Nathan

My Feedback: (12)

Give up flying and building R/C? Ok, maybe. Give up Motorcycles? That's just crazy talk. Enjoy the next phase, Trent. It's been great having you on RCU this past decade and I hope to see you lurking in the corner from time to time.

chistech

Wow, what is it with RC, Harleys, and Guns! I'm the same way. Started our club 30 years ago then got out as the kids came. Got divorced, rodeoed, trained horses, got remarried, got into Harleys with the new wife all the time hunting and shooting. I grew up camping so a toy hauler was always on the horizon. Got back into the club and became the event coordinator. Now, with my wife's urging, we go camping, take the motorcycle, take the float planes, always take the S&W, and just enjoy ourselves everywhere we go. Last year was Sturgis and Yellowstone, this year is Niagra Falls and Canada. The electric float planes are always ready for the campground ponds. You and your wife enjoy yourselves and watch out for the idiots on the road.

Ted

flyntruk

My Feedback: (5)

   Some where  some tme ago , a band whose name I don't recall . had the line  "what a long strange trip it's been "    God luck on lifes journey ..

Tarasdad

I recently got back into RC after being out for over 15 years. Used to be a fairly serious competitive shooter (High-Power Service Rifle, Smallbore and High-Power Rifle Silhouette, Smallbore and Hunter's Pistol Silhouette) but had to give that up when it became too expensive. Hunted and fished most of my life. Spent more years than I can really remember on dirt and street bikes too. Sadly that came to an end after a nearly fatal accident riding home from work one night. Now my health means I can no longer ride motorcycles, nor can I shoot high-power (damage to my spine means the recoil could leave me paralyzed). RC is one of the few hobbies I've had that I can still enjoy that doesn't pose nearly insurmountable challenges due to my physical limitations. I miss the other things I used to love to do, but have found others to fill the gaps. I now count amateur astronomy and model railroading among my hobbies.

Enjoy what you can while you can. Sharing a passion with a loved one is more precious than words can describe. Cherish it while you can because you never know what might happen.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I have enjoyed reading you youngsters ideas. I am 85.
I got over my Harley days in my misspent youth. I was lucky to survive.
I worked until I was forced to retire at 74 when the dot com bubble burst. I was a software test engineer working as a consultant to the aerospace industry. When the bubble burst I just had too much competition.
I believe the best period of my life began at the age of 56, when I retired from the Boeing Co, and went out on my own.
I have been building models from 1935 and RC from 1952. I have watched the hobby progress from a real challenge to the current Toys-R-Us stage.
Since my final retirement, I have done nothing but fly RC. I am going to have to quit soon because it is getting too hard to see them. I don't think I will go back to the Harley stage.

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

teachu2, good for you. While we regret losing you in the RC community, we wish you all the best in your new hobbies. Like some of the other guys have said, when a hobby is not fun any longer, it is time to find one that is. Somewhere deep down inside though, I have the feeling that you'll be back to the RC addiction some time soon.

Teachu2

My Feedback: (133)

I certainly don't rule out a return to the hobby when I retire, if I ever truly retire. And I expect to maintain some involvement in the meantime - I have lots of friends in the hobby, and I know any time I want to spend a Saturday morning helping newbies I will be welcome.

OTOH, I am taking great joy in disposing of my collection. I've made many fellow modelers happy along the way, and given back a little to the hobby as well. I'm also excited to see walls and floorspace in my shop - who knows WHAT will be in there next!

t_burley

My Feedback: (59)

wow, hope you mean motorcycling because I dont
think anyone likes you in any of the local RC clubs in town

Teachu2

My Feedback: (133)

I was referring to the group of us huddled under the awning, waiting for you to "land"...

Tarasdad

Trent, thank you so much! Your generosity is simply overwhelming.

Barry,
aka Tarasdad

Teachu2

My Feedback: (133)

Barry, many people have given me things in this hobby. Thank you for letting me pass a little along! It gives me great pleasure knowing a good guy will get some use out of it!

Teachu2

My Feedback: (133)

Well, guys, except for a few glider kits I'm pretty well done. There was a fun fly here Sunday, and I took my last complete airplane (WM Super Stunts 60, OS .61SF, Futaba 6XA 2.4 w/coreless servos) to the event. I also took several boxes of stuff - two dozen engines, 60+ props, 80+ rolls of covering, several covering irons, etc, to sell. Lastly, I took a NIB Cedar Hobbies twin-engine ARF and some NIB useful tools to donate for the club raffle.

Rolled in just in time to snag the last parking space in the pits, and started unloading. Word spread quickly that I was selling stuff, and one of the very first sales was (drum roll, please!) the plane I'd brought to fly! The new owner graciously offered to let me fly it in the contest, but Murphy's Law works overtime at fun fly contests, so I declined. Sold some props, half the engines, and all the covering before lunch.

