pmerritt

My Feedback: (118)

Now here's a marriage made in heaven. Don't "waist" a lot of time working on the "happily ever after" thing.

pmerritt

My Feedback: (118)

According to Miriam Webster, and I quote:


"a sportive or amusing act"  -  that graciously describes this hobby

"something (as a preoccupation) that is paltry or trifling"  -  PREOCCUPIED?  Naaah,   I spend days in the workshop, not eating, not communicating, no showers or change of clothes.  How dare they call this a "preoccupation"?

"something for a child to play with"  -  judging by the behavior I've seen at the field, some of these guys would need to age 10 years to have the mentality a child.  Like the wife says,  "it's hard to understand how you can take that much money and go throw it up in air and expect it to come down in one piece all the time".  When you get to by my age it's a compliment to be called a child.

"something that can be toyed with" -  isn't that called 3D flying?

Get over it!  It's a hobby made up of toys.  Whether you've foolishly spent the next mortgage payment on a new 1/4 scale or saved for months on end to finally buy that foamie, it's a toy.  It doesn't produce or manufacture or create income.  It's a nonessential hobby that gives a nice diversity to life IF one can afford it and IF and a very BIG IF, there is NO conflict in the relationship to where this toy supercedes that commitment. 

If the wife (whether she is a participant in the household income or NOT) wants to go see a sob sob movie on that special Sunday when the winds are out of the south at 5 mph and the guys are expecting you to fly your brand new Corsair, ENJOY THE MOVIE!!! 

When you're sitting on that front porch swing holding hands, looking at the little ladies gorgeous gray hair that somehow managed to graciously change from sunset blonde over the decades, and your eyes have given into a maturity now allowing the vision to see the once enjoyed hobby, you'll understand that having the privilege to play with your toys was at most secondary to the commitment to her. 

For the previous posts that have insulted their relationships, I truly have no sympathy for your loneliness.  Have fun with the toys.  

kiwibob72

Going by issues that have been mentioned over quite a number of threads that I have read in here around regulatory body issues and their views on us mad sods and our dangerous "toy" aircraft, perhaps we/you should look to work on lessening that connotation and ALL work on getting the understanding out that we are serious modelists/enthusiasts that fly model aircraft.
As while I'll agree to you me and the gate post that my 'model RC aircraft' are my (big boy's) toys, there is no way in hell I want any local body or regulatory agency thinking I/we are as reckless as a bunch of 5year old boys, which is what I feel the term "toy" adds to, be it possibly ever so slightly.
While down here in NZ where I live, I can find places I can fly that are off the 'big brother' radar, but that said, I'm a stickler that nothing negative ever reflects on the club I belong to, or the hobby that I enjoy ...... even if it is something as stupid as a term or name.

PS - being "thin skinned" has nothing to do with it when it comes to my distaste for the term "toy"

tony0707

Just tell them The GuY that DIES with the most TOYS WINS
That should PLUG them up forever !

eagledancer

was told that once at work. took my 1/3 gee bee to work put the wings on fired up that 3W 150 and told them to hold on while i took it up to full throttle. the biggest guy there could barely hold it! they dont call them toys anymore!!!!!

warbird addict

I guess it all boils down to the fact that anyone who feels as though the only valid opinion is THEIRS and always has to get the last word in refusing to acknowledge a valid counterpoint, in an attempt to "win" the discussion purely by outlasting everyone else, probably should be calling everything they own a toy as they obviously lack the maturity to respect the things they "PLAY" with, with respect to the dangers they posess.
I respect the decision some people make to call their cars, guns, atv's, model aircraft etc toys however that does not automaticly make their opinion the only valid one .
To come on here and try to imply that anyone with a differing opinion is Immature or Insecure or whatever else has been said because their opinion differs from yours and you constantly feel the need to be right all the time or always get the last word in says ALOT about you all by itself , nobody else need say anything.
I don't consider my guns,cars, atv's,model aircraft or anything else I own that posesses the ability if misused or mishandled to injure ,or kill or otherwise cause damage a toy but thats my opinion and your welcome to yours

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

I really didn't like how my g/f talked about 'my hobbies' as if I was a kid playing with toys - I was flying models 3-4 days a week when I met her, competing in several pattern contests throughout the summer, our third date was a flight in a Cessna, and I design jet engines for a living. Aviation is clearly a part of who I am.

