Board Member Bios

BERNARD CAWLEY

Bernard, a Boeing airliner engineer, has been involved in electric powered RC both as a participant and an advocate for over 20 years (and flew glow ships before that). A recognized electric flight authority, he has had a hand in the development of a few electronic speed controls as a hardware/software tester (in one case, he created the specifications). His engineer's inclination to experiment and test is complemented by an inclination to share what he learns both with manufacturers and the public at large. Over the years, he has been a prolific writer for various modeling magazines and on internet bulletin boards.

A Contest Director since 1983, he founded the first electric Fly-In in Pacific Northwest and managed it for 20 years (22nd annual event was just held). Bernard was the first person flying an electric model to take home a trophy from the NATS in R/C scale (2nd in Sportsman Sport Scale at the 1989 Tri-Cities Washington (State) NATS). The aircraft was a scratch-built 1/6 scale 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D, powered with a geared Astro 40 cobalt and 18 sub-C cells (1200s). Bernard notes: “I like to think this was inspiration for some others who have gone on to take electric models to the Scale Masters, Top Gun and the World scale champs, especially local pilots Bob Benjamin and Randy Smithhisler.”

He has been a member of four different local AMA-chartered clubs (the Boeing Hawks, the Radio Aeromodelers of Seattle, the Puget Sound Silent Flyers and the Seattle Barn Owls). He has served two terms as president of the Hawks, one of the RAMS and was also treasurer of the Hawks for two years. Bernard and Ben Almojuela created an electric airplane "organization" called the Puget Sound Electric Model Flyers as a special interest group of the Hawks some years ago. Bernard and Ben published a quarterly newsletter for a number of years before the internet expanded to fill that role.

Bernard is currently a member of the Hawks and the Barn Owls. He has given presentations on electric power to other clubs in his area, most recently to the Marymoor R/C club this past February. That presentation was called "My, How Things Have Changed!!" and focused on the lithium battery and brushless motor revolutions.

BOB HUNT

Bob, a thoroughly accomplished modeler, has over 50 years in the hobby. He served as the Associate Editor of Flying Models magazine from 1979 to 1980, at which point he took over as the Editor. He held that post for 16 years. Bob is now the Aeromodeling Editor for Model Aviation magazine, the official publication of the AMA. Designing and building model airplanes is one of Bob's main passions, and he has had several designs published in the modeling press. He has also written numerous product reviews and How-To features.

Bob competed in RC Pattern for several years, and also has an interest in RC Soaring, and electric flight. He is most well known for his involvement in Control Line aerobatics (Stunt). He has won many major competitions over the years, including the 1976 Nats and the 1978 World Championships in CL Stunt.

CRAIG TRACHTEN

Craig Trachten has a college background in Industrial Arts Education. After gaining 19 years experience as a sales/service distributor out of Long Island servicing department stores and super markets, and after rising to the position of sales manager, Craig opened a HobbyTown USA franchise in 1992 in New Milford, CT. He and his wife, Robin, have operated the store since it opened, and they were joined by their son, Matt, in 2002, making it “a true family affair.” Craig also employs three part-time sales people.

As a successful HobbyTown franchise owner and an avid RC modeler, Craig has a broad perspective on the radio control marketplace as well as consumer needs and interests. He has written many articles for RC magazines. His RC interests cover the gamut and run from indoor electrics to giant scale, gas-powered aerobatic airplanes.

Craig notes, “I have been involved in a variety of hobbies since I was seven. I watched my mom build models for years; I started with plastic models then expanded out. My hobby interests have included balsa kits and scratch building, model railroading, woodworking (especially modern furniture), airbrushing, target shooting, and photography. R/C boats, cars and planes are what eat up my leisure time at present. Product reviews have turned into a hobby as I enjoy writing about them as well as ‘playing’ with them. Most people go to work each day. Owning a HobbyTown, I go to play every day, and I get to play with my family at my side. It doesn’t get any better than that!”

