bubbagates
Posts: 8162
Joined: 5/30/2004
From: Elizabethtown, PA, USA
Status: offline
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First off I am glad to see that it's back at the top again and I am sorry for not keeping up with it for a long time. Most of the members that know me here on RCU know exactly what the main issue was.
Ok for a litlte refresher of what this is all about from my view point.
This was started as a way for me to give back to this fine hobby all that it has given me and that is joy beyond any words I could possibly use. I was very lucky as I had a full scale background but I approached doing RC without the attitude that hey I can fly ful scale this should be a breeze. Oh don't get me wrong I thought it but I tried my best to let it never get in the way of learning how to do RC correctly. It did help that I knew when to flair, how to control the plane on the ground but not being able to feel the plane was hard at first It took me exactly 6 flights over the course of one week to solo, my instructor was putting his hand into his pocket and would actually hold conversations with other members while only looking at me flying once in a while. Now before anyone says that's dangerous, beleive me for the first two flights he was very careful but on the second flight I idd my first takeoff and the third flight I did my first landing, all wewre like glass. I spent my 4th flight doing nothing but touch and goes and was getting comment that I had to be lying about never doing this before.
Now jump ahead to the day I soloed. I met a young boy that our club took under their wing. This young boy has a very nasty disease that only allows very small movements of both his hands and he can only turn his head to the right and very slightly to the left. He needed to be on a buddy box for those two reason and only those two reasons. This kid could fly because his hand limitations were exactly what he needed since most new people tend to over-control, there was no possible way he could. BTW, he was wheelchair bound but it was one really cool chair with little headlights, tail lights and even turn signals among many other things it could do for him
After seeing this kid fly I was impressed between what he could do and what the club had done for him, I started asking about his history with the club and soon found out they gave him a lifetime membership, donated G2 and a computer to him and bought him his trainer. Not to long after I soloed I was asked to help out on instruction day and quickly was rated as an instructor and by this time I had moved to a Teist and 4*60 (I still own the 4* with over 1000 flights on it) Anyway, this kid decided he wanted to try my Twist and I was hesitant. One other member had a very fast sleek foamy that he let this kid fly. I watched this kid wring this thing out and had to chase the flies out of my mouth beause it was hanging open. anyway needless to say I let him have at the 4* and I watched him put that thing through maneuvers you would like a 4* could never do. At one point I had a video of him wringing it out but I can not find it at the moment. Well after about a season worth of him and I flying a lot together and me giving him advanced aerobatics instruction I was letting him have at my 1/4 scale planes and found myself doing exactly what my instructor was doing when he trained me and that was stiking my hand in my pocket and my other thumb getting sore from hold the darn trainer button. I would even ask to take control at times to give me thumb a break
Fast forward to 3 days before this thread was started. I saw a thread by RCU member Razor where he was just giving away an engine. I spoke to him and asked if he minded if I would take it one step forward and this is the result. One of the very first things that this thread did was to by that kid I was talking about his very own Twist and a complete JR sport radio through the donations we got. Seeing this just blew me away, this thread was bringing out the good in people and did until the day it was removed from being a sticky. Yes as Ken said we had people try to do not so nice things but with careful questioning we were able to weed a lot of that out. ths thread showed me something I saw from the very first time I went to the flied and that was 99% of the people in this hobby will happily help out as much as possible without asking for anyting in return
My point to all of this is, Ken and I are here to help in anyway possible to get two people together, one that has something to give and one that needs something. What this thread is all about is helping those that are in need, that want to really do this and stick with it as best they can. Ken and I will play mediator if need be but we do request that if someone has something to donate they post it in here, if someone wants what is being donated that the request go through the PM system to keep it private. Once the item(s) have been donated. please edit the post with the listed items to say that they no longer are available. If for ome reason you cannot edit the post (in most cases members cannot edit a post they did after 230 days) Ken is a moderator in here so he can hel out in that respect
We also understand it is very hard to ask for something, I know at times my pride gets in the way, so we are more than willing to help with that as well. We will get two poeple talking to one another to try to make it easier, but I can guarentee you that if we get involved, some questions will be asked. I will not go into detail on those questions as this is how we rtry to determine an actual need versus someone that just wants something for free. I susgeest that if we do not get involved, the person that is donating someting ask questions to be sure the request is sincere. I really hate having to say that but there are some people, well lets just leave it at that.
Now and I really hate to have to say this, but the only ruile of this whole idea is what Ken has already said, when you no longer need the item that was donated to you then you must donate it back to someone else. Read back through this thread and you can see it happned a bunch of times. We do understand things happen, engine/planes and such get destroyed for various reasons. I even helped one person out with a trainer because he was using it to teach phsically challenged people. Please re-donate it. thorugh here if at all possibel. If you donate it it to say womeone at your club, then at least tell us about it
I love to hear stories of how something you donated is getting used or that you passed on something that was donated to you, it gives me the warm and fuzzies and makes me feel good knowing I helped someone. No it's not an ego trip. Not even close, I love knowing that I helped make a difference in someones life. I do not want anyting in return, I have never asked for anything from this for my own usage and never will, though on occasion I will ask for someone on their behalf that I personally know
Over the next few days I will take stock of what I have that I no longer need, I know of at least 2 enigines, batteries, servos and maybe a receiver or two and get this thing started again
So for such the long post...
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Bill James
Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from
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Printable Version
All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Beginners >> RE: Pay it forward (Was freebie and fee engine) 
RE: Pay it forward (Was freebie and fee engine) - 
). The first of which is that this isn't a "shopping" mall where you can come hunting for things that you might need, but don't want to pay for. This cause is here to help out people that may have some real need for some help in getting into this hobby. The second rules is that Bubbagates is the FINAL decision maker on any donations that go out of here, and his word is absolute. This may sound harsh but it's a necessary rule. In the past we have had people that have tried to "con" the PIF system just because they were too cheap to actually pay for something, or had their own little games going on (no names, but the older members know who I am talking about). So when a decision needs to be made Bubba gets to put his foot down because "he da boss" here. And the administration of RCU has given him their full support, so he gets to run this whole deal!!!! 
