District XI - 2006/11
District XI Vice President
Rich Hanson; [email protected]
- Arizona
- California
- Hawaii
- Nevada
- Utah
Aguanga Aeronuts — Ed's story
Story by Ron Dingee; photos courtesy of Don Sander.
This is a story about a man named Ed, a really good bunch of guys, and a philosophy that exemplifies everything that is good about the hobby.
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: Ed and his wife retired and moved to the small Southern California community of Aguanga, 20 miles east of Temecula. Aguanga boasts a post office, a 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 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 harness could be modified so 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 had developed beyond that of many two-handed pilots.
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 bought a complete R/C setup: an R/C trainer, a Magnum .46 engine, a 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, R/C flying teaches patience. He 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. 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.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
