donkey doctor

Hello; One of our frequent flyers showed up at the field this sunday, he had a pickup piled high with planes wings, gliders, and other misc. equipment. He said "come and get it" and take it all away or I'll burn it all. He had a 12 foot telemaster with an Enya 90, and 3 or 4 other flight worthy planes, all with four stroke engines. He had 6 or 7 gliders, all with radio gear. Take it or I burn it.

Most came running, but I can't help but wonder if he's facing a crisis, and this is his way of dealing with it.

At the end of the day, I asked him if he had managed to get rid of everything, and volunteered to take the rest if he hasn't changed his mind. While we were walking out to his truck I asked him what he was going to do. He just said that he needed room, and in a way that discouraged me from pursueing the subject, since then I have been wondering if there is anything I should have said or done to see if he needs help of any kind.

What do you think?

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

is he an adult?


if yes....



end of story

seemefly_1

i would have helped but it might be to late now, so next time you see him ask him how it is going

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

....something drastic must have happened in his life to where he has to downsize his stuff. []

FBD.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Give him a call or visit at the least.

cutaway

A wild guess, but it sounds like an impending nasty divorce. A good friend of mine cut a Steinway grand piano in half with a chainsaw over that kinda stuff.

Cyclic Hardover

My Feedback: (3)

Well if he needed the money, he would have tried to sell it off even at a steal of a price. To just give it all away, he's definitely Pi$$ about something.

Bad_Daddy

Call him! That sounds like a very typical pre-suicidal action, and if you care at all for that individual (or your ability to sleep at night) you must try to call.
I didn't recognize the signs from a friend of mine, and 10 years later I still wiish I had.

tIANci

Maybe he learnt that RC is like a drug, it can suck you in and kill you financially. So he got smart ... decided to cut it all off. He is a grown man ... he can do what he wants in the country of the free. Sometimes perhaps we need to respect privacy a little and not read into things. I mean as long as he does not sell all the stuff off cheap and goes to the local gunsmith, especially if he works with the post office.

ClemenTang

you mean someone will give off drugs for free if he quits?

Clement

tIANci

Clement - farnee ... you know what I meant. :P

Kaos Rulz

This is a definite sign of someone considering suicide. I'd keep tabs on him.

Dr1Driver

He's an adult.
He's a "frequent flyer", not a "friend".
He sounded calm and coherent in your post.
The stuff is his to do with what he wills.

What do you think?

A fool won't take advice, and a wise man doesn't need advice. Be there, but don't butt into his personal affairs unless asked. That's a good way to get told to mind your own business and possibly create an enemy.

Maybe he does have home, family, marital, or money problems. Maybe he does need drug money. Maybe he is contemplating doing something dumb; but from what you said, the evidence isn't there.

Dr.1

BillyGoat

You say he’s a frequent flyer, so from what you can tell were any these planes something you ever saw him bring out to the field and fly? I’d be concerned if he gave favorites away with no apprehension.

I know or knew some guys where I just totally flipped when I saw there basement or workshop. Had no idea they had such a horde of R/C stuff. He could be one of those guys and just decided some stuff needed to go, didn’t want the deal with trying to sell it and thought he'd make a few people happy in the process.

If he still shows up to the field to fly I’d say he just had a bit of a philanthropy episode. On the other hand you could approach him in a light hearted way by saying something like “After the other day I thought you might need something to fly. Want to fly my plane?�

donkey doctor

Hello; Thanks for your answers, and good advice. I drove by his place today and it looked like all the furniture was gone too. No car in the driveway.
He's about 77, never been married, retired mill worker (sawmill). I'll try to call him tomorrow.

Dr1Driver

Now, that's more information. He might be moving to a smaller place, going into the Witness Protection Program, or he might have gotten some bad news from his doctor. You just don't know. If you call and there's no answer and he didn't leave a forwarding number or address, there's little you can do.

Dr.1

seemefly_1

you can contact the local broker or look up the property on fmls.com and you might find he is moving

here is a link http://www.fmls.com/FMLS/FMLS_CONSUM...MBER_COMPANIES

jcflysrc

My Feedback: (50)

It 's sad to think about someone being in dire straits somehow, but it happens all the time. The guy who instructed me some years ago had a crisis when his wife died, and he went out of the hobby for quite some time. As with all situations, they eventually work themselves out for better or worse. I am glad to say that my guy is back to flying, and last I heard was coming out of his darkness. Just say a prayer for this guy. At least you care enough to be worried for him. If you don't mind me saying so, the world needs more folks who give a darn like yourself. Hope it works out.

bingo field

I knew a guy that did similar, gave away $1000 guns, planes, cars, trucks, he had to leave his residence, and downsize. He does need keeping in touch with, found a spot he hangs at occasionally, let him talk as long as I can. You can tell he wants to stay in contact, but he is definitely an older fellow moving in slow circles, and you can't stay with him for as long as he really needs. He has other people he contacts some, so, he is never completely alone except when he wants to be.

donkey doctor

Hello; I met up with him, I guess he's okay. He still has 7 planes all ready to fly, that I hadn't seen before. We talked for an hour or so, and I feel better about it all. He gave me 2 radios that go with two fo the planes he gave me. I guess he just wanted to clear out his airplane factory to make room to build some of the 13 kits that he squirrelled away when he first retired. I saw some enthusiasm when I mentioned the 60 sezed mustang kit he told me about years ago.

He told me that he had been flying for nearly 20 years and he felt that he still wasn't any good at it, and that was what was bugging him. I told him how much I enjoyed the Dynaflite Mustang that I bought from him 6 years ago, that cheered him up quite a bit. It gave him some pride to know that I respected his awesome building ability.

Thanks foir your kind comments

seemefly_1

he sounds better but the whole he felt that he still wasn't any good at it dosn't sound good