Many members of the Lone Tree Flyers have been building and flying radio-controlled airplanes for over 50 years, since they were children. But the club is always looking for more members and want to share the message that it’s never too late to learn.

The club was started by Gary Kleinmeyer in 2010, ten years after he first worked with the Lone Tree City Council to renovate the field that sits behind the American Legion. The Lone Tree Flyers are a gold standard member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, a governing board that helps provide insurance, financing and safety information.

But for Kleinmeyer, his interest in radio-controlled airplanes dates back to 1968, when he was a junior in high school.

“I’ve always been interested in aviation. When I was a little kid, we used to go to air shows in Cedar Rapids or Davenport and I was always very interested in them,” Kleinmeyer said. “Then, I had a couple neighbors who were model guys. I was always a model person, too, making model cars and airplanes. My next-door neighbor bought a 172 Cessna balsawood plane and we worked on it together. That got me going on the hobby.”

A lot has changed in the model airplane world in the last 53 years, especially when it comes to the technology of the radio controllers.

“Back then, we had to buy the electronic kid and solder it all together with the transistors and all that stuff. We had to put it together ourselves,” Kleinmeyer said. “Those were three-channel radios but now we have 12-channel radios that are as advanced as the computer sitting on your work deck.”

The batteries have changed too — what used to weigh about three pounds now are only a few inches long and weigh only a few ounces.

All the advances in model airplane technology have made it a more welcoming hobby for newcomers, like Richard Williams of Wellman who recently joined the club. He’s been training with the Lone Tree Flyers for about five weeks and hopes to soon start flying solo.

“I have years and years of failed experience,” Williams said. “I wanted to succeed, so I searched out a couple of clubs that had aviation trainers so I could learn how to do this because I really want to be involved in and participate in flying airplanes. Plus, I got tired of crashing them.”

What drew Williams to model airplanes in the first place was the feeling of freedom and control you can get from flying a fully functioning scale model of an airplane.

“I think the scale models of aviation, where I don’t have to be inside of it, but I still have precise control of the model,” he said. “You get to make it do what you want it to do and it’s such a good feeling to know that you’re actually controlling that model up there in the sky.”

John Biondo, the safety officer for the Lone Tree Flyers, agrees that radio-controlled airplanes are a very gratifying hobby.

“I have been building and flying model airplanes since I was six and I’m almost sixty. It’s been a big part of my life,” Biondo said. “I’ve also flown full-scale aviation as well, but at this point in my life this is where I am. I enjoy building and flying and helping other people out in the hobby. It’s incredibly rewarding when you can create something like that and then fly it.”

Kleinmeyer said the Lone Tree Flyers have at least three events planned for next year, including a cancer fly for the children’s hospital, a WWII Warbird event sometime around Memorial Day and a large two-day exhibition during next year’s Fall Festival.