I AM THE AMA
Steve Helms — Modeler and industry professional
by Jay Smith
Jay Smith: How did you get involved with model aviation? Steve Helms: My modeling career began in the fall of 1958 with my father when I was 10 years old.
From the first, flying RC models was in our blood. My father's and my modeling directions were different. He ended up competing in Formula 1 pylon racing and I chose F3A aerobatics, competing on three USA World Championship teams (1981, 1983, 1987) before moving on to helicopters in the 1990s.
JS: How has model aviation impacted your life and/or career? SH: In 1963, Westinghouse transferred my father from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Fort Worth, Texas, and during the summer of 1964 I attended my first Nats in Grand Prairie, Texas. It was my first introduction to an analog proportional system and I knew I wanted to compete.
I began competing in pattern in late 1964 or early 1965. In order to be a good competitor, I was likely going to need to work in the hobby industry. In 1968 I went to work for EK Logitrol while I finished school.
From EK Logitrol I went to work for Pro Line Electronics and then Kraft Systems, where I worked with Doug Spreng to develop the Kraft Signature Series radio. After this I started my own company, Radio South, in Pensacola, Florida, doing custom radio work and general service.
Futaba Corporation of America asked me to work as a consultant. I eventually went to work for Futaba full time in 1985.
I still work as a Futaba consultant because my interest in modeling and improving the hobby in general is a top priority. Modeling has impacted my life in many ways, but the most notable are in competition as well as working in the hobby industry.
JS: What disciplines of modeling do you currently participate in? SH: Helicopters are my primary interest now, but I still enjoy occasionally flying airplanes and indoor aircraft.
JS: What are your other hobbies? SH: At this time, I do not have any other hobbies, but in past years I have enjoyed riding dirt bikes and street bikes.
JS: Who (or what) has influenced you most? SH: There have been many people in this hobby who have had a long-lasting effect on me and I want to name a few.
- My father for teaching me to be patient and to learn as much as possible about what I was interested in.
- Jim Fosgate (owner of Pro Line Electronics) for teaching me how to build and maintain quality, reliable electronics.
- Phil Kraft for giving me his theory on models and what it took to win: "I don't always have the best-designed model, but I fly it until I know what it takes to make it competitive."
- Doug Spreng for teaching me how to design and develop a product from nothing until it is ready for production.
- Ron Chidgey, Jim Whitley, and Ed Keck for truly teaching me the fine art of trimming a model for competition.
- Yuzo Daimon for teaching me the business aspects of the hobby industry.
JS: What would you consider to be the biggest innovation in radios? SH: Most people would say pulse-code modulation or spread-spectrum technology, but I consider these just modes of transmission. They are important, but they're not things we couldn't live without. For me, there have been three major innovations in the past 50 years that have influenced RC.
- Progressing from single-channel and reed equipment to proportional radios. This goes back to my first Nats when I saw Dr. Ralph Brookes flying an early prototype Orbit analog proportional system. To this day, all I can remember is how smoothly his model flew without the jerkiness of reeds.
- The development of dual rates, end-point adjustment, reversing switches, and exponential.
- The development of computerized transmitters, especially the Futaba 14MZ, which used Windows as an operating system.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