DAVE BARON

Dave has been flying RC for 36 years and has a deep passion for all things aviation. He was a Harrier “Jump Jet” electronics technician in the Marines, and is a full-scale pilot qualified to fly a variety of aircraft including corporate jets. His diverse experience in both full scale and model aviation give him a broad perspective on the hobby.

An extremely versatile “hands-on” RC pilot, he holds the position of Chief Test Pilot for Fly RC magazine and writes “Freestyle,” a monthly column. His main interests are 3-D flying and large electric models. He flies each year in the National Competition Fun Fly Association (NCFFA) nationals; his best finish was 4th place, Unlimited, in 2002. He also established some timed maneuver records (since overturned) in the NCFFA. Dave has been a prolific RC writer since 1991, and served as a columnist and reviewer for Model Airplane News in past years. He has been a columnist and reviewer for Fly RC since its inception. David was twice president of the FLYRC club of western CT, was a partner in a CT based hobby shop (sold in 1988) and has been a member of the IMAA.

Dave grew up in an “RC family” and his kids are capable RC pilots. A substantial 100-year-old barn in his backyard includes a second floor workshop festooned and bedecked with over half a century of models spanning three generations of modelers; it is a favored, weekly meeting place for local Fly RC contributors. David’s engraving business entails annual trips to Asia and Europe. He schedules these to coincide with major overseas hobby trade shows so that he can keep up with what is cooking in RC abroad.

ERICK ROYER

Erick, the business development director and a team editor at RCUniverse.com, has been flying RC for 16 years and has been particularly active in the last five years. His main RC interests include 3D and aerobatic airplanes, 120 size glow models, 30 size helicopters, 100cc gas airplanes and electrics of all sizes. Erick has a busy schedule covering events, reviewing products, and assisting with the management of the voluminous bulletin board traffic on RCUniverse. This combined with his work helping grow the RCU online community as a business effectively immerses Erick in the mainstream of radio control on a 24/7 basis.

Erick has been the secretary of the Balsa Bandits RC club in Torrington, CT for three years, and for two years served as the webmaster for the CCRCC club in Farmington, CT. He has some retail experience and has helped a friend open a local hobby shop. He plans to enter IMAC competition next season.

In the last 5 years he has worked with local clubs to promote the hobby and has also worked with local children’s organizations (boy scouts, etc) to help get youths involved in the hobby. Since he started working for RCUniverse over two years ago, he has been an active writer for various magazines in the industry and today is a monthly contributor to Fly RC Magazine. Erick has written over 25 reviews and articles on various products for RCUniverse.com.

FRANK TIANO

Frank has over 50 years of modeling experience, and has been flying RC since 1972. Frank, marketing director for ZAP adhesives since 1979 and founder of the prestigious Top Gun scale invitational, owned a Hobby Super Store in West Palm Beach for several years, has been a contest director for 17 years, is an AMA industry leader and has served as District V assistant vice president. The following is excerpted from his AMA biography.

Frank’s lifelong passion for modeling began when he was a youngster. By the time he was nine, he had a special workshop room where he made U-control models and as many plastic models as he could talk his father into buying.

In 1972, Frank joined the Saugerties, New York model club and bought his first Radio Controlled (RC) kit and radio. A Midwest Champ and a Royal single stick radio started him on his way. Frank started building simple scale models and by 1976 was a frequent contestant in scale contests held up and down the East Coast. He was a prolific builder and quickly built a stable of all sorts of model aircraft. Everything from Formula One racers to World War I bi-planes could be found in his shop.

About 1976 Frank started writing for Flying Models magazine. It started out with an occasional kit review every couple of months, but grew to an article a month, and he contributed articles to other magazines as well. He has published in Radio Control Modeler (RCM), Model Airplane News (MAN), Flying Models, Model Aviation, Scale RC Modeler and Fly RC.

In 1979, Frank joined with Bob Walker of Robart Manufacturing and Don Dombrowski of House of Balsa to form a company called Sticky Group International. SGI introduced a product called ZAP, a form of super glue for the modeling industry. That business still thrives today and supports many modeling events nation wide.

