John Gullickson doesn't know what will happen to his hand-crafted model aircraft when he's gone But until then, the Marshall resident has no intention of selling them, not when he gets so much satisfaction from admiring something he's built from scratch glide gracefully through the air, not considering the time he might end up spending carefully putting them back together after something unexpected happens.
"I build 'em in the winter and smash 'em in the summer," said Gullickson, who manned a table at Saturday's R/C Club model airshow at the Marshall Area YMCA "I've kept all mine I suppose when my time on this earth comes, maybe my widow will sell them - might burn 'em, I don't know."
On Saturday, Gullickson sat next to a plane he's in the process of building. He says he averages about one aircraft every winter, but could probably squeeze in another, depending "how diligent I am."
"That part of the hobby I enjoy, too," he said. "It's fun to fly them, but I like to build them. Over the years, I've built a lot of them."
Club members at Saturday's show also demonstrated radio controls, model airplane engines, electric models, model helicopter flying and a display of typical accessories used in model aviation.
Gullickson is what's known in the business as a scratch builder, which, as the name implies, is someone who starts with nothing and goes from there. He said anyone interested in following a similar path can buy a kit and take it from there, but he prefers to start from the beginning, which includes picking out his own wood.
"Many people will buy a kit," he said. "Some people buy kits with all the cut, wooden parts, you can go that way. I'm what you call a scratch builder. I buy plans, I go and buy the wood and the accessories and cut all my own parts out. I enjoy that. It's fun to do the woodwork."
Gullickson's hobby doesn't come cheap, however, although, he said, the costs incurred starting from scratch are comparable to buying a kit.
"The wood and the glue that I've got involved in this is probably, I don't know, 25 to 30 dollars worth, and then there's probably a 75 dollar engine and then you have to buy a radio set to put in - that's another couple hundred dollars. Probably 350 dollars when you're all done."
But for him, it's worth it. By the time he's done and out in an open field somewhere watching his plane in the air, controlling its every move, the reward is simple and sweet: "You say, 'Wow, look at this thing fly, I made that,'" he said. "It's a good feeling."
But flying model aircraft isn't just for the grown-ups. While by no means should these machines be considered toys - a start-up helicopter fetches $100 - kids can get in on the action as well.
Nine-year-old Greg Rhodes of Slayton saved up his chore money for about six months to buy an aircraft of his own. He said watching his dad sparked his interest.
"When my dad flew airplanes I wanted to do it, so he said to start with the helicopter, so I saved my money to buy a helicopter," Rhodes said. "It was a hundred dollars. I fed the rabbits and unloaded the dishwasher to get money."
"He's been watching me fly all this time and he's learned how to control them and run the controls," Greg's father, Tim, said. "It's time for me and him to spend time together. We both enjoy the hobby, you get the time together building them, and there's all the repairs. And there's time like this at the shows. We have our monthly meetings we attend together. It gets him involved in something."
Unlike radio-controlled cars, operating an aircraft takes a lot of practice - and some patience. The models come with flight simulator software, so newcomers can start out "flying" on the computer.
After getting some hours on the simulator inside, the pilots, controller in hands, head outside and test their skills.
"He sure loves aviation," Tim Rhodes said. "He's learning all about how things work. "It's quite educational. You find out when you don't have your pitch just right - you learn the hard way. That's where the repairs come in."
"It does take practice," Greg said.
On this particular Saturday, Marshall's R/C Club was demonstrating lightweight aircraft - sort of the club's winter show. During the summer, club members take to the outdoors where they break out the larger aircraft that are four or five times the size of the models humming and hovering above the floor at the YMCA on Saturday.
"The most active age in the hobby are middle-aged to retired folks, because it does take a certain amount of money, but the kids love it," said Stu Galstad of the R/C Club.
"Today we're flying the real ultra-lightweight stuff, micro helicopters," Galstad added. "When we get outdoors we get into the bigger ones. This is the winter-time aspect of the sport. When it gets nice outside we get out the more high-powered stuff."
