In 1980, I joined my first RC club... Johnston County Aeromodeling Club in Smithfield NC. I was living in Clayton, so this was a fairly short drive. I was told about Johnny Johnson's RC shop down in Fuquay-Varina NC. I went to his rural shop and was blown away!!! Everything a RC hobbiest could ever want, and then some. Kits, parts, engines, materials, tools, and even used airplanes for sale or trade....wow. Johnny passed a few years ago. He was such a good guy, and is sorely missed. He helped guide me on a lot of issues. Anyways, I bought a Goldberg Skylark 56 and an O.S .40 engine, and started the build. I built the wing with a little reinforcement, and with no dihedral. This airplane has a flying stab. By early 1981, it was ready. I went to the flying field, and no one was there. Boy, was I nervous! I started the engine, ran a tank of fuel out running up and down the runway, even lifted off and settled back in a few times. I refueled, and waited. This was my first 4 channel setup, and way predates flight simulators, so the experience you get is real world. No one showed up, so I decided to do it. I took a long run, pulled back easy, and she was up! Holy crap, I was horrified... I got plenty of altitude, added a little trim, and it flew like it was on a rail. Wow!!!!!! Another experience I'll never forget. I flew a bit, made a few slow and low passes, and landed. I had to sit down and rest a bit :-) hahahahahaha... The hook was set, deeper than ever. The only pic I can find of it, is with me squatting with it. The other pic is to show what it looked like...
