The Sweetest Thing

LAST EDITED ON Nov-12-04 AT 00:02 AM (CST)
 
My life just keeps gettin' better.

I made a few changes on my ARF Cardinal during a few windy days. Wednesday the weather finally cleared. It was cold but above 40F which I use as a minimum O.A.T.

I was getting ready to go fly when the mail man pulled up. He had my new Dick Byron handle (perfect timing). I decided to check it out and go flying after lunch. As I got done preping the handle, my wife came home and made me a sandwhich.

My wife and I decided not to have kids for various reasons. Too late now anyway but, I think about it sometimes. You make the best decisions you can at the time then you live with it.

Anyway.

After lunch I went out back to the flying field and set up my stooge. Took the first 2 flights on the old Hot Rock not knowing what to expect from the plane. Everthing was fine so, I switched to the new handle. It took about 4 flights to dial it in. It's amazing what the adjustments do. I had fun making the loops bigger and smaller with the line spacing adjustments.

Finally pulled it all together. The plane was turning 5.3 seconds a lap, just a tad slower inverted but, the engine was pulling just fine. Didn't notice anything bad about the trim of the plane and, the 65' lines made everything feel like slow motion with good line tension. I got comfortable enough to point the plane at the ground without a panic attack. Finally getting some good flights after all the head scratching.

The next flight I flew the beginner pattern with no problems. I can tell this plane is gon'a get me kicked out of beginner real quick.

After I landed I noticed a small boy far on the edge of my property. He yelled out "How'd you do that, how'd you do that"? I didn't know exactly what to say so I just yelled back "With alot of practice".

As I retrieved the plane he came closer and, I told him to come over and have a look. He said he was 11 years old and new to the neighborhood. He asked me alot of questions about the plane and did alot of talking like 11 year olds do. He wore these black glasses and, I gathered he was mechanically inclined, did'nt play sports, a little nurdy but, he didn't have a computer. The perfect modeling recruit! I laughed to myself. I answered all his questions very nicely and, told him all about model airplanes. He seemed like a very well behaved intelligent kid so, I decided to fly it one more time with him there.

He stood back where I told him to and, I flew the beginner pattern again. He seemed very interested and we talked some more as I was putting stuff away. I have a feeling I might have to teach him to fly control line next summer if his parents are half as nice.

I went inside and got warm again with a nice hot cup of tea.

All in all a good day, thanks again model aviation.

Your wife made you a sandwitch! You lucky newlywed.

LOL, She came home from work and made me a sandwhich on her lunch break (been married 20 years). Yes, I hit the lottery when I met her.

Giffy

P.S. She flys control line and has an identical twin sister.

I was spraying paint in the garage last week. It was pretty thick in the air, and it was drifting into the house. "That smells good," said my wife. So I have it pretty good, too.

She likes to go with me to contests. She sits quietly at stunt contests and gets into fights at combat contests.

Here's a plug for our president (the important one). My wife and mate for the last thirty years went to Brodak 2004 laughed and talked to people and will back in 2005. The Bed and Breakfast on the river was a factor. But, like I said, this is plug for our president. Believe me.

Howard, you must have that "one in a million"! Smells good? I've NEVER heard that from my wife about anything I've ever used in modeling with the exception of micro film.

Try the scented talc!

Yes Howard, you and I are quite lucky as our wives support us and our hobby. Maybe we (you and I) are just really good at selecting helpmates.(G). Mine has been with me for 52 plus years now.

Bigiron

> Yes Howard, you and I are quite lucky as our wives
>support us and our hobby. Maybe we (you and I) are just
>really good at selecting helpmates.(G). Mine has been with
>me for 52 plus years now.
>
> Bigiron

I'll chime in here too. We celebrate our 20th anniversary this November 21. We too have no children. So what did my wife want? A DVD player and the new Star Wars DVD set. Both of which are already in the family room. I *finally* hooked up the TV sound to the stereo system too. What a great "room mate"! And yes, I have a somewhat more feminine surprise gift to give her on the day. I'm crazy, but not stupid!

And she too is very supportive of my silly hobbies, of which model airplanes are the most obvious madness. Here are pictures *she* took at Randy Ryan's place on Labor Day:

http://www.clstunt.com/htdocs/dcforum/DCForumID1/10343.html

I took the picture of her, holding her new coroplast trainer, of course, but she took the rest. I fully plan for her to learn and enjoy basic flight. She's still a little intimidated, but once she finds out how much fun/easy it is to just fly for fun, I think she'll enjoy our flying outings even more. As it stands, she is perfectly happy to come out on a nice day, launch, take pictures, and relax outdoors. Sweet!

Andy

LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-04 AT 01:27 PM (CST)
 
Marilou's a good mouser, too. Here is a picture taken last Friday of her and Spencer in action.

Sounds like you stumbled on a real find in the kid, too. Not too many of them even show an interest these days.

I wouldn't trade my two daughters for anything, but it did keep me out of the hobby for almost 20 years. I tried forcing them to help me a couple of times, but the interest was never there.

Problem is, with one of them in college now, I have more time, but a lot less money. Ever see that commercial where the father is trying to rent the house out to a homeless man to pay for college?

