Everything you wanted to know about Rick Maida but were afraid to ask.

I live in Morgan Hill, CA. and work in Fremont as a Mechanical Design Engineer doing wafer fabrication equipment for close to 35 years now.

I was born in 1956, grew up in Salinas California, moved to San Jose in 1976. My father planted the aviation seed when I was about 5 years old by taking me to either the Salinas Airport to watch the Super Connies load strawberries and take off to their destinations or at Monterey Airport to watch the Coast Guard and passenger jets take off and land. So now anything that flies is an interest to me. With my Tinker Toy set I built a 4 engine bomber size big, of course.

Started modeling at the age of 8. Did my fair share of plastic car models and then U-Control planes.

My dad bought me my first U-Control, the famous blue and yellow Cox PT19 flight trainer. Never did get to fly it cause my dad failed to read the instructions and put the engine on the fast or stunt position and when he flew it he got so dizzy he fell down and well the plane was history. After that I went to work on a Swordsman 18, an .049 powered built up plane. So the journey begins. Built pretty much all the U-Control planes out in the market place. Designed a few of my own and did rc boats and cars. Still could not find my nitch. Until one day I was out mowing our lawn and I noticed down the street which was Hartnell College. I saw a glider or something slow and big flying at the field. Ran down to check things out and met this guy. Kip, he was flying a Marks Windfree glider. Pretty cool. We became friends and he ended up teaching me how to fly gliders. My first RC was a Marcs Windward glider using a Kraft 2 channel brick radio. I was in heaven. I could do loops and rolls without messing up the lines. Who would of thought. Did gliders for quite a few years then got into power. What a treat, no high starts or slopes. Just a flat road and off you go.

So since then, been a member of numerous clubs around central and northern California. Flight instructor chairman for many a clubs. Contest director and coordinator for close to 30 years. CD’d lots of events. Have test flown many a new aircraft for folks and am a security blanket for a lot of newbies. Involved in the IMAA and AMA and main interest lies in Giant Scale Warbirds and flying the big Unlimited racers at the USRA meets. My wife Merriam, calls for me and I keep the plane on the course. We are known as the BETTER HALF RACING TEAM.

But the seed of anything that flies is still where it’s at for me.

My all time favorite movie is the Great Waldo Pepper.

Anyway happy flying and keep em flying.

Rick