CHARLES GREEB
Retired doctor
By Jay Smith | jays@modelaircraft.org
JAY SMITH: How did you become involved with model aviation?
CHARLES GREEB: Like many young boys, I was always interested in airplanes. I started with modeling in the winter of 1941-42, with balsa and tissue-paper, rubber-powered models. Balsa went away with the war, so I didn’t model again until I flirted briefly with U-Control [Control Line] in high school.
The Army, college, medical school, specialty training, and then medical practice took my time after that. Sometime later, I was gifted one of those Cox .049 Stuka “Ukies” [U-Control], and realized how much fun I was missing.
After 12 years of practice, I joined the Navy and went to the naval hospital in
Okinawa, Japan, where I discovered RC for the first time. I learned to fly on a Top Flite Fledgeling, and have been doing RC ever since. I belonged to several clubs in the San Diego area, especially the Joint Military RC Flyers club at Camp Pendleton.
I should mention that I spent six years as a senior medical officer with the Marine Corps during my Navy career. I retired in 1995, moved to Colorado in 2004, and now belong to the LoveAir RC club and did belong to the Rocky Mountain Modelers.
JS: How has model aviation impacted your life and/or career?
CG: Model aviation has impacted my life/career as my “go-to” when I wanted to get away from the many hours spent taking care of people. It has helped me to be more patient, to deal with others better, and shown me how to be a better person. How to deal with the interplay of different types of people was enhanced by model aviation.
JS: What disciplines of modeling do you currently participate in?
CG: I fly RC sport only since I am pushing 90 years and I can’t handle fast stuff anymore. I never was a fan of the wild aerobatic planes, but flew some pretty hot ones when I was younger. My planes now are mostly high-wing advanced trainers, the big Apprentice, the Fun Cub, a Clipped Wing Cub, a foam T-28, and others.
JS: What other hobbies do you have?
CG: Other hobbies include computers, gardening, and reading. I read mostly mysteries and historical fiction plus Model Aviation and Model Airplane News. For a number of years, I taught young medical interns, residents, and med students at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego on the volunteer staff.
JS: Who or what has influenced you the most?
CG: I suppose that my favorite mentors in medical school and specialty training were Dr. Henry Silver and Dr. Joseph Butterfield. In model aviation, the many, many really nice fellow fliers I have met through the years, who taught me how to build, how to fly, etc., have influenced my RC hobby.
JS: What is it about aeromodeling that has kept your interest for more than 80 years?
CG: Aeromodeling started as a fascinating hobby as I was growing up. We had a B-24 base and a P-51 base near our home during World War II, which whetted my appetite for flying, and modeling has kept that alive for all these years. Building models is great relaxation. Learning to fly and flying provides great satisfaction. Constructing a new plane and then flying it is always thrilling. LoveAir RC is, by far, the best club I have ever belonged to, and my good friends there continue to support and teach me and make my old age better.