In 1989, Frank founded Top Gun, a scale competition that he hoped would bring worldwide attention to aero modeling. The event would be an invitational event with a lot of industry support and, hopefully, would feature some of the finest builders and pilots in the world. It did exactly that. Top Gun has been a success and remains the only scale event in the world with a cash purse. It has done much to make the general public aware of how exciting and fun modeling can be. Because of the popularity of Top Gun, Frank was able to start another event, Florida Jets, and this has become the largest, non competitive, jet get together in the world for spectators.

To show his appreciation for all the support his company and events has received in the past, Frank's company has often donated cash and prizes to many AMA-sanctioned events throughout the U.S.A. He has been instrumental in developing the AMA prize program at their annual trade show and has featured their presence at both Top Gun and Florida Jets. He has done 18 television shows where his segment, “In the Shop,” has shown everything from how to build an ARF trainer to constructing and flying a Maverick ducted fan jet. At Top Gun, he promotes one of the largest AMA Delta Dart programs in the country.

Frank still competes in three or four scale contests per year, and he still builds. Presently, he has a monthly column, “Sporty Scale,” in RC Report magazine and is a contributor to Fly RC magazine as well. Frank’s AMA Number: TOP-GUN.

GREG POPPEL

Greg has been flying RC for more than 40 years. His interests range from small indoor electric to giant scale, gas burning 3D aerobatic airplanes. He has been an AMA certified Contest Director since 1986 and flew in pattern competitions for many years. Greg was cofounder of the Electric Tournament of Champions (ETOC) and is a member of the AMA, IMAA, IMAC and the Extreme Aerobatic Club.

Over the years, Greg has been a field rep for many major companies and has had 15 major sponsors. He has held every position in The Ohio Radio Kontrol Society (TORKS), and is a member of Tailspinners as well as the Confederate Air Force. He has served as announcer for the Rally of the Giants, U.S. Scale Masters, International Radio control Helicopter Association (IRCHA) and Extreme Flight Competition (XFC). Because of his deep involvement in RC, he has been a consultant to numerous major companies on everything from airframe and servo design to radio programming and product testing. He has published kit reviews in all of the major magazines and has built hundreds of kits ranging from trainers to giant TOC airplanes.

JEF RASKIN

Jef has been flying RC for 30 years. His primary RC interests include small models, indoor RC, the physics of flight, tiny scale aircraft and on-the-wing aerobatics. An AMA CD, Jef has run many contests. Jef was the founder of Jef's Friends Model Aircraft Company (the Western Wind cardboard slope soarer of the 1970s) and of Anabatic Aircraft (first of the foam-covered-by-tape slopers). He has written for many model magazines and is the Science Editor for Fly RC magazine. Jef also reviews products and writes the Primary Training column for Fly RC.

Jef was editor of the San Francisco Vultures' newsletter for 12 years and is a current member of the S.F. Vultures, which is one of the country's older clubs (founded in 1939 and still flying--a small but influential club). The original designer of the Apple Macintosh computer, Jef has a deep technical background in computers, software and human-machine interfaces. He was probably the first to use computer-aided-design in a model airplane kit (1973). He has done technical work in creating better airfoils for models (WE-series; the "44" airfoil, published in the September, 2004 issue of Fly RC). Jef published what was probably the first personal computer airfoil-generating program (for the Apple II, 1978).

His work on transmitter design (as a consultant to Kraft, through his present white paper) has influenced some product design decisions. His suggestion to the late Tom Runge of Ace Hobbies that he could replace the wooden spars in his then-new foam wings with strapping tape (which he explained in an insert that later came with Ace foam wings and kits) led to new methods for making flying surfaces. He has taught hundreds of people to fly and has published over a hundred articles in model publications. He has also written on modeling subjects in non-model-plane magazines. Jef has been a professional conductor and plays keyboards and renaissance winds, such as the recorder.

