Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I don't get it. I got back to the hobby 2 years ago and I am obsessed. Still, I don't see how, with a family (wife+kid(s)+dog(s)+mortgage) and a 50+ hr American average work week you can build more than 1 (2 tops) planes a year. I see here people with amazing scratch built planes, 1/2A weird designs, engine mods, just name it. Unless people here have 10 times faster metabolisms than I have, where do you have time to do anything other than model airplanes?

I am so jealous at the scratch builders here (or all of the others with 10-50 planes).

Are you guys sure you know the name of your eldest kid/what your wife does when you build or fly a plane and with whom? or.. are you just kids, unemployed, retired or all of the above?

Hey, don't kill me for that, just answer, seriously or not. I will try to learn and implement from your wisdom :)

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I am 37, work 50+ hours a week, have 2 kids (5yr old son and 14 mo old daughter) active religiously, and go to community college two nights a week and take one class on the internet, and have been married for 17 years.
Holey smokes how is all this possible? I will tell you how I get my hobby time though. I spend all my time at the feild with my son, we belong to a great club WHAM, when he wants to we build in the shop togeather. After the kids go to bed, 8:30 or so, I clean the kitchen and do a general pick-up around the house, check with mamma to see if she has any other needs[>:], if not I mix a glass with CC and ice then go down to the shop and do what I want till about 11:00 while the history channel is going in the background. I do this nearly every night other than tuesday and thursday or when I have to...[>:] you know.

BTW I grew up just up the road from you in South Lyon.;)

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I do the evening after my little one goes to bed thing... I am a stay at home dad.... so took my guy to the field this morning...
and he still takes a nap..so that is an hour in the workshop!
Sunday... go to Church then the field!


and WOW...
My folks live in Northfield township, just south of South Lyon, I am in Carleton, just outside Monroe...

And I like to go to Michigan Games! When I can!! Go BLUE!

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I will forward your response to my wife![sm=thumbup.gif]

BTW I see that you improvise locks for your desk drawers - are you hiding a YS140 that you don't want to share with your kids?;)

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I work too much, but when I am not flying the boss around, I have a construction company, and when I am not doing that, I build RC. Mostly in the winter. I built six planes one winter. Its amazing what you can do with a gallon of Zap and 5 gallons of kicker.
:D

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Get rid of the Television!!

I am serious. I DO NOT HAVE TV. I WILL NOT PAY FOR THE TRASH THEY CALL PROGRAMMING. My wife is very active in her hobby. I am active in mine. I am self employed and have a ten hour work day. I will build about ten airplanes this winter. I am half done already.

I repeat, GET RID OF THE TELEVISION.

Ed S

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I agree with the TV.... we don't have cable... (OK, fine we do have a TV, but PBS is all we watch.....)
My little guy hangs out with me when I am working in the basement...like vicman does....

try to find things for the little ones to do...

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I work 50(+) hours, married, 2 kids(10yr, 1yr), and have sometimes wierd hours and months away from home. Usually my day starts around 3:30-4 AM and finishes, well, way past my bedtime.... I usually spend about an hour early in morning and sometimes about an hour in the evening on building/fixing with my "helper". I Fly normally on the weekends, but sometimes I sneek out during the week too-boss(wife) and work permitting. Nobody said that you HAD to sleep...... I driiiiiiiiiiiiiinkkk alot of coffee. :D

It's truly a sickness.... anybody on here a therapist? go away. :)

Oh yeah, and not much T.V. here either - it's always already being used. :eek:

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

:DThe wife is happy when I'm in the workshop because she knows where I am and what I'm doing. She has her hobbies too--sometimes she shares part of the workbench.

When my kids were little they all had their own part of the work table--two boys and a girl. As they learned to handle sharp tools they were given their own, along with a place to store them. The daughter was the only one that liked airplanes.[sm=rolleyes.gif] The boys gravitated to cars. Only one still at home and now he uses part of the work bench to build golf clubs--same tools and adhesives!!![sm=tongue.gif]

I still work (turbines are expensive[sm=lol.gif]) but not full time anymore. Always MADE time to build at least two airplanes each building season. Good for my mental health... Some nights/days I spent long hours building; some nights/days I couldn't get into the workshop because of family or other obligations.

Only music in the workshop--no TV. Too distracting and I end up watching rather than building...

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

What is a TV?:D.Have a 16 year old son.One day i will corupt him as bad as i am with this hobby!:DThis spring i am going to build him a few planes and deliver them to him in time for flying season.(he lives 1600 miles from me)I am a self employed graphic artist and i also take care of a 14 year old severely handicapped boy who has been through a multitude of brain surgeries.He has never seen a R/C plane fly before,i plan to change that this spring,hehe![sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Well, I had cables only for a month - and it was in 1993. We have a TV, which is primarily used for decoration. with a newborn and 60hr work weeks I don't have much time. I also don't have a basement, so every work session ends with 1/2 hr cleaning and storing. My instructor took pity of me and told me to work in his basement, which I will. Found time at night a day after tomorrow night.. and now we are invited by friends for late dinner...

Conclusion: avoid TV, outing, friends...and I can avoid RCUNIVERSE...

OK stop complaining - this winter will result in 2 new planes!

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Its all in how you spend your time.. Im not one to talk, but everyone has the same amount of hours in the day.

