For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for July 12, 2015

I guess this is why Wilbur and Orville never had wives and children during their aviation experiments.

At least he can’t yell at Michael for wrecking it!

This is why I stayed with my control-line trainer model aircraft. When (not “if”) it wrecks, you just replace the rubber bands and put it back together.

My dad built a gas powered RC car he was intending to race. On its maiden trip through an abandoned warehouse, he managed to crash the thing into a pillar, shattering it into a dozen pieces, because the quick acceleration caught him by surprise.

I agree with dad’s attitude. If I want something broken, I’d rather do it myself.

I built a model plane with wire guidance but could never get the engine to fire. Just sold it as is.

I’m pretty sure we all saw that one coming.

The problem with RC is that you’re trying to direct something that’s a couple of hundred feet off and have to constantly adjust your thinking. When the plane is coming toward you, right and left is one thing, and then it’s past you and it’s something else again!

We were very fortunate to not have any parents like that in our ‘hood when we were kids. We were allowed to ’do’ and ‘experience’ things. Yes, there were a few ‘hollerings’ on occasion…

My dad let me fly a model once….with exactly this result!

He was right – it was delicate.

Reminds me of my mother’s late husband. RIP, L.

My CERT team was considering buying an RPV that is intended to land that way. (No gear, you just bring it in low and stall it out. Snap-together Kevlar body and electric motor).

Well done, Lynn! I started with control line models and moved to getting licensed as a private pilot. Moved to flying helicopters for the US Army, then to radio control aircraft. Crashed the RC planes. Realtime flying does not equal ability to fly RC!