I'm finished rebuilding it from it's untimely demise courtesy of a gust of wind on short final, it will be a pleasure to fly again.

So what else is on the drawing board?  Well, I have to admit that I don't keep this page up to date as much as I'd like and since I'm getting more active at building and flying, I've taken a different route.  Rather than list everything here in paragraph after paragraph, here's a nifty little form you can use that will search a database that's easier for me to keep up.   Please don't inquire about my desire to part with any of these models as the answer will be an emphatic, "No!"  Please feel free to see what I've got and what the present condition is of each of the models.