I used to enjoy watching my father work on model airplanes. He would build the airplanes from balsa wood kits. He would cut out the individual strips of wood and glue them together according to the plans. It was exciting to see the many small pieces of wood turn into a finished model airplane.
Sometimes he would test the model engines on his workbench in the basement. He would fill the small gas tank, connect the battery to the glow plug, and give the propellor a quick turn. It was thrilling to watch a gas engine run inside the house.
The models my father flew were control line airplanes. We would take the airplane to a park with a large field. He would stand in the middle of a circle and the plane would fly on the outer edge of the circle, controlled by a couple of strings holding the airplane to the control grip in his hand
As an adult I once lived near a grass field used by the local Radio Controlled (RC) airplane club. I would often park next to the field on Saturdays and watch the planes fly. It was exciting to watch and difficult to resist. While I had long had an interest, I was not sure how long my interest would last, so I started by purchasing an inexpensive RC trainer airplane kit. I figured if I completed the kit and was still interested, I could then invest more in the RC electronics.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much I enjoyed assembling the balsa wood model. It was fun to build something and to see it coming together into something that actually resembled the plans. I was careful and did a pretty good job. My reward was to go out and purchase the engine and electronics.
Like many hobbies, RC airplanes take time to build and fly. I am still very interested and would love to pursue it further. However, most of my free time is currently being spent on school and with my family. Two very worthy pursuits.