I am the AMA-2012/04

JS: How did you get involved with model
aviation?
JM: As far back as I can possibly remember
I had model aircraft around me. Both my
grandfather and father were avid modelers.
I remember playing with a stick-andtissue
Stearman model that my dad built.
He bought me some Control Line models,
including the Cox PT-19 and a Cessna
172 or 182 that had a center post for the
control lines and you sat outside of the
circle with a stick that controlled the
elevators.
My grandfather dreamed of a
helicopter and he built models of
autogyros and helicopters that he
designed.
I have a picture of him and
I on the snow-covered ice of
northern Minnesota starting
the .049 on the front of a Free
Flight autogyro. I still have that
model along with a Free Flight
helicopter that he built.
I built my first radio as a
Heathkit with Kraft servos. I
later built two Cannon fourchannel
sets with Kraft servos.
JS: How has model aviation
impacted your life and/or career?
JM: I learned so much about
aerodynamics and construction
from building and flying models,
both proven and my own designs.
Getting my A&P license and IA
was much easier because of my
background in model aviation.
Learning to fly with my dad
and grandfather and teaching flying
in later years was advanced greatly
because of the knowledge I gained from
model aircraft. I wouldn’t have advanced
to the point I am in the air show
industry if it wasn’t for model aviation. I
would go to Oshkosh [Wisconsin to the
EAA AirVenture] to watch my mentors
fly their shows and I would return home
and try to duplicate the maneuvers with
my RC models.
JS: What disciplines of modeling do you
currently participate in?
JM: I still fly some gas engine models,
but I have switched mainly to electrics,
some fixed wing, but mostly helicopters.
I have a soft spot for helis because of
my grandfather and the wonderful
experiences of childhood.
I have built four full-scale helicopters
and owned an Enstrom for 15 years. I built
my first Scorpion at age 17 in my dad’s
shop and taught myself to fly it.
My grandfather was still alive to witness
that and I feel that I fulfilled his dream by
doing that. My son is also heavy into the
RC ’copters. I have two grandsons, ages 2
and 3, who I fly RC stuff for all the time,
so that’s fifth-generation modelers on the
way up!
JS: What are your other hobbies?
JM: My other hobbies and passions include
kite boarding, both on water and snow,
skiing and snowboarding, sailing, scuba
diving and spear fishing, fishing trips in
my Piaggio Royal Gull seaplane, music
including guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and
harmonica. Aerobatics in my Stearman,
Ultralight and LSA [Light Sport Aircraft]
flying, soaring, and just about any other
method of getting airborne!
JS: Who or what has influenced you most?
JM: My dad and grandfather had the
greatest influence on me. I saw in them
the wisdom, knowledge, and skill obtained
from studying and building many things
and I knew if I did the same, I would follow
in their footsteps.
Secondly, my mentors in the air show
world who I wanted to emulate. And
last, but not least, is anyone in the model
aviation world today who has excelled
in whatever endeavor they have chosen
because I know what it takes with the
passion and dedication to achieve success.
JS: How did you get started as an airshow
performer?
JM: I got started in the airshow industry
right after I bought the Stearman and
restored it. I initially hopped rides on
weekends at fairs and other gatherings in
northern Minnesota and little by little I
began doing impromptu shows as a way of
getting the customers for the rides. I gave
so many acro rides that I got pretty good at
it just from repetition. Soon I was hired to
perform at bona fide air shows and the rest
is history, as they say.
You can follow John on his website at
www.mohrbarnstorming.com.
—Jay Smith
MA Editor