shd3920

Well, for me at least. Or maybe just a temporary delay, but for now there is no R/C plans for me. You see, I have lost the closest friend I have ever had to heart attack this 9th of May. Not only was he my dearest friend but he was my employer (I was his live-in Personal Care Attendant) as he was severely disabled. Combined income we have lost over $2000 monthly and I have to get back on my feet again as well as get my family going on again as well. I am forced to sell my R/C airplanes and equipment as well as personal household things, but I am keeping the last gift he ever bought me for my April 26 birthday, my Sig Somethin’ Extra kit and accessories. I know that is not the plane I should keep as I have never flown yet and will not until things are looking up for me and my family again, but I am keeping it for sentimental reasons, and I will begin building it now instead of the near future as originally planned, so I can get it completed in memory of him. I am in severe need of cash to save my house and my family’s home and get our lives together again, but I will attempt to find time to get this built for him in his memory.

I am not seeking sympathy, and I am not deleting my membership here at RCU, I will still be active here. I just wanted to say how much I have appreciated all the advice, opinions, suggestions that have been given to me and just plain friendliness from RCKen, bruce88123, Sticktickler, MinnFlyer, Insanemoondoggie, Mr67Stang, elenasgrumpy, and so many others of my fellow members here.

Thank you all again. Keep flying and enjoy all life has to give, my best friend certainly did – he will be surely missed may he R.I.P.

I am not giving up, just getting my life and family’s back together. I will be back to building and eventually flying.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Sorry to hear about your loss. Hopefully you'll have a quick turn around financially and we'll see you back online soon.

Insanemoondoggie

tigerdude, sorry to hear about your having tough times and your loss of your friend. It`s also ok to fell panicked when life side swipes you .
Taking care of your family first is important but before you start selling off things, go to your local workforce center, even if you do not qualify for unemployment , you will find some very good resources . And with a background you have in health care you might find yourself more in demand than you might think.
I lost a 20 yr career 2 yrs ago and can not work becase of back injuries. My wife workes but her income was`nt enough to make the house payments. The first year I found myself using the very organizations I had donated to for so many years. What goes around comes around.
After 2yrs we`re back on our feet , still have our home. And I could stand to lose a few pounds.
Get the Sunday paper and look thru the jobs and check in with your closest work force center first thing Monday morning.
Another thing I did was call my creditors first thing. Every one of them worked with me and my credit was never damaged.
I wish you the best of luck and hope things turn around for you.

Mr67Stang

Really sorry to hear of your freind and your current situation. Stick with us here and if nothing else maybey we can type something funny once and a while and make you smile The Sig Something Extra is one of my favorite planes so it is a good one to keep. Explore all your options as InsaneMoonDoggie sudjest before you make any decisions but we all understand the family first aspect. Best of luck to you and yours.

Mr67Stang (aka: Phil)

jetmech05

I'd like to add my sympathy for your loss.
If it's at all possible hang on to your planes, I don't think your great friend would want you to stop flying.
Sorry if I stuck my nose in. just hate to see anyone have to quit.
Good Luck

Gary L.

Sorry for your loss, prayers sent to ya.

aerowoof

this is all good advice I have had to start over at the bottom 4 times.first thing you do is panic do to fear of the unknown.try to take a deep breath first and start looking for a job or jobs,at least this is the hireing season as summer approaches,hold off selling you planes and equipment as you will only get pennies on the dollar for them,other things can bring you more money like a 2nd car etc.you have your priorities set right just stay calm and do the best you can,good luck and my sympathies for your loss.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I know how devastating that can be. Like others have said, don't go selling things just yet.

Get your ducks in a row, and jump back on that horse!

