wonder of flight

I was a model-plane builder when young. I had dreams of flying my own remote-controlled aircraft, whether gas-powered Piper or Super-Sabre jet. I made some balsa-wood, gas-ready models (like this), and my friend Tommy actually had the tiny gas engine they people used back then. But basically the dreams were never fulfilled.

Not long ago, riding home during one of the warm days of mid-winter, I saw a man using a remote-controlled plane in a field where dog-lovers congregate and, sometimes, kite flyers. This was the first RC-guy I'd seen. He had an electric-engined purpose-built model, something like the one shown on this page.

Immediately I recalled a time, on a visit to Los Angeles, when I saw a man with a remote-controlled glider doing what I've since learned is called slope soaring. He was using an updraft caused by on-shore breezes at Long Beach where there's a short, steep slope down from the pathway to the beach. This mini-palisade catches the breeze and lofts it. The glider, remotely-controlled with considerable expertise, traced circles and figure 8's in the updraft. I didn't stay to see how long the owner could/would keep the plane aloft; presumably his neck tired from up-viewing so long, as here:

{not taken at Long Beach; source}

This YouTube video conveys something of the experience. Note the soft landing toward the end where the plane comes to a halt mid-air next to the RC operator.

There are some other good YouTube videos of RC gliders, including this one.

These photos capture some of the fascination of the hobby:

{source of these photos: AIAA Picnic}

[Update March 5:
modern UAVs grew out of the radio-control airplane scene and the technologies that allow them to fly themselves--gyros, video and other sensors, GPS, digital radio and onboard microprocessors--are now shrinking in size and falling in price at a rapid pace. You can buy a model airplane today for less than $60 that has an onboard computer and basic sensors, Chris Anderson's Long Tail blog has a post on model aircraft that pretty much control themselves -- semiautonomous planes. He says the needed technologies, "gyros, video and other sensors, GPS, digital radio and onboard microprocessors, are now shrinking in size and falling in price at a rapid pace. You can buy a model airplane today for less than $60 that has an onboard computer and basic sensors."]