The winner of the fun fly was flying the twin of the plane I'd brought - and I had sold it to him two weeks ago! LOL.

The raffle was very successful for the club, but the winner of the ARF mentioned he didn't have engines (needed two .46-60s) and wasn't in a position to buy them. I spoke with him and made him an offer he couldn't refuse - I gave him a pair of NIB OS 60FPs, he promised to use them on the ARF. I suspect I'll get a call to maiden it!

I told the wife before I left the house that I was leaving fully loaded and hoped to return empty - and I got pretty close. I have a couple TF Sierra trainer kits, only one set of plans and instructions between them. I'm going to ship them, 10 servos, two engines, and assorted hardware to a guy in LA who loves to build, and he's going to build them and donate them to local clubs as club trainers.
My remaining airframes are being gifted to some club officers who give far more than they receive, and will really enjoy them. Same with my support gear. It's gratifying to get to surprise them.

I started in this hobby 40 years ago, at the age of 12. Many of the people who invested time and energy in me impacted my life in ways far beyond modeling. The examples of behavior (both good and bad) taught me lessons that stick with me even today - perserverence, kindness, patience, humility (still working on that one), honor, forgiveness, and much more. It has been a great privilege and honor to spend time with so many quality people over the years, both in person and here in cyberspace. I hope you all enjoy this community as much in the future as I have in the past, and I'm sure our paths will cross again.

Best wishes to you all,
Trent

japan3d

Just recently sold all my R/C stuff. 37 years in the hobby and got to the point where it's no fun anymore. Just isn't any fun doing touch and gos at less then 1/4 throttle with a 150cc plane. But that's life. Picked up an old hobby, photography and having a blast again. As long as I'm here in Japan, I will not be flying planes.

Teachu2

My Feedback: (133)

Well, I made it through the summer with only mild symptoms of withdrawl. I treated them by working two jobs until we left for our Alaska vacation - on the Harleys. Rode to Bellingham, WA and got on the ferry. Got off in Whittier, AK five and a half days later. Rode to Seward, Anchorage, Denali, North Pole, and Fairbanks, then caught the AlCan highway into Canada. Spent several days in Canada, and caught up with friends in Jasper. Dropped back stateside at Bonners Ferry, ID, swung over to Tacoma, WA to see more old friends, and headed home. Rode 5660 miles (11650 on the ferry). Twenty-one days total.

My wife's brother and his wife flew up and met us at Denali. He REALLY wanted to go on a sightseeing flight that landed on a glacier - so we did. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of the trip. The four of us and the pilot, stuffed in a Cessna 185. Flew between the cloud cover and the mountaintops, and landed on 16' of pristine snow atop a glacier. Spectacular!

I also entered the local Glock Shooting Sports Foundation Indoor match series. Shot in all three matches (June,July,August) and took first place in stock pistol.

Now that we're finally out of the triple-digit temperatures here in Bakersfield, I'm hoping to get to work on the final shop cleanup. I'll post anything of value in the Marketplace.

Best Wishes,
Trent

Stikum

Well, here we are nearly six years later. I decided to get a model or two, mostly so I could go hang out with old friends once in a while. Bought my old Tiger 60 back from a friend, an am getting it ready to fly. There have been a few changes since this thread.

I had RCU "kill off" Teachu2, so I quit getting dozens of emails a day.
Glow isn't king any more. Everybody's flying Norelco products.
Radio "systems" my eye - no servos, rx, charger, batteries....
Used stuff has gotten cheaper, kits are extremely sparse.
Hobby Shack/Hobby People is gone, so is JR, and TOWER HOBBIES. Hobbico swallowed up so many old brands, then suffered fatal indigestion.

I'll get the Tiger 60 in the air this summer, hopefully. We'll see if I still enjoy it.

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

Welcome back. Yes lots of things have changed. I still build occasionally - harder to get parts with Tower gone. I needed some props and went direct to Master Airscrew. Great service. It's also harder to find glow fuel and engines. That's kinda funny because I'm an electrical engineer by trade and get most of my enjoyment tinkering with nitro engines.

scottrc

Hee hee, I'm feel the same, I'm do industrial engineering for a company that builds electronics and everyone can't believe I don't fly electrics and multi-rotor FPVs. To me, that is what I do at work, my hobby is vintage pattern and scale, all nitro.
Hobby stores and big on-line distributors are really getting hard to find that service our segment of the hobby, but it seems a lot of manufacturers are now selling direct and a lot of cottage kit cutters and suppliers are popping up.