Third-generation flier
Joe Glemba
jglemba@yahoo.com
Joe Glemba (jglemba@yahoo.com), an AMA member since the early 1970s, built his own private RC airstrip on his property in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, after his flying club, the Missed Approach club, lost its field after 30 years. Without a place to fly, he invited the few remaining members to fly at his place.
Joe submitted this photo of his grandson, Tyler Glemba, age 2 when the photo was taken, next to lifelong club member Mark Bowman. Joe went on to say:
“[Tyler] mimics what we do at the field. When he shows up, he greets whoever is there by their name and goes directly to the clubhouse and asks for his airplanes, which are any old wrecked planes that the guys give him. He then asks for his radio, which is an old JR radio that doesn’t work. He doesn’t know that though. He then carries his foamie wreck and sets it on the ground and pretends to fly!
“As you can see, he is a seasoned RC pilot by the way he holds his transmitter and has his thumbs on the controller. He just lately has been pretending to fly other people’s planes and seems to know that the one setting on the ground doesn’t fly. You can tell by the picture that he is just as in control of Mark’s glider as Mark is. His concentration is not fake. He thinks he is flying!
“He is our little ‘mascot’ of the field. Everyone enjoys Tyler and he is the first thing they ask about when they show up. He gets everyone’s airplane remains when they wreck. Usually the tail feathers survive most crashes, and [they] made a great toy RC plane for him to push around when he was younger.
“I can say that with that [picture], you can see the future of RC aviation will live on through those little eyes focused on that plane in the sky!”
Tyler is the third generation in the family to fly. His father, Beau, flies as well.
Joe used his Motorola cellphone to capture the photo of Tyler and Mark. The f-stop was f/2.2 with an ISO of 80, at ¹⁄₁₈₇ second.
Joe maintains a community-based website for RC enthusiasts called RCNeighborhood.com that is filled with model airplane photos and, of course, more photos of Tyler.
Do you have an airplane or helicopter photo you are proud of, or a model aviation-related photo with a great story behind it? Email your high-resolution “Viewfinder” photo and a short note about it to jennifer@modelaircraft.org, or submit it online at www.ModelAviation.com/viewfinder.