JEFF TROY

Jeff, editor-in-chief of Hobby Merchandiser magazine, a trade publication circulated to retail hobby stores and the industry, has been flying RC for 36 years. He brings a unique perspective to the board that is based on experience in many aspects of the hobby industry; he has worked in design, product development, and administration. He is a died-in-the-wool end-user, competitor and sport/pleasure modeler. His primary RC interests include thermal duration soaring and scale vintage aeroplanes. His hobby interests span plastic kits to RC and all that falls between.

Jef ran Soaring Events at the 1985 and 1986 AMA NATS, and has competed at Top Gun and the U.S. Scale Masters. He has garnered many awards in his modeling carreer, including First Place Sailplane Toledo, Second Place Non-Military Scale Toledo (with a 1938 primary glider!), First Place Sailplane WRAM (6 or 7 consecutive years) and LSF Level 4. Three of his models are exhibited in the AMA Museum, including his 1938 Primary Glider.

Jef has served as the Assistant Director of Public Relations for the AMA headquarters when it resided in Reston VA. He worked in Product Development for MRC and again, in Product Development, for Coverite. He was RC Scale Columnist for Model Aviation for 10 years. Although he is not a sponsored rep, he has and continues to actively promote many different kinds of model aircraft equipment from several prominent manufacturers. He has been a member of the League of Silent Flight, NASA (not current), National Soaring Society (not current) and IMMA (not current). Jef was twice president of the Valley Forge Signal Seekers, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania – AMA Charter #159, and he Managed Allied Hobbies, in King of Prussia, PA, from 1981 - 1986.

JIM ONORATO

Jim was born in Camden, New Jersey on the Fourth of July, 1934. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1956. Following graduation, he joined the Linde Division of Union Carbide as a design engineer in Tonawanda, New York. During his 36–year career with Union Carbide, Jim worked in New York City, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Danbury, Connecticut. He retired on January 1, 1992 and presently resides with his wife, Connie, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Jim and Connie have six grown children and five grandchildren.

Jim’s interest in model aviation began while still in grammar school when he started building small-scale warbirds out of balsa and cardboard. It wasn’t long before he moved on to stick and tissue rubber-powered free flight models and, by the time he was in high school, he was totally involved in U-Control. His interest in RC was sparked when he saw Hal DeBolt flying a reed-controlled airplane near Niagara Falls, NY in the late Fifties. Once bitten by the RC bug there was no turning back. Since that time, Jim has built more than100 RC models ranging from park flyers to giant-scale aerobats.

Soon after retiring, Jim joined the Westchester Radio Aero Modelers (WRAM) and, after serving in various offices for six years, he was elected President in 1998 and served in that capacity for two years. Jim is still an active WRAM member and is presently on the WRAM’s Board of Directors.

Jim’s first model review, published in the October, 1992 issue of MAN, was a cooperative effort with the late Dick Purdy in which they reviewed a G&P Sales’ PBY. During the following eleven years, as a Contributing Editor for MAN, he published 59 additional reviews for MAN and Backyard Flyer magazines. Jim has been a Contributing Editor for Fly RC Magazine since its inception in 2003 and has published 10 reviews in Fly RC’s first ten issues.

JOHN CHRISTENSEN

John started flying RC at the age of 16, and has been flying for approximately 25 years. An avid modeler, he has built more than 100 models (fixed wing and helis) and has flown more than 500 different model aircraft in his modeling career (for years, he has been the "first flight" pilot at his local RC clubs). His primary RC interests are scale, giant scale, jets and helicopters. He is well versed in modern turbine jet technology and has flown turbine powered fixed wing and helicopter aircraft.

John has competed at three consecutive Top Guns and has won a number of "best jet" awards at various events. In previous years, John was a Team Futaba member and was sponsored by TJT and FTE turbines. With a deep interest in aviation, he is a licensed full-scale pilot and has belonged to a variety of full scale aviation and historic aircraft organizations.

