RCU Forums - Enough is Enough......

I'd like to tell you guys a story if you'll bear with me a minute,

I know a guy who when he was newly born his dad began taking him out to the flying field. He first held a transmitter in his hands when he was 3 years old. From the time he knew what an airplane was the very word could put a smile on his face. He dreamed all the time about airplanes, playing with small toy airplanes when he couldn't be playing with dad's big airplanes, or drawing pictures that almost resembled airplanes to most but to that boy they were as good as the next NASA project.
When he was 10 he was flying on his own, dreaming of his next airplane all the time, his school books were covered in drawings of his beloved Kadet, his evenings were spent building plastic models, or airplanes out of lego. Anytime his dad had a scrap piece of balsa he was building something that he hoped would fly with a good toss from his hand. Through high school he continued this passion for modelling, even though other parts of his life were taking over aviation never left. A trip to a local air force base decidedly told him his dreams for the future. He wanted to be a fighter pilot more than anything in the world. Sitting in the cockpit of an F5, T33 and an F18 that day, coupled with his love for flying told him what he wanted to be. He went back to school the next week and promptly changed the courses he was taking so that he could have the necessary requirements for the air force.
Soon he discovered that being a fighter pilot was out of the question due to his eyesite. His dream broken beyond hope he continued each day. He went through some problems in school, suddenly a life of training, discipline and pride didn't seem so important. He made it through high school, got a crappy job in a warehouse then tried to pursue another of his dreams, music, he took to the road with a band. That lasted a year, it was then realized that this was not going to happen or provide him with a strong career. Back home he came once more. Well, he got a job as a machinist, at least he was working with his hands, it was still modelling at least. He spent 5 years doing that. During this time, the interest of technology and machinery interested him. He never did lose his passion for modelling, and he still dreamed of being a fighter pilot, unfortunately he knew those were just dreams.
When turbine jets became achieve-able, he realized he could live that dream vicariously through his love for models.
I am this person in the story.........

The reason for the story is, I have seen people on this forum, and other forums talk about how these models are only toys, how they are or should be insignificant to us and if lost in a crash we should just move on and not be emotionally moved by the loss.

I disagree......

Yes, they are just toys, but then aren't most of the items we as human beings own? Is your car not just a toy? If you drive anything more than a metal and plastic cage with 4 wheels and an engine to get to and from work it's a toy. If your home has any amenities that provide you with more than simply shelter, it's a toy. Get it? We don't HAVE to have Corvettes, or 4 bedroom homes, or 52" big screen TV's, or surround sound stereo systems. But we do.
For many of us actually owning these items is a goal we have to set, it's something we have to work for. If your car is stolen, or your house burns down, there are memories, there is all your work to purchase, or even build it yourself.
For many of us buying the car we actually want instead of one that will do the job is part of a dream. Having a home that you own is a dream. For some it is easier to acheive than others. If somebody is born with a silver spoon in hand and never has to work for anything they couldn't really understand the pain that comes with a loss of something you dreamed about and actually achieved.

Remember why we even have airplanes, it was mans "Dream" to take to the skies. Through dedication and devotion mankind achieved this. Remember why you began to fly RC, it was because of a dream to fly.

Maybe our models aren't as important as a person, or a pet, or any living creature, but remember that dreams are just as important to human beings as anything else. Some people don't dream, some people are happy to live in their concrete jungle working in some cubicle answering a telephone. I believe as jet modellers we ALL strive for something beyond the ordinary, if we didn't, we'd all still be flying Kadet's.

For some of us building an RC jet isn't simply a matter of writing out a check for $15,000 and having it delivered to us. It's a goal to be reached, it's a passion we have that tells us we need to make sacrifices in order to acheive that goal.
When a model is lost it is heart breaking, usually you get over it fairly quick, sometimes you want to quit, other times it makes you want to push even harder to try again, but it's emotional none-the-less.

I have watched a man watch his mother pass away and not shed a tear, I've watched others choke back many tears when a deer is seen dead at the side of the road. Every day situations affect everyone differently. I have watched a jet model take to the skies that put a lump in my throat just to watch. I could imagine myself in the cockpit of that jet cutting through rolling reversals, slow rolls, and huge loops finishing the flight with a perfect landing.
Does it make me a wimp because an RC jet put a lump in my throat? hell no, it makes me aware of my passion for life and the dreams I once held.
We as human beings all share one very special trait rarely seen in the animal world, emotion. We are capable of being happy, we are capable of being sad, we are capable of being angry. We are also capable of having dreams and acheiving them.

Of course if you haven't figured it out yet I'm referring to the thread with the video of Kenny's jet, and the post on shooting down another person's plane where some have said if you are flying a jet you can afford to lose it.

EVEN if you can afford financially to lose it it doesn't make it ok! If it is something you have loved building, detailing, and flying, it's going to hurt if it crashes.

Somebody even mentioned that he hadn't felt a strong emotion since 9-11 happened, others jumped on him for that saying how dare you compare the 2 incidents. Damn guys, he never compared losing a model to 9-11, he was only talking about something that invoked an emotion. Losing a model in no way compares to something like 9-11 but that doesn't make somebody wrong for feeling a loss when a model goes in. I lost 2 of my best friends in 9-11 but I didn't cry only for them. I cried for America, I cried for all the families who lost loved ones. I am Canadian, I sat here and watched millions of people cry who had no ties to anyone in the WTC. I watched peoples emotions take control for something they had no personal ties to. Why? Because we are supposed to be caring compassionate souls.

When one person dies, it's a statistic, when a thousand people die it's a tragedy........

Maybe on paper that holds true, but for anyone directly related to any incident it can be a tradgedy regardless of what it is. That's what makes human beings so cool, we are all affected differently by daily events.

I just can't believe that in a community such as RC modelling people can be so callous as to knock another human beings emotions regarding something down. Regardless of whether you think it was a loss or not, at least have the decency to respect another persons opinion, feeling, or whatever.

There are some people here that just feel they have to act like a 6 year old who isn't getting their way.

Remember guys, this may be a hobby, but there is a reason we all started it, there is a reason we've worked our way into jets, maybe for some jets are simply an expensive item to try to make them feel that they are better than others, but I think the majority of jet modellers do it because we love it, not because of what anyone else thinks.

Dare to build, Dream to fly........

It's all about one thing guys, the love of aviation, when you put yourself into a project, toy or not, it becomes part of you, if it doesn't, then perhaps it's time to question why you are doing this hobby at all.

Just my 2 cents Canadian, and with the current exchange rate that's almost worth something ;)
Now, if UPS would just show up with my new Bandit! :D