To control a miniature airplane from afar or to sit behind the wheel of a classic car certainly provides a fair share of thrills. To junior Matthew Allen, flying model planes and building cars were the highlights of his middle school days.

“My friends used to fly model planes,” Allen said. “It looked cool, so I thought I would take a swing at it.”

After flying his store-bought models with his father over the weekends for the first few months, Allen decided to take his hobby a step further by actually creating his airplanes.

“I began to put together my own airplanes with separate parts,” he said. “My dad and I bonded a lot while we created and fine-tuned our model aircraft.”

However, flying and building aren’t always flawless for Allen.

“There have been some awkward moments where I’ve lost control of my craft, landing on private property,” he said, laughing. “I’ve had to knock on people’s doors to politely ask them for permission to look for my plane.”

However, most of these people Allen has encountered have given him positive reactions, and even take interest in his fascinating hobby.

These property owners are not the only ones that take interest in his unique hobby. Ambitious young children are enthralled by the model airplanes as well.

“I actually teach some interested kids about planes,” Allen said. “I give them pointers about where to start and give them remote control tips. They’re simple tricks of the trade.”

When he isn’t assembling homemade model aircraft, flying his creations, or teaching interested children about his hobby, Allen works on an even bigger project in his garage.

As a child, his father built a working Ford Model T car completely from scratch. Since his father drove it around during his own childhood in the ‘50s and ‘60s, his son hopes that he can follow in his father’s footsteps.

“My dad and I have worked on the car, hoping to be able to drive it around once again,” Allen said.

However, as he has progressed through high school, he has realized that not as many other kids take interest in model planes or antique cars. Even though the workload of junior year has encroached upon his time to work on his antique car and remote-controlled airplanes, Allen does not want to give up the hobby.

“My hobbies also give me a chance to bond with my dad,” Allen said. “I don’t plan to give them up anytime soon.”