So just how big is the RC soaring community? — Quite often, I’m asked “so exactly how many people are into that RC soaring thing?” In response, I’m forced to fake a coughing fit, mumble something unintelligible, do a spit take or perhaps just pretend I don’t quite understand the question. …

Let’s help those who have had the courage to turn their passion into their profession. — Recently, I received an interesting letter from a gentlemen by the name of Jim Ealy, who some of you may know by his nom-de-plume of AstroJeff. For those of you who don’t know Jim — I didn’t — he is the proprietor of the Vintage Sailplaner website (see Resources, below…

Flying fields are as fragile as spring blossoms. — Regular readers of this column will recall last month’s missive where I told the story of the emotional rollercoaster I had been on regarding the Col de Costco. That’s my favourite slope which backs onto — you guessed it — a local mall smack in the middle of an industrial…

RC soaring is not a crime. — There’s a Costco big box store not too far from where I live which stands just east of a great slope that runs due north and south for about two or three city blocks. The crest of the slope runs parallel to a road which is home to mostly light…

Revisiting a design to which many modern RC gliders can trace their roots. — I want to offer deepest thanks to my friend Steve Kerry, without whom this project would have not existed. He was the one who picked up on a casual mention of the Boss-T in one of my previous articles, and through his tireless efforts was able to reconstruct an original…

Some thoughts as to where we go from here — at least technologically speaking. — What eventually drove me away from attending Sunday mass, many years ago, was the arrival at our parish of a firebrand financial fixer masquerading as a kindly, aging Irish priest. What was obvious from his sermons was Father was less interested in saving our souls than he was in our…

Was a humble wooden glider the subject of Canada’s second saddest story of star-crossed aviation innovation? — In the never-ending hunt for quirky, original and offbeat story ideas, Google is an absolutely invaluable tool — but you all know that already, of course. …

Thank you, Lyle. A much belated Happy New Year to you, too. I realise that when it's offered two clear weeks into February that it may have lost some of its relevance, but I still wish you and your all the best for the (balance of the) New Year! I hope you enjoyed…

Bird? Like. Bird-like. — Sometime in the mid-1970s, the cinematic rendering of Richard Bach’s mega-hit book Jonathan Livingston Seagull had arrived in the movie theatres of Vancouver, BC. …