A professional caliber digital photographer, John is an active contributor to Fly RC. Always pursuing the unusual and the interesting, John has plans on the drawing board for an RC helicopter long distance flight record over water. He founded an aerial photography and video business that uses RC aircraft as camera platforms. John also owns a computer monitor business based in Denmark, and currently serves as a diplomat for the Danish government. John has been a US resident since 1996.

RICH URAVITCH

Rich has been flying RC for about 40 years, “with the occasional hiatus for school, Air Force, marriage and similar life-altering adventures.” His primary RC interest spans scale R/C modeling of all types. Electric power, as of late, has captured his interest and “offers some tremendous potential for scale modelers.”

Rich actively competed at Top Gun and ScaleMasters for several years, and is currently a Craftsmanship Judge for Expert and Designer categories at Top Gun. Rich has worked extensively in the industry and brings a correspondingly broad perspective to the board. He as been editor-in-chief of Model Airplane News, R/C Car Action and R/C Boat Modeler. He has served as Editorial Director for Challenge Publications and has been a design consultant for House of Balsa and Hobby Hangar. He is a frequent contributor to nearly all of the current R/C airplane magazines, and has been a member of the IMAA and the Vintage RC Society.

Rich has produced many original model designs, several of which have been published and/or kitted. A full scale pilot and engineer with many years in aerospace work, Rich is another board member who brings a significant aviation background and deep technical expertise to the table. Rich notes that he has a “longstanding involvement with all phases of the RC hobby and its great mix of truly talented, innovative people who indeed SHOULD be recognized for their contributions. I would respectfully offer that my Aero Engineering/Management background gives me the ability to recognize true achievement and contribution.”

RICK MATTIE

Rick started flying RC when he was ten years old (at seven he was already flying control line). Although he has a diverse background in many RC categories, his biggest love continues to be flying F3A-FAI Pattern. His first pattern contest was in October 1971.

An avid competitor, Rick has competed in many local, National and Masters events for many years. He has won many local events and made the finals in National events. At the AMA Nationals he has competed in F3A-FAI Pattern, Class 2 Helicopters and just this last year, in 2004, he competed in 2-meter and unlimited sailplanes.

Rick describes his RC career: “I started working for R/C City in northern California as a product developer making composite fuselages and molds. I left after the company moved to Tennessee. Next I worked at Futaba Corporation of America. There, I was in charge of the YS engine department. At Futaba I had a great boss and mentor by the name of Steve Helms. Before Futaba was moved to Great Plains, Ron Koberg, CEO of Airtronics, offered me my present position as Marketing Manager at Airtronics.”

Rick has been a sponsored pilot for a few companies. “I was first a rep for Joe Bridi back in the 70's flying his new (at the time) Dirty Birdy pattern aircraft. I was a rep for Futaba for many years before I stated working there. I am currently a rep for PowerMaster Fuels and Airtronics.

Rick belongs to three local clubs, the Santa Fe Dam Flyers, Pomona Valley Radio
Control Club and Silent Wings Soaring Assoc. Despite his deep experience working in the industry, Rick comments that he is “a modeler first, business man second. I enjoy flying, listening, learning and hopefully with some of my experience, helping others to enjoy this great hobby as much as I do.

TOM HUNT

Tom, who authors Fly RC’s ElectroActive column, has worked in the aerospace industry for over 25 years as an aero/mechanical engineer and has been designing/building/flying RC model aircraft for over 30 years. His engineering expertise ranges from instrument calibration and testing to propeller theory and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. He has written extensively in modeling publications and is a recognized authority on electric flight.

Tom has recently been inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame for his accomplishments and contributions to the sport of model aviation. In the last decade, Tom has devoted much of his hobby time expanding the knowledge base of electric powered model aircraft. He has published many original model designs, and many of these have been offered as plans and kitted.

Together with his long-time friend Bob Aberle, Tom created the NEAT Fair, a follow-on to the long running KRC electric fly-in. The NEAT Fair, held at the Peaceful Valley campsite, Downsville, NY, in September of each year, has developed into the largest electric model gathering in the US and possibly the world. It consistently attracts hundreds of pilots, over a thousand spectators and dozens of vendors.