Dave trimmer

sorry to hear it that feeling when someone dies is different and yet the same in everyone.

shd3920

1st of all, thank you all for the kind words. You really are the best, I am honored to stay with this site, maybe not as a pilot at-the-moment but still as a R/C lover.
2nd - I am disabled myself with a permanently damaged knee and back and I am on S.Security and I am only capable of doing certain jobs. Can not work in an office or work in stores because I can not sit or stand comfortably for long periods. The only way I would be able to fly would be at short bursts so I could rest between flights.
3rd - I do not have a car and because of personal problems can not get one.
4th - I am pretty certain I will not sell all the planes I own and I will promise you that whichever doesn't sell I will keep and learn on, but for the moment I gotta get any and all money I can get. 2 months behind on mortgage I just found out with another due in a couple weeks.
5th - my family lives in the same house I own (tenants through housing) and if I lose the house they lose their home. I have two opportunities to get income into my pockets, one being a realtor showing me how to reduce mortgage payments, the other renting my bosses/best friends apartment that I am still currently staying in and I could move into the basement apartment while I repair it (has a bit of damage).

Well I am drawling on and on (sorry) and getting off the subject of R/C but to end this long post: If either of those options work out I will not have to sell ALL the planes (some still but not all) and I will attempt to fly. Like I said earlier, I do not intend to give up R/C, but family must come first.

See you and thank you again for all your support both now and with all the R/C help that was provided throughtout.

bruce88123

Life throws obstacles at us now and again. It makes us better in the long run.

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I know what you're going through. I've lost 3 this year & another is on borrowed time now[]. He won't live out the year. I try to go see him as often as I can. It's all I can do for him is to spend time with him while we still can. You never forget but you do learn to accept & move on, eventually time heals all wounds. Just hang in there the best you can. We all deal with these things in different ways. When the time is right you will get back into your hobby. Maybe even want to build & dedicate one to your friend. He'd probably like that. In the meantime I wish you the best.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Tigerdude,
I am sorry to hear about this happening to your friend. It's always a kick in the gut to see a good friend leave us like this.

As for staying in the hobby. You don't need to sell your stuff. There are ways to stay in this hobby. I got in the hobby when my dad passed away and I inherited the trainer that he had. We was going to learn how to fly and never did before he passed away, so my goal was to learn to fly to honor him. Unfortunately it was probably THE WORST time financially for me to get into what can be an expensive hobby. My wife and I were just starting a business so every spare penny we had went to keeping the biz running. Initially I didn't have to spend money because my dad had bought everything needed to get started... trainer, radio, engine, support gear (starter, glow driver, fuel pump, etc...), and fuel. So I was able to learn with what I had. But of course I got hooked on the hobby so I had to find a way to be able to stay in the hobby. There was no way I could go out and buy new stuff. So I looked around for used stuff whenever I could. Hit swap meets and find bargains. I was the master of trading. I would trade computer work with buddies for planes, and I actually got a radio this way to. I have been building balsa models since I was 8 years old, so I was pretty good even when starting in RC. I built a couple of planes for people to earn money for the hobby. I did repairs for others to help finance the hobby. I'm just trying to say that if you want to stay in the hobby there are ways to do it if you get creative about it. Another thing I did was not always fly different planes. For a long time I flew my trainer and a 40 size Long John (stick type plane) because that's all I had. I flew the covering off of these planes. They may not have been pretty but at least I was flying.

From what I have seen on here it appears that you have all the basics to get started in flying. You can start learning to fly with the basics. Why am I pointing all of this out?? Because I know what it's like to be hard pressed for money. In fact, there was a point in the business that we were just about ready to lose everything.. the business, the house, and our cars. We did manage to save them all and turn the business around to making a living with, but it was really scary for awhile. But during that time I was still able to get out and fly (on my limited budget of course) and having this release for my tensions helped to get me through the tough times. You will need some way to relax or you will lose your mind, trust me here. And being able to get out and fly will surely do that for you. Even if you are flying an old trainer, you're still getting to get out and fly. Plus, the people that I met flying actually helped me out as I made some great business contacts that I still have to this day. Plus, for the most part flyers are a great group of guys and you may just meet somebody that will help you out in the long run.

As was said above, selling your stuff will be a major disappointment. You are only going to get pennies on the dollar selling your stuff so it's probably not going to do much to bail you out. Since you've already paid for it all just hang on to it.

I do hope that my experiences can help you out in your situation.

