Now, 40 or 50 years later, we have that nostalgic desire to build the same models and fly them again.

Like others back then, I built and flew many sailplanes in the process of learning the craft. At the same time, contest rules also evolved, and pilots, manufacturers, and builders pushed the envelope with performance to be first with the 'next best thing.'Īs a teenager and during my early 20s (like thousands of others around the world), I eagerly waited every day for the next edition of Radio Control Modeler (RCM) or Aeromodeller magazine to arrive on the newsstand so that I could devour every page and study every photo to see what was new. What is it about human nature that has us wanting to hold onto our past and not let go? As the average age of RC Soaring pilots becomes greater, many of us who actively fly today often dream of a more youthful time in our Soaring lives.įor me, the golden age of Soaring was the 1970s and 1980s as the hobby evolved rapidly and models and radios continued to improve and become more sophisticated. As seen in the July 2019 issue of Model Aviation.ĭennis Romano is still flying the Graupner Dandy and the Doodler with the original MonoKote covering that he applied in 1975.

Olympic ii sailplane