Grandson of the first Helicopter test pilot

After getting familiar with the controls of my newly acquired RC Helicopter, I decided to bring it out to the mini-golf course to attempt a hover. So far, my living room adventure with RC Helicopter was mostly a 'ground run' affair, the bird never took off and for most part of its first two pack battery life was spend skiing on my table top.

It couldn't have been a much better place than the mini-golf course right behind my apartment, less than 100 steps away. Large open space, very flat ground and soft ground to absorb the impact of toppling and crash. For the next 1 hour, I learn what a difficult hobby I have just brought myself into. No hover, just several toppling from extreme ground resonance and a unsucessful hover attempt ending in a crash. Thankfully nothing was broken on my third day of practice, just a couple of scratches on the copter body and a few exhausted fingers. And the weather was winding, not a good day for flight with an Indoor RC Helicopter.

Just when I was about to walk home and call it a day, my neighbours husband pop out said good evening to me and ask if I fly the Chinook. Of course I don't and the usual reply was I am the 'GREASE MONKEY' and does not belong to the "Flying Circus".

Embaressing as it might seem with all the crash and toppliong, he was caught on attention of me playing RC Helicopter. We started chatting about my latest hobby, than into flying real helicopters and soon I learn...

HE IS THE GRANDSON OF THE WORLD FIRST BELL HELICOPTER TEST PILOT
FLOYD WILLIAM CARSON!!!

I was surprised for sure. Never knew my neighbours, his name David Carson came from such interesting background. Of course, that name doesn't ring a bell untill he actually told me what his Grandfather achievement are, a test pilot for BELL Helicopter from the 40s to the 90s...really proud and honour grand son we got here. Now David's father too was into Helicopter but Military wise, his father was a flight instructor for the AH-1H Cobra gunship and have train many pilots who fought in the vietnam war.

So interesting. Sometimes our life decision at a moment can bring pleasent surprise. If I have choose not to head outdoor to test-flight, I might not have learn something new about my neighbours.

Some how, I got home and Googled and Wikipedied 'Floyd William Carson', nothing came out of the search... Probably got the name spelled wrongly. Anyway, David is gonna pass me a DVD about helicopter that shows his granpa in it.