Ken

shd3920

You are all making sense, I will do my best to get the money in and learn to fly. I don't need all the models I built (about 6 ready or almost ready to fly and another 3 or so in the middle stages of build) so I will sell what I can and I am sure they will not all go, and thinking about it deep down I know now he would NOT want me to quit like this and pursue it anyway I can. The money needs to come in but I don't wanna give up my dream, it will be hard but I will do what I can.

Thank you so much for your support and encouragements.

IN HIS MEMORY I will continue what we have started in R/C, what the two of us wanted to share in this great hobby, as I think of him looking down at me while I succeed.

EDIT: I keep losing the pic of my dear friend in this post so I am adding it as an attachment.

armody

My Feedback: (10)

tigerdude,

I'm really sorry to learn your loss, well, it's really tough on you. I being a muslim say a Prayers for your friend "INNA LILLAHAY WA INNA ILLAHAY RAJAOON". We always say that prayer when anybody passes away meaning "And GOD/ALLAH CREATED US ALL & WE ALL HAVE TO GO BACK TO HIM ONE DAY". My deep condolences, and prayers.

I'm myself going through such hard time, I was about to sell out my car, but my sister stopped me from doing it and she paid me some money to get going. Im in excruciating severe financial crisis, whatever savings I had and my poor wife had we spent it. Im gonna be 36 year old on 18th May 2007, Im basically Pakistani and my wife is American from Texas. I've been going through crisis since year 2000, and unfortunately in 2007 these have gotten worse. I have a lot of debt of my friends, but I have a hope that Im gonna pay them back. I had one plane which was only asset of mine, a friend of mine lost it, he just got me an ARF thats all. Though he is doing pretty well knows my financial situation but never got me an engine, servos of JR, electron 6 Receiver nothing, though he went thru a heart attack, but nothing changed. He is not my real buddy buddy, just got to know him thru another good flying friend, as he was his neighbor and he didnt know about him that they both belong to same hobby. I've been waiting for my immigrant visa to USA since september 2006. On my birthday 18th May, its gonna be 8 months, and it doesnt take that much long, but unfortunately in my case its going on. I have been trying to get a job for the last 3 months I couldnt get it, unfortunately, this is crippled system of my country. Im Masters in business administration, did computer hardware course, my english is always considered best among all around, my personality had always been admired but no jobs, even today I called for a job, and the guy said, its gonna be done this week, I have things in front of my eyes, my hands are so close to it, but cannot grab it. This is whats going on with me, but Im not letting my hobby die, cos GOD is there to help me and He will. I'm waiting for a job, as well as my immigrant visa and the likelihood of getting the visa is month of may or june 2007. I wish you get over your crisis, and MAY GOD RENDER YOU STRENGTH TO GET OVER YOUR CRISIS, AND RENDER YOU SUCCESS. AMEEN/AMEN.

Good luck keep it put and never quit

Mody

shd3920

armody, thank you so much. So sorry to hear of your troubles. My best wishes to you and your wife.

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

Tiger, I gotta repeat what Mike & Ken told ya about selling your stuff. I can personally guarantee that you will regret it. I got into this hobby like ken did, through my Dad. The first time he retired from it over 10 yrs ago he gave me so much brand new stuff I could have literally opened up a Hobby Shop. No exageration either. It took me 3 trips to Carmel in a full size pick-up truck just to get it all back here! Allmost every piece was still NIB except for his RTF planes. at least 20 to 30 NIB OS & K&B engines, NIB ARFs & all the building tools & supplies you can imagine, but all I saw was dollar signs & I sold it all away. I've been kicking myself in the butt ever since. Now that I did get into the hobby a couple years back after he got a building itch again then called me to come get the planes because he can't fly them anymore, I find myself buying & trading for stuff that I allready had & sold at yard-sell prices!