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

You like the improv lock eh.[sm=stupid.gif] The thing about having him in the shop is he needed his own stuff and bench. There are only two rules in the shop...
1) Be safe
2) We can do anything we want as long as it isn't destructive.
He is allowed to be all boy when he is with me in the shop. Accidents are going to happen and things will get broken but we are not allowed to break them for no reason. Thats not to say we don't take things apart that will never go back togeather again, but that is so we can see what is inside and educational.:eek: He gets all my FFF drops and various balsa pieces and all the elmer's glue he wants.
I have had to mix projects up, rockets, plastic models, and cars, in order to keep him interested and motivated to try new things.

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Hi;Amopther thought for those who lack the time etc to build all these planes in BUY USED!Look at your next swap meet at the prices!Of course there are always some real expensive but you can buy a used plane for a fraction of what it will cost you to build the same plane!If you just want toget in the air quick you can't beat it and when time is short will help out.Sure maybe it has a little hangar rash etc but if you just want to fly it so what!!I am retires so should have the time but at the ptices I pay just can't bring myself to putting all the time and money into building.Another factor if you are new and planes don't last to long these only have a finacial value you don't have the emotional attachment of weeks of loving work splattered all over the runway.Just my thought!

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Vicman - I'm kinda intrested in the improv locks too.... Got any pictures or description, etc???? My little "helper" likes to come out and "supervise"..... not too long before he starts exploring [:o] - if not already! [X(]

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I just tied the door shut and told him not to open it.[sm=idea.gif] Like I said he is allowed to do alot of things in the shop his mom would never think about letting him try. Saws, knives, and drills are tools we all need to learn how to use. He knows he can do what he wants when I am there to work with him.

My take on it is the ability to learn is so easy at that age he should be able to take in all he can while he can. I would rather he try these things in my presence while I can have a degree of control over them than go about it later without me and possibly get hurt. This applies to all kind of activities like hunting and gun safety, riding motorcycles, camping, etc. If they learn the correct way to use things they have more respect for them.

Unfortunately my Dad did not spend this kind of time with me. I had a grandfather I would visit 2 or 3 times a year who had a fantastic shop where the same rules and tools were available to explore and learn with. His shop is a favorite memory for both me and my cousin.

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Interesting thread- I, too, have always been amazed at how some can get so much done. Besides the obvious traits of self-motivation and good time management skills, I have to say that many have an advantage over me because they spend less time asleep! Seriously, most of the people I know who are overacheivers are those who want no more than 5 or 6 hours a night.

I've tried, with some success, to reduce my dependency on sleep, but I guess it depends on the individual- obviously, you can't deprive yourself of what you need, but it's interesting to find out where your limit is. And sleep seems to be pattern driven, so once you establish a routine, you need to keep it up, even if you aren't working on the hobby late.

And the kill-your-tv ideas I've heard before- to me, that's a matter of discipline.

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

:D:D:D:D OH! I overlooked the obvious - again! :D:D:D:D

Nice looking shop vicman! All too true, I just hope I can keep up with him! :D

You learn to budget time for what really matters in your life (family, RC, sleep, etc - not necessarily in that order ;) ) because there is only 29 hours in one day...... :D

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Oh! that was a 4?!?!?!?? ok - 24 hours in one day then! :D

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I'm one of the LUCKY retired types. If I'm not surfing RCU I'm in my shop building. My wife is happy knowing where I am and that I'm not out stealing wheel covers. She will participate in club activities but doesn't come to the field or the lake to watch the operations of the planes and boats. I retired in '77 and have done all the "around home" stuff but now we hire a cleaning lady and someone to do the leaf raking. She likes her needlework and social stuff and that leaves me plenty of time for my hobby. In the past we did all the kids, dogs, yard and housework stuff too and still managed to squeeze in some hobby. Sure is a lot nicer this way.

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

If I turned off the TV I wouldn't be able to see Dr Phil!!!!!![X(][X(] retired here also and loving it and now back to the shop!

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

"In the past we did all the kids, dogs, yard and housework stuff too and still managed to squeeze in some hobby. Sure is a lot nicer this way."

Ballgunner, are you saying that now you are childless, petless, and never clean your house and spend all your time on RC stuff. I love RC but every now and then I gotta do the laundry;)

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Personally , I prefer to watch and old movie every now and then, but am still amazed at these guys who seem to be at all the giant scale fly-ins and seem to have trailer loads of these mega-dollar planes that it would take me a year to detail at the level that they have done it, if I had nothing else to do. I've set a goal of a plane a year, but with flying time, family time, taking care of the farm time (a SMALL one, thankfully), and remodeling the house next door that we bought in order to increase our land, I'm learning to sleep less, in order to have more time for planes. So far that plan isn't working all that well; as I get older, seems that sleep is what I need (or want) more of. Really looking forward to joining the ranks of Grn Brt and Ballgunner. BTW Ballgunner, how tall are you, and how long after you climbed out of that turret did it take you to walk completely erect again?. Watched a thing on History Chan. once about you guys, and had the opportunity once to get in the ball turret on a -17G. I'm 5' 11" and I didn't think I was going to get out, once I was in; DANG, that's a tight fit. Whatever it was, you didn't get paid enough, although I bet the view at altitude was great, when you weren't being shot at.

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

Gringo - you missed the part about the cleaning lady and the gardeners. The laundry is almost automatic. Throw in the clothes and when the washer stops put them in the dryer. Cooking and dishwashing are a shared necessity but not very time consuming while there are a few good restaurants in town. I know how lucky I am and I appreciate every thing I have. I just hope that everyone in the hobby reaches the same level at sometime in their life. We've been married for 62 years and at the age of 80 are in fairly good health.
My granpa Jim lived to 96. I'm shootin' to beat that record.

RE: Are you retired/unemployed/kids?
 

I honestly hope to reach that level.... in a LOOOONNNG time! :D