Austin Gunder doesn’t remember when he first became interested in the hobby that significantly framed his life.

But it is not exaggerating to say the Stanford tight end has been acquainted with model airplanes since the day he was born.

Gunder’s father, Craig, hung a model airplane over his crib when he was six months old. Long before he could walk or talk, Austin grew attached to the plane.

‘I figured I’d get him to start playing with airplanes,’ Craig Gunder – who was introduced to model airplanes from his uncle – said. ‘He might get into it, who knows, but at least he’ll have some chance to start playing with it. He took it like a kid takes to a teddy bear. He always played with it. It was like giving a dog a chew toy.’

Gunder hasn’t let go since. Since his childhood days, Austin and his father have used model airplanes as a father-son bond. By the time he reached age five, Gunder competed in his first model airplane competition. By age 12, he flew internationally.

With the Academy of Aeronautics, Gunder and nine teammates participated in the Junior World Free Flight Model Aircraft competition in Romania in 1998. Each member strives to elevate its model airplane as high as possible for the first seven seconds. After that time frame, the competitor tries to maneuver the plane to stay in the air the longest time within the judge’s binocular range.

The U.S. team failed horribly by finishing almost dead last. Five of the team’s engines blew up and the United States figured they were using out-dated equipment and techniques compared to the Russian, Slovakian and Ukranian teams.

‘We were very unprepared,’ Gunder said. ‘We had no idea what we were getting into. We didn’t realize how much of a serious sport it is there. We went over there and got our butt kicked.’

Standing near a few Russian and Ukranian competitors, Gunder and his teammates overheard them joking around after the event. Although they did not understand the language, Austin felt the laughs were directed their way.

Craig Gunder asked a person nearby, who knew both languages, what they said. Craig Gunder said the man replied with the competitors’ remark: ‘What the Americans ought to do is sell all their equipment and buy one of our model airplanes.’

The U.S. team felt embarrassed, and the competitors’ remarks only threw salt in the wound. But Gunder and his team felt determined not to let that happen again. After the competition, Gunder indeed bought equipment in Romania to prepare for his next event in 2000 in Slovakia.

Right when they hopped on the plane for home, Austin and his dad started mapping out their next model. The competition runs every two years, and they needed all of that time to build a much more efficient design.

Austin said a model airplane takes two months to build, but that it is only based on the condition that it is worked on every day. Craig said as they progressed from figuring out the mechanics and sketching the model, they hit a few bumps and had to start from scratch. By 2000, though, the hard work paid off. The U.S. team returned, this time to the Czech Republic, and finished first.

‘Building model airplanes is not an instant gratification, especially at the level that Austin flies,’ Craig Gunder said. ‘You can’t flip on the computer or buy it at the store. You have to build all of it. The components he does buy, he spends hours modifying and changing.’

After that competition, Austin entered high school in Red Lion, Pa., and found himself spending a lot of hours with many other commitments. He played tight end and defensive end for Red Lion’s football team. He joined the basketball team as a dominant force down low. Schoolwork also consumed his busy schedule.

But those factors haven’t detracted him from building and flying model airplanes, even if it became a year-long project. Austin and his dad used whatever free time he had to work on the next plane for the next competition. Austin finished first and second, respectively, in the 2002 and 2004 competitions in Slovakia and France.

‘I didn’t sleep a whole lot,’ Gunder said. ‘Football is basically a year-long sport in high school along with lifting. I played basketball and tried to balance that with a social life. It was tough. But it all worked out.’

Well, almost.

The 2002 competition went into the beginning of football training camp. But former Red Lion head coach George Shue said he granted Gunder permission to miss the first few days of camp. Shue said he does not usually permit one of his players to skip the open of practice. But this was different – Gunder was following his passion and it was educational. Craig Gunder said the Stanford coaching staff also gave Austin permission to miss the first few days of training camp for the 2004 event in France. But Austin knew he was redshirting that year.

When Division I programs began chasing him for his playmaking abilities, Gunder kept the possibility of pursuing a career related to airplanes in the back of his head. By the time he chose Stanford, Austin cited its strong aeronautical engineering program as the triggering point for his decision.

He started his first collegiate game this past Saturday against Navy. Unlike in high school, Austin does not have time to work on his model airplanes in preparation for upcoming international competitions. But he broke a deal with his father. Craig will work on the models in his shop back at Red Lion while Austin plays football and works on his degree. Once that is complete, Austin will rejoin his father to work on the models for the next competition.

‘That’s what makes him such a great person,’ current Red Lion football coach Pat Conrad said. ‘He was able to be in the top five in his class, do the model airplanes with the best in the world, be a football player at a position where he was one of the best at the state and be on a basketball team who went to the state playoffs.

‘That’s the type of kid he is. When I talk to him, he’s not a 19-year-old kid. He’s a man.’

No. 23 Virginia (-8.5) at Syracuse

Saturday 12:00 P.M. ESPN2

Syracuse predictably rebounded against local punching bag Buffalo after the previous week’s loss to West Virginia. Perry Patterson improved his passing game and Damien Rhodes rushed for a career-high four touchdowns on 236 yards. But that was against Buffalo. The Orange looked more polished than they did against the Mountaineers, but that won’t translate to a Top-25 win yet.

Pick: Virginia 17, Syracuse 7

No. 8 Florida State (-1) at No. 19 Boston College

Saturday 7:45 P.M. ESPN

This is what Boston College has been anticipating: Its first conference game as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. And what better way for BC to test its worthiness than by opening against No. 8 Florida State? Just for our sake, Boston College will prove otherwise. Although the Eagles will experience success this season, BC will wish it stayed in the Big East when it faces the Seminoles.

Pick: Florida State 17, Boston College 14

Michigan State (+7) at No. 10 Notre Dame

Saturday 2:30 P.M. NBC

Notre Dame captured two early road wins, including a 17-10 upset over Michigan, moving up to the No. 10 spot in the Top 25 while bumping the Wolverines down from No. 3 to No. 14. Now the Fighting Irish play at home and are ready to continue their winning ways. With this one, Wolverine fans are in a catch-22. Root for the in-state rival or the team who snapped their 16-home-game winning streak?

Pick: Notre Dame 24, Michigan State 7

No. 5 Tennessee (+6) at No. 6 Florida

Saturday 8:00 P.M. CBS

Florida coach Urban Meyer is trying to become the new Steve Spurrier for the Gators, bringing his popular spread offense from undefeated Utah to the Sunshine State. The stakes for this game couldn’t be higher. It’s Florida’s first true test and since the Southeastern Conference split into two divisions in 1992, the winner of this game has represented the East in the conference title game nine times. The Volunteers’ experienced defensive line can stop the run, but its questionable secondary will have trouble with the Gators’ passing game.

Pick: Florida 17, Tennessee 13

No. 13 Miami (FL) (-7.5) at No. 20 Clemson

Saturday 3:30 P.M. ABC

Miami enters this game coming off a disheartening loss against Florida State. A botched 28-yard field goal and failure to capitalize on various opportunities proved costly in the Hurricanes’ 10-7 loss to the Seminoles on Labor Day. This all came despite Miami amassing 313 total yards and only allowing nine first downs and 74 passing yards. The bye week should have given Miami a chance to rebound with confidence, which will ensure success against Clemson in this ACC match-up.

Pick: Miami 24, Clemson 14

Published on September 11, 2005 at 12:00 pm