Now I am single, so I have more time and more money to play with my toys

FNG RIDER

My motto: You can only be young once but you can be immature forever!   I am older and whenever I play with my rc cars and ride my bikes I really feel young again.  I get excited when I watch the rc cars rail thru the corners and when I am rolling on my bikes, yes I feel young again!  WOOT!

(want one of those) hehe

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

A lot of kids have been killed on tricycles, in wading pools, playing on a swing set, etc.....
So we should scratch this stuff off the "Toy List" too....?
Guns are a real test of the term TOY because back when they were invented they were almost entirely used for basic survival. It took time to prepare ammo and they needed lots of attention. 200 years ago you would be considered a fool for calling a gun a toy.
Today, there are plenty of examples of folks with "toy guns" all around.
My new deer rifle wont graduate from "toy status" until I put some meat on the table with it.

straitnickel

Man, that word toy sure pushed a lot of buttons around here. Sorry if I added fuel to the fire here.

warbird addict

HOOK LINE AND SINKER I REST MY CASE thanks PIG I knew you wouldn't let me down

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Your "case" is just like what you call a bunch of Italians holding their hands above their heads.
They are just practicing for WWIII

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Over the last 10 years there are a few subjects that whenever they are brought up anywhere on RCU we can count on huge discussion that usually degrades into an all out battle. This subject is definitely one of those subjects. It's amazing to me how some people can get so worked up about a simply discussion such as this. Come on guys, this stuff is supposed to be fun. This hobby is something that we should all enjoy, and not start attacking each other simply because we disagree on the use of a simply word.

warbird addict

I dunno but I think NOT calling them Toys exhibits a level of demonstrated responsibility that does not invite unwarranted oversight and regulation
but some always have to get the last word in just because thats just who they are and they would sacrifice the big picture for their own selfish pride

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Give examples of unwarranted regulation and oversight...and of course, "The Big Picture"..because of the use of the term, "toy" for a miniature model aeroplane.

Roadkillstewie

...food for thought.


 The word 'toy' is just that, a word... it has no power beyond that which it is given by the person reading it or hearing it.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Very sage advice. Words to live by.
Nobody is responsible for your own happiness and peace of mind but you...!

bogbeagle

I still get that tingle.

When I am driving to the field and I catch a first glimpse of someone's plane flying ... maybe half-a-mile away... I start to get tingles in my belly. And, the sight and sound of an active pits ... wow. Smoke drifting and the smell of burnt fuel.

Been flying seriously for about 27 years, or so; so I suppose I'm lucky to still feel this excitement.

I've heard that some blokes feel this way about a woman. Weird.

kiwibob72

Perception sure is a powerful tool is it not.

What I take from your post (correct me if I'm wrong), is that they classed your models as "toys" up until the point they understood the true level at which you entertain yourself in the hobby. Thus the term 'toy' was associated to a lesser 'play' item, almost a 'joke' item, right up until to the point their perception of what you do was changed by them trying to hold onto your 1/3rd scale aircraft while under power (ie they realized that these are no mere child's toy!).
My guess is that the term 'toy' had been dissolved through better understanding of what it is we model aircraft flyers actually have.

Now for those of you that disagree with me, apply this principal to your next regulatory meeting where the term 'toy' is still in use, and that the general view is STILL that we are just playing around with our funny little aircraft. And when you possibly lose your field as a result of that incorrect public perception you decided not to change ...... well hey, what's in a word and the perception it helps create? ..... going by the above story and it's result, quite a bit apparently!

PS - I have had the exact same thing happen to me at work before when I started flying helis, and again, once they understood just what I had, and how serious the level of model I had was, NEVER were my aircraft referred to as toys again.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks, Ken. I was away for the weekend without access to either WIFI, or the internet so I could not look over the posts in this thread. Yeah, you are right. Some things stir emotions and some things really stir emotions. This subject seems to do just that... even more than the Ford vs. Chevy folks when the disucssion of Futaba vs. any other radio system comes up!!!

Anyway, I'm back and will be watching closely. So, guys, keep it clean and flameless and we'll be just fine.

Frankly, I am amazed this thread has lasted this long.