>My life just keeps gettin' better.
>
>I made a few changes on my ARF Cardinal during a few windy
>days. Wednesday the weather finally cleared. It was cold but
>above 40F which I use as a minimum O.A.T.
>
>I was getting ready to go fly when the mail man pulled up.
>He had my new Dick Byron handle (perfect timing). I decided
>to check it out and go flying after lunch. As I got done
>preping the handle, my wife came home and made me a
>sandwhich.
>
>My wife and I decided not to have kids for various reasons.
>Too late now anyway but, I think about it sometimes. You
>make the best decisions you can at the time then you live
>with it.
>
>Anyway.
>
>After lunch I went out back to the flying field and set up
>my stooge. Took the first 2 flights on the old Hot Rock not
>knowing what to expect from the plane. Everthing was fine
>so, I switched to the new handle. It took about 4 flights to
>dial it in. It's amazing what the adjustments do. I had fun
>making the loops bigger and smaller with the line spacing
>adjustments.
>
>Finally pulled it all together. The plane was turning 5.3
>seconds a lap, just a tad slower inverted but, the engine
>was pulling just fine. Didn't notice anything bad about the
>trim of the plane and, the 65' lines made everything feel
>like slow motion with good line tension. I got comfortable
>enough to point the plane at the ground without a panic
>attack. Finally getting some good flights after all the head
>scratching.
>
>The next flight I flew the beginner pattern with no
>problems. I can tell this plane is gon'a get me kicked out
>of beginner real quick.
>
>After I landed I noticed a small boy far on the edge of my
>property. He yelled out "How'd you do that, how'd you do
>that"? I didn't know exactly what to say so I just yelled
>back "With alot of practice".
>
> As I retrieved the plane he came closer and, I told him to
>come over and have a look. He said he was 11 years old and
>new to the neighborhood. He asked me alot of questions about
>the plane and did alot of talking like 11 year olds do. He
>wore these black glasses and, I gathered he was mechanically
>inclined, did'nt play sports, a little nurdy but, he didn't
>have a computer. The perfect modeling recruit! I laughed to
>myself. I answered all his questions very nicely and, told
>him all about model airplanes. He seemed like a very well
>behaved intelligent kid so, I decided to fly it one more
>time with him there.
>
>He stood back where I told him to and, I flew the beginner
>pattern again. He seemed very interested and we talked some
>more as I was putting stuff away. I have a feeling I might
>have to teach him to fly control line next summer if his
>parents are half as nice.
>
>I went inside and got warm again with a nice hot cup of tea.
>
>All in all a good day, thanks again model aviation.
>
>
>
>Giffy
>
>
Giffy - Flying in your back yard and a wife that makes sandwiches, you lucky dog. I hope you find that young boy and start teaching him to fly now, not next spring. My kids are grown, but, my granddaughters, at least one of them, is trying to fly with me. My son flies when he can. His formal wedding is Saturday the 13th and she has two sons. One is learning. Anyway great looking plane, is it box stock? Later, DOC
DOC:)

Here's one for ya....My wife (soul mate) and I were looking at new houses and she wanted to pass on several of the really nice ones because the garage/ shop was too small for my activities...How I deserve her is beyond my comprehension!....

Tnx, Mike, the "Old Harley Man" [email protected]

I don't have one.......................sandwhich.

LAST EDITED ON Nov-12-04 AT 05:34 PM (CST)
 
24 years and counting. We had our 20th anniversary dinner in the "View of the World" restaurant on the top of the World Trade Center.

Here is a photo of my two favorite ladies!
Jeannette is the big one, Sophia the little one.

Oh, yeah, I have the Master Bedroom for my workshop, and a clean office besides. Then there is all the stuff in the garage.....

And she has a twin sister; oh my!

Dose she also make sandwiches ?

I guess quite a few of us were fortunate enough to find good ones...37 years and counting.

My wife does not like the fumes from the Dope but when I mention flying she says "good have fun" I cant imagine not having the freedom that a few of my friends & I enjoy. The same goes for when I want to goe fishing for a few days or fly to Reno or Muncie. Cant imagine.

I am similarly blessed. Kathy loves combat and would never miss a Bladder Grabber if I had not retired from fast combat. She doesn't like the smell of dope, but puts up with it with no more complaint than the occasional request that I leave the garage door open for a while. She won't go to a stunt contest -- too boring -- but, she was always eager to go to fast combat contests. She loved the noise of the engines, among other things (how many women like that?). She didn't even complain when a fast combat plane landed in the cooler next to her in the canopy.
And she volunteers to run the Regionals registration department for three days, giving up her beloved art shows to do it. How lucky can a guy get?

John Thompson

>I am similarly blessed. Kathy loves combat and would never
>miss a Bladder Grabber if I had not retired from fast
>combat. She didn't even complain when a fast combat plane landed in
>the cooler next to her in the canopy.
How lucky can a guy get?
>
>John Thompson
>
>http://members.aol.com/johnt4051/northwestcl.html

Big snips because this is my first chance to edit the copy of a copy editor. Kinda fun...!

As it happened, I was standing right next to John when Chuck Rudner's really fast AMA model went straight from near the top of the circle to nailing a cooler pretty close by Kathy.

While she handled it amazingly well, I thought John was going to freak.

I had no idea he could still run that fast.