Posted by Daddy:
When I was a teenager, my brother Ryan and I became interested in radio control cars. These are not the typical radio control cars you get from a toy store. You assemble them yourself, and they actually have oil-filled shocks, differential gears, air-filled tires, and bodies that you airbrush yourself. They are capable of going up to 30mph or faster, and every part on them can be repaired or replaced.
It was the late 80's that I got started out with an Tamiya Grasshopper dune buggy. Ryan got the same one soon after, painted baby-blue. They were pretty fast, maybe 15mph and they got us hooked on R/C. I eventually changed the body on mine to a white and blue Volkswagen Beetle.
We both upgraded in the early 90's. I bought an Tamiya Blackfoot, and Ryan airbrushed it for me with red, orange and yellow highlights. I still have the airbrushed body in my office! Ryan eventually got a Team Associated RC10, which was considered the best R/C car you could buy at the time. It had an aluminum chassis, fully independent suspension and could go about 30mph+ effortlessly.
Ryan and I raced them everywhere. Dad helped us build a small oval dirt track in the corner of our yard, with jumps and berms. We also took them to various indoor tracks around Rochester for fun. We brought them with us to North Carolina on the beach, and even used them in the snow! It was a blast, and I really enjoyed sharing a hobby with Ryan. We even got our friends hooked (Chris, do you remember your Kyosho Icarus?).
I sold mine 2 years ago, along with my two radio controlled airplanes and helicopter. We ran out of room in our garage, and I figured I'd get back into it someday with newer equipment once the kids were older. Ryan kept all his equipment stored away in our parents basement for the last 15 years or so. My parents decided to do some cleaning, and shipped it out to Ryan.
Shortly before Emerson's 5th birthday, Ryan asked me if Emerson would like to have his RC10 as a birthday gift. I didn't hesitate to say that he would be thrilled. Ryan fixed it up, and said that after 15 years in storage, even the batteries were good!
We gave it to Emerson on his birthday, and you can't imagine how thrilled he was! Ryan included his full tackle-box of spare parts and tools (a great father/son activity, by the way!). The remote control is a little big for his hands, but he insisted on trying it by himself.
I showed him some of the techniques, and stepped back to see how he would do. Most people have trouble controlling something that you are not actually inside of. You almost have to project yourself into the drivers seat. If you don't, the steering doesn't make sense. Also, you have to be very careful with the throttle, since it is very easy to spin out of control.
Within 5 minutes, he was completely comfortable with all of these things. He never crashed into anything, despite all of the obstacles in our driveway. He also stayed in one place, even as the R/C car went all the way to the other side of the driveway (making the car hard to see). He was totally focused, but most importantly he absolutely loves it! So now we charge up the battery after I get home from work and he races it around the driveway. Soon, we'll head over to the baseball field and start working on lap times!
Thanks uncle Ryan!
