RC Flying Has Launched Into The Stratosphere

I believe the old saying goes, "The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys". Looking back at my childhood I remember having a little putt-putt airplane that was not radio controlled, it was tethered to me by a handle with two strings, pull the handle one way and the little plane would climb, pull it the other way and it would nose-dive into the ground, it was a little touchy as I recall, but fun nonetheless. Fun until you got so dizzy from spinning around you crashed the plane just so you could sit down for a while.

Well if you watch the videos below you'll see that model airplane enthusiasts have reached new heights you might say. Can you imagine how much it must cost in time and money to build a scale model of the SR71 Blackbird, put real jet engines in it, program a flight plan on a computer to control it over show center and then have the skills to land it in one piece? Sooo is this what NASA engineers do on the weekend?

Needless to say, I am impressed.