There’s an obsession with aviation in my family line, both sides. For as long as I can remember a few uncles on my Mom’s side have been completely nuts about planes. Some of them started building a plane years ago, and in more recent times Ron has become an airplane mechanic. I learned one summer working with Arlen that whenever an airplane flies overheard you stop what you’re doing and gaze up for awhile watching it fly by. And he could usually identify the model from a long way off.

My brother John has been a pilot for years. And in fact, my Dad once started taking flying lessons. I remember playing with his flying textbooks as a kid.

I even have several friends who are pilots. But despite all these connections, I’ve never ridden in a small plane. I’d really like to.

So anyway, the avenue of aviation that I want to pursue is RC! I’ve always been fascinated with radio control, and I want to get an RC plane. The good thing is that in the last few years, electric rc has really improved and it is way cheaper and easier to get into than it was years ago.

It used to be that you had to spend hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars building a balsa gas plane, and somehow learn how to fly without crashing it to bits. Now you can learn on cheap flight sims and start out with easy and cheap electric foam planes.

RC master and YouTube star Dave Powers is one of my internet heroes, and his top recommendation for a cheap beginner RC plane is the Wild Hawk. It’s only $80 and is a complete ready-to-fly package. Have to get me one of those sometime! Or I’ll just tell my mother in law that’s the other thing I want for my birthday.