CGr.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Being on a crusade to eliminate the word "toy" from the minds of folks who see you out there flying/playing with your 40% scale toy is neither going to make nor break your legal case when it comes right down to that.
Give other's some more credit for having at least the brains they were born with.

siberianhusky

Implying it's not a toy just because it can hurt you if misused doesn't make it a non toy, what about a kids toy that they can chew and swallow a piece of, does it then stop being a toy? It has the potential to hurt the kid if misused doesn't it? There are thousands of toys for kids that have the potential to kill if misused. As far as I know they are still toys, might be poorly designed etc, but still considered a toy.
Was my first plane not a toy? It was a wooden plane on a string that you spun around your head. Just like C/L except I was the motor. It could go up and down by your arm positioning. It really flew (sort of). Really not much different than what I still play with, although the new ones are more complex, still performs the exact same basic functions of something I had when I was about 5!
How about my next non controlled rubber band launched glider,toy or not? Is Free Flight and control line a toy and rc not? I don't think so. That glider had about a 36" wingspan, larger than my .049 C/L stuff.
They might be expensive and complicated but they are still toys we are playing with, you don't absolutely need them. You pay a lot of money for they enjoyment they provide. By every definition I've been able to find from Wikki to Google dictionary classes them as toys, even if they only meet one particular definition of a toy they are still toys.
I'm not ashamed to say I play with toys, I still like playing Lego with kids, love watching Bugs Bunny with them as well! We play tag and hide and go seek. I think a lot of people have some security issues, I don't care what the hell people think when we're having fun, who cares what some bitter old before their time coot thinks. I feel sorry for how their kids must have been raised if they cannot take some time out from being serious to have a little fun. I was raised by one of those people and I promised myself I would do things very different and enjoy life.
I even call a 20 ton excavator my big yellow Tonka toy(worth over 200 000$)! I get paid very well to play in the dirt every day. I never grew up and am damn proud of the fact!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

About 4 years ago I rented a 13,000 pound excavator [probably a $80,000 machine] to clear a couple wooded acres and that was a lot of fun...some misery....some terror...some aches and pains at the end of each day. It sure was fun to be able to grab a 50 foot poplar like a twig and turn it into firewood in about 10 seconds...... It was barely big enough to handle the huge cedar stumps, though.
Your rig would be the ultimate toy, but for $200,000 I guess your wife expects you to bring home some money with with it too....

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

Because the word "toy" has an unknown origin makes the whole perception thing an issue. It was believed that the word was used from the 14th century according to the all and powerful Wiki This whole thread seems more about what the perception of a "toy" is to each of us. When I came up toys were mostly things that kids played with and wasn't so much that it could harm you even though some of them could.

I was in the timber business for years and have spent more time that I desired with heavy equipment. I had a treesaw that would cut a 20-30" tree in seconds. I came close to death numerous times. For playtime I went fishing and not timber harvesting. Maybe it is our perception of what playing is that defines our toys

In the RC world I don't call anyone's planes toys or even use the term. Around the guys I fly with I cannot remember any of them using the term toys when referring to RC planes. I guess it just depends on where you are from and who you fly with and of course how you "perceive" it.

FuzzyDice

My Feedback: (6)

  
   I was thinking about this post and went to Youtube and saw videos of GIANT aircraft and they are dangerous ...uhmmm toys.
50% 60% and greater . could you imagine if the radio failed and you had a flyaway near a metro area . This is a potentially
dangerous hobby ............I had a buddy that used to wrestle a bear in a travelling tent carnival and got the $*** bite out of
him.........he told me it was his hobby [X(] . The original paost was by a guy who was upset with his wife and her family calling
his R/C model a toy. I remember my first R/C helicopter , the guy I bought it from said stay away from those whirling blades lol.
It was a Schlutter Cobra (spelling?). ..........Funny when you own guns and hunting equipement and have a deer rifle on your shoulder
 the family and wife won't call that hobby ........a TOY gun. lol. You could take a hot .40 and an APC prop and cut down your wife's
and your mother in laws flower bed ! haha I am in my mid fifties and I am more a kid now than ever . I would rather have toys than
watch the 600 channels of nothing but garbage on TV. Most men will say they wished they could get a "remote controlled toy airplane).
I am being sarcastic to the general public .......Model aircraft a NOT toys when they have a prop turning 12-15K . OH YEAH , Around
here people raise Pit Bulls for a hobby...[X(] holy Myan calender .........Give your wifey a new pitbull and she if she calls it a toy lol