This time I promised myself I wasn't going to just give them away again but instead I would learn to fly before my Dad passed away. I stuck to it & he got to watch me fly. That was really my only motivation to learn was that my Dad could see me fly before he died. Luckily we're both still hanging around & he takes pleasure in the fact that he passed his addiction on to at least one of his sons.

chopper man

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I believe that things happen for a reason. I was flying for US Airways when Sept 11 happened. You know what happened, I lost my job. I wasn't having any luck finding a job and then my wife was diagnosed with cancer and I have a little girl who was 2 at the time. Believe in yourself. Look for the good and take advantage of it to better yourself and your family. Good things do happen to good people!! Good luck and keep your head high
chopper man

Skyhigh Bev

[color=#FF0099]Tigerdude,
I'm adding my condolences and best wishes as well. There is a saying...."God never gives us more than we can handle" I have personally found it to be true. Your family is in my prayers. Definitely don't give up on your hobby....you've got a great network of friends here willing to give words of encouragement, hope and humor when you need them.
I hope this is ultimately just a bump in the road for you.
Bev

shd3920

thank you Bev, chopperman, elenasgrumpy, armody, RCKen, bruce88123, Dave trimmer, MinnFlyer, aerowoof, Gary L, jetmech05, Mr67Stang, Insanemoondoggie, piper chuck for your kind words and encouragement. Thank you also to all who read this post.

Unfortunately, things must get worse before it gets better. Isn't that the saying? Going through all his bags and personal belongings I am finding certain bills I am now behind in, starting with a 2-month mortgage bill of over $1700, water bill of $300, electric, credit cards, gas, etc. etc. [:@] WILL IT EVER END?

I have not sold any R/C items yet but this is discouraging me almost to a breakdown point. I had to sell two ponies and now I have about four or five saddles to sell, some tack and barn articles I hope will sell to pay some of those bills. I am planning a huge tag sale to get rid of the stock in the store he was going to open and never got anywhere to completing. I am biting my tongue NOT to sell the R/C yet but how long can I hold on? Before you ask, completing and getting the store open is not an option I have the funds to accomplish.

But I still thank you all for your encouraging words.

[email protected]

I'm sorry to hear about your pain. life has highs and lows and you'r in a very bad low and we all get at this point some time in are life, it sucks real bad and I hope for the best cuz some time hope is all we got. My sister is on ssi and she got a crazy mortgage at like 2.9% for 30years so look around I know there are hands out there you just have to grab them.

ELTIGRE

firstly I understand what its like to lose a flying buddy. hopefully you can find or intrest another. the guys are correct though I d be selective if I could about selling gear. you will get very little actually. so it may not be neccesary to sell all of it or you may be unable to. #2 I would be VERY careful about Realators & reductions in mortgage payment schemes.- you are RIPE for a rip off.

[email protected]

get in contact with a person that will help you at SSI and see what they can do and what is out there ELTIGRE is right about realators and mortgage scams. My sister went throught a program from ssi.

shd3920

ELTIGRE
First of all, thank you for your concern, I have yet to sell anything but I do have an interested party in my Kadet Seniorita Ready-To-Fly with the .25 power and Futaba radio system included and installed with all components included as well for about $250. Is that a deal or am I being ripped off? I am torn about selling that one as it is one of my favorite builds I completed but I REALLY need the money. I decided NOT to sell my Lanier ST40 Super Trainer that I converted to electric. It cost me $500 to convert it and I would never get what it's worth, so I want to learn on that one, when the time comes.

Second of all, the great man I lost was not a flying buddy, he was my boss and closest friend I have ever had. He wanted to share in this hobby as a spectator only, so that he could enjoy watching something that was (and still is) a huge joy to me.

[email protected]
What program from SSI are you referring to that your sister joined? I am already on Disability because of my knee and back and don't know of any other programs.

[email protected]

My sister is on ssi and has been for some time she was living with my mon and dad and then bought a house on a program that was backed buy the goverment, now I live in philadelphia and there is a program for low and fixed incomes you can get 25,000 at 2% if you put half into your house to fix up. I will talk to my sis later and find out some more info, she also went to collage under a disability act. she was hit by a drunk driver back in 1990 and is partially paralyzed she never gave up and fights like a pittball. She had to apply for some things more then once.