I started the hobby as a teenager, and the person who introduced me to the hobby was my mother. Well, there were no RC Models in my city or within a 1500 km range. That was sometime in the early 1980s. Balsa too was difficult to get by so had to use whenever I could lay my hands on. Yes, had the Local National cadet Corps (NCC) unit nearby who used to fly Control Line and Gliders..... I finally got hooked to both. The equipment was absolutely basic.... The models were mostly the Great Guns, Pacemaker and the Blue Pants using a Frog 2.5cc Diesel engine. later we started using Sharma diesel 2.5cc and the 3.2cc Engines. We still use the Sharma 3.2CC engines as they are manufactured in my city and the Sharma brothers are a great sport in helping nearly everyone in the hobby here.
Now, I am a Veteran of 35 years of service, and I train local children (for free) in control line and RC Flying.
Most of my models are Scratch built and all my Coltrol Line models are from the scratch. I make my own plans on CAD and get my wood laser cut.
I am looking to enhance my aerobatic skills from whatever I am to an expert level. Will have a host of questions and request for advice here in this forum.
Thanks for letting me into this lovely forum.
Shobhit Prakash

I started in the early 1960s, built a Carl Goldberg Lil' Wizard with my dad that he bought from Gene's Hobby Shop in Tulsa. Flew in the parking lot at Gene's and then at the playground at Eliot Elementary School. Many more planes followed.