FATHER/SON TEAM FLIES WITH CLARK COUNTY RADIO CONTROL SOCIETY

 March 7, 2010  by Dave Anderson

Every new passion with our great sport has to start somewhere, and for Carter Strader, it started within the Boy Scouts, and the desire to earn his Aviation Merit Badge.   Carter is a member of BSA Troop 14, based in the Salmon Creek area of Vancouver, Washington.  Still a young teenager, he found troop counselor Greg Hawes, and obtained his “ground training” from CCRCS member Jim Taylor.  Carter says he likes the sport because “I love the way the airplane works, and the physics.  Kinda (sic) just caught my interest. . . “  But dad says he’d already become “consumed!” 

Once the ground training was accomplished, Mr. Taylor gave Carter over to the capable hands and instruction of CCRCS member Dave Agar.  Dave is an accomplished builder, and you can see some of his projects online at the club’s website Project Pages.  Together, Carter and Mr. Agar started work on a Goldberg Eagle II model.  

The model was donated to Carter on the condition he’d pay for the model when it was done being built.  Carter says he had a lot of fun working with Mr. Agar, and always speaks respectfully and with pride when he mentions Dave.  He says the best experience he’s had in the club is “getting to work and then solo with Mr. Agar!”  Together, they built the Eagle in style and readied it for the maiden.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning on April 15, 2009 when the Eagle first rose to the sky to spread her wings.

“Oh God!  This is scary!,” Carter recalls the day!  He was nervous and anxious, but was doing ok flying with the “Buddy Box” training system CCRCS maintains.  After flying for about five minutes, he was ready to take a break but don’t you know, was ready to do it all over again after a few minutes.  Carter had the cash to pay for his new plane but Jim had other ideas.  “Use that money to join the club, and the plane’s yours!” he said! 

Carter was a quick learner, and after about the first eight flights on the Eagle, he was ready to solo.  It was easy to tell he’d been “bitten” by the sport and couldn’t wait to get the bird in the air again.  So it was when he come out to the field with his dad Phil Strader, and attempted his unsponsored flight.  But sorry to say, as it happens from time-to-time, a slow roll to the right after take-off and under full power drove the plane straight to the ground!  Maybe it was the breeze, maybe it was pilot error, but he was a shame, and as dad recalls: “There was nothing left but kindling!”

Carter had his eyes on the World Models T-34 Mentor, and after pooling his money,  he was putting it together and would roll it out soon.  In the meantime, he’d purchased a Great Planes Escapade, so he used what he could from the broken Eagle in the new Escapade.  At the club’s Christmas party, he managed to latch onto a couple of door prizes:  a Turbo Bee and a T-6 Texan model.  At present, he’s working on a Great Planes Rapture model he’s very excited about.

So what happened with dad?  Phil was the guy that had to bring Carter to the field all the time, and as dads are, he’s pretty proud of his aviator son!  The sport started growing on Phil – after all, he saw how quickly Carter learned and it wasn’t long before he thought “I might as well learn if Carter decides to fly!” 

Flying at CCRCS is a family affair with the Straders.  Phil says he asked his wife Sandy “Hey, if I bought a plane, would you fly it too?”   Well, I think any pilot at CCRCS would know that answer to that question, but Phil wasn’t deterred, and set right out to purchase his own model, a .40 size Hobbico Nexstar trainer.  Now Phil has taken to getting his “wings” from Mr. Agar just like Carter, but it wasn’t without some frustration.  As Phil recalls:

“We were laying in bed one night when we heard a loud crash from downstairs in the house, and when I investigated, I found a shelf mounted on the wall in the garage had fallen off the wall.”  But that wasn’t the worst part of the story.  He lamented to say “and it fell right on the wing of the Nexstar!”  Repairs were necessary, but he maintained his resolve.  Phil says he’s heard there are two kinds of pilots in this sport, “The ones that have crashed, and the ones that were waiting to crash! But there’s a third kind – those that crash in the ‘hanger’!” 

But Phil was not put out, he set right out to purchase a new wing; he’s been flying with Dave Agar and will solo soon, he’s sure.  He says he likes using the simulator program that came with the plane and he’s “gonna stick with it.”

Carter’s mom Sandy is said to be supportive of her boys, and she’s got a lot to be proud about!  Carter’s not only an active scout, he plays baseball as a pitcher or catcher, and boasts a .750 batting average!  He intends on pursuing an aerospace engineering degree – perhaps from the University of Washington, and has even had stint flying right seat in a Cessna 172.  And together, Phil and Carter like to fly fish together when they can.

And Dave Agar has some things to say as well about his new flight student Carter:  “The time that I spent with Carter over this past year has been so rewarding to me. Carter is one of the most respectful, energetic and driven young men that I know. Carter has a desire to be a part of the aviation community upon completion of High School and is currently gaining all the knowledge that he can right now. It has been a thrill for me to have been a part of his learning how to fly R/C. His Dad tells me that Carter has Christmas 52 times a year as he is so excited to get to the flying field on Sunday that he does not sleep on Saturday night. He communicates with me most every night looking for information about R/C planes and flying them and is willing to do extra work to earn the money he needs to support his hobby, doing work above and beyond his normal chores at home. He has become friends with everyone at the flying field and everyone is always excited to watch him fly as he has progressed so fast. Carter will someday be one of the world’s movers and shakers and we will all have been better people for having been a small part of his life.”

We might think it’s always the dad that encourages the boys to try new adventures.  In this case, Carter led the way like a true scout leader!  He encouraged his father, and as a result CCRCS has a new father/son team.   When you see them, please tell them congratulations, and be sure to ask Phil when he’s going to be ready to solo his Nexstar. . . or maybe we should ask Mr. Agar???

Jim Taylor, Carter Strader, Greg Hawes, Dave Agar (L to R)