THIS IS A STORY about a man named
Ed, a really good bunch of guys, and a
philosophy that seems to exemplify
everything that is good about the hobby.
The story is by Ron Dingee and photos are
courtesy of Don Sander.
Ed’s story is similar to that of millions
of others. As a boy he built model
airplanes and flew them with rubber bands
or swung them on a string.
As the years went by, military service,
college, marriage, family, and career forced
him to put his love of flying on the far back
burner, but, the “pilot” light was always lit.
Fast forward many years when Ed and
his wife retire and move to the small
southern California community of
Aguanga 20 miles east of Temecula.
Aguanga boasts a post office, general
store, a real estate office, and is a great
place to live. In Aguanga, Ed met a small
group of guys who call themselves the
Aguanga Aeronuts.
The Aeronuts don’t have a formal
flying site; they fly off an isolated road in
a dry flood area (when it doesn’t rain). It’s
not fancy, but it’s close and it makes it
easy to find downed airplanes.
Over a period of time Ed became
friends with the group and would come out
to watch with envy as they flew their
model airplanes. They told Ed they had a
buddy box and an airplane they could use
to teach him to fly, but Ed held back.
Many years earlier he’d contracted polio,
rendering his left arm and hand completely
useless. There was no way he could
operate the throttle and rudder with his left
hand, but that didn’t stop the Aeronuts.
They made Ed a shoulder harness to
hold the transmitter; then one of the guys
got him up on the buddy box so he could
get the feel of flying. Flying was great, but
he couldn’t take off or land by himself and
that limited the enjoyment.
One day with the shoulder harness on,
Ed thought that if the shoulder harness
could be modified so that the transmitter
was slightly offset to the right, he could
operate both sticks with only his little
finger and thumb.
No one imagined he could do it, but Ed
said that since he’d had this disability for
so many years his ability with his right
hand has developed much beyond those
with two hands.
Confident, Ed bought a Great Planes
G-2 Flight Simulator and after hundreds of
hours of practice, he was sure he could fly
with only his right hand. He then went out
and bought a complete RC setup, RCM
trainer, Magnum 46 engine, Hitec Optic
transmitter, and all the gear.
It was a challenge putting the ARF
together with one hand, but he did it. Ed
was ready to fly but as we all know, RC
flying teaches patience. Ed was
ready, willing, and able but
things just didn’t go right.
On the first test flight the
engine quit, resulting in some
necessary repairs. On another
day he’d forgotten to plug in the
charger, and on yet another he
was confronted with a cracked
fuel tank. These frustrations
went on and it seemed he would
never get to fly by himself.
Then finally, one perfect day
in mid January 2006, when all
the stars and planets were
aligned, Ed did it! He took off,
flew around, and landed all by
himself using only his right
hand. There was a loud cheer
from the Aeronuts and a smile
on Ed’s face that spread from
east to west.
Since then, Ed has become
an official member of the
Aguanga Aeronuts and flies
regularly.
And as for the Aeronuts,
we're proud to have Ed as part
of our small group from
Aguanga, California.
Till next time ... Keep ’em safe
and Keep ’em fly’n.
District X
Rich Hanson, District X Vice President; [email protected]
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Rich Hanson
Vice President
Box 3312,
Scottsdale AZ 85271
Tel./Fax: (888) 899-3548
www.ama10.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Glenn Carter, Walnut Creek CA;
(925) 933-2086
Jim Giffin, Redding CA;
(916) 760-8291
Bill Malvey, Ladera Ranch CA;
(949) 481-8621
Bob Reynolds, Tucson AZ;
(520) 296-8183
Jerry Neuberger, Santee CA;
(619) 258-4477
Frequency Coordinator
George Steiner, Sacramento CA;
(916) 362-1962
Eloy Marez, Santa Ana CA
(714) 540-4935
(Please see last month's column for
additional AVPs.)
District X Volunteers
Ed is wearing his modified shoulder
harness with transmitter in place.
Members of the Aeronuts built the specialized harness
and the PVC airplane stand allowing Ed to operate his
RCM Trainer with only one hand.
Ed operates both sticks of his Mode Two
transmitter with his little finger and
thumb on his right hand.
November 2006 171
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/11
Page Numbers: 171