Endings and Beginnings,
I had recently relocated to a new residence in the city of Orange. The longtime girlfriend was no longer in the picture. She was gorgeous and thought of herself as a "hippie chick" because of her choice in clothing and was a "Free Spirit" but that was a contradiction in terms. She was also high maintenance, volatile, and a bit crazy! She wanted to get married on a cliff overlooking the ocean, barefoot, wearing some kind of tribal garb, with peacocks at sunset. I said "No, that's not gonna happen". I was soon looking for a new place to live! She would periodically reappear over the next decade to rekindle and reconcile which while always fun but never ended well!
A coworker I had known for a few years asked if I wanted to share a place with no strings. She had a boyfriend but didn't want to live with him. She did have a couple sons that would be living with us also. They were about 12 and 14 yrs old and as I came to learn she had little control over them. She liked to party and so did I, so we got along pretty well. I needed a place so we found a quadplex in Orange and moved in.
I had the master bedroom which was really big. I was able to set up a building area. I finally had a bench and metal shelves to hold all the hobby supplies I had been accumulating. I had been working at PacBell for some time and was at top pay so I did have some disposable income available. I went about disposing of it every chance I had. I acquired several more airplane kits. I had learned many building shortcuts and was able to frame up a plane in just a few days. My collection of planes was taking up all the space I had available. I needed to do something about that fast.
After selling my SIG KOMANDER I had the idea that I might be able to finance most of my hobby expenses that way. That's why I had been building so many planes. I had used all top quality parts and accessories when building or reconditioning my fleet of airplanes. The planes I had left uncovered would highlight my building skills and attention to detail. The covered ones would show my finishing abilities. It was time to put my plan into action!
I had a friend who had what was often called "A Surfer Van". To those unfamiliar with that term it originated with the surf community. They would use a van to carry their boards and throw in the back an old mattress to sleep on, or well, y'know! Of course this being Southern California those original old used vans soon morphed into lavish new vans. Carpet would be installed. The walls would have "Tuck and Roll" with a custom bed that went from side to side over the rear wheel wells! Add in some lighting, mirrors, a killer stereo and you had a bedroom on wheels! These had nothing to do with surfing anymore,,,
So we packed up his van with all my planes and set out to Mile Square Park. For a Saturday it wasn't very crowded. I only sold the red, white and blue plane but I was told that one of the clubs was having a Fun Fly next weekend and if I asked maybe they would let me sell at their swap meet. I was pointed to one of that clubs officers who, after looking at what I had to sell, agreed to let me participate in the swap meet. I found out later that to allow a non-member to sell was very unusual but he like what he saw and remembered me from that day with my KOMANDER!
The following Saturday my friend with the van picked me and my planes up and we went back to the park. It was only about 8:30am but the place was filling up fast. I had two card tables that I placed a couple of the planes on and spread out the rest on the ground. I had some people stop and look but no buyers. All of a sudden the guy I had sold my KOMANDER to was standing there and talking to me like a long lost friend (We'll call him Mike). He told great stories about flying and was such a well known pilot he drew in a crowd of other pilots and spectators just to hear him talk. He also talked up the plane I had sold him. He said how well it was built and finished and that I had all these other planes for sale too! With that endorsement, coming from him, that's all it took! I sold everything I had and was also asked by a couple guys if I would be willing to build some planes for them!
I was unsure what to say. My plan to make a little money for my hobby had not worked out. I had made a lot of money and I was being asked to custom build planes too! "Mike" pulled me aside and said that I should say "Yes" to building the planes but to charge 4x's what it cost me to build them. He told me something I've never forgot.
"Quality Costs"
So I made arrangements to build some planes. This started a building frenzy and I soon had to enlist my housemate and her kids into this new venture.
SCALE R/C and Me
I had recently relocated to a new residence in the city of Orange. The longtime girlfriend was no longer in the picture. She was gorgeous and thought of herself as a "hippie chick" because of her choice in clothing and was a "Free Spirit" but that was a contradiction in terms. She was also high maintenance, volatile, and a bit crazy! She wanted to get married on a cliff overlooking the ocean, barefoot, wearing some kind of tribal garb, with peacocks at sunset. I said "No, that's not gonna happen". I was soon looking for a new place to live! She would periodically reappear over the next decade to rekindle and reconcile which while always fun but never ended well!
A coworker I had known for a few years asked if I wanted to share a place with no strings. She had a boyfriend but didn't want to live with him. She did have a couple sons that would be living with us also. They were about 12 and 14 yrs old and as I came to learn she had little control over them. She liked to party and so did I, so we got along pretty well. I needed a place so we found a quadplex in Orange and moved in.
I had the master bedroom which was really big. I was able to set up a building area. I finally had a bench and metal shelves to hold all the hobby supplies I had been accumulating. I had been working at PacBell for some time and was at top pay so I did have some disposable income available. I went about disposing of it every chance I had. I acquired several more airplane kits. I had learned many building shortcuts and was able to frame up a plane in just a few days. My collection of planes was taking up all the space I had available. I needed to do something about that fast.
After selling my SIG KOMANDER I had the idea that I might be able to finance most of my hobby expenses that way. That's why I had been building so many planes. I had used all top quality parts and accessories when building or reconditioning my fleet of airplanes. The planes I had left uncovered would highlight my building skills and attention to detail. The covered ones would show my finishing abilities. It was time to put my plan into action!
I had a friend who had what was often called "A Surfer Van". To those unfamiliar with that term it originated with the surf community. They would use a van to carry their boards and throw in the back an old mattress to sleep on, or well, y'know! Of course this being Southern California those original old used vans soon morphed into lavish new vans. Carpet would be installed. The walls would have "Tuck and Roll" with a custom bed that went from side to side over the rear wheel wells! Add in some lighting, mirrors, a killer stereo and you had a bedroom on wheels! These had nothing to do with surfing anymore,,,
So we packed up his van with all my planes and set out to Mile Square Park. For a Saturday it wasn't very crowded. I only sold the red, white and blue plane but I was told that one of the clubs was having a Fun Fly next weekend and if I asked maybe they would let me sell at their swap meet. I was pointed to one of that clubs officers who, after looking at what I had to sell, agreed to let me participate in the swap meet. I found out later that to allow a non-member to sell was very unusual but he like what he saw and remembered me from that day with my KOMANDER!
The following Saturday my friend with the van picked me and my planes up and we went back to the park. It was only about 8:30am but the place was filling up fast. I had two card tables that I placed a couple of the planes on and spread out the rest on the ground. I had some people stop and look but no buyers. All of a sudden the guy I had sold my KOMANDER to was standing there and talking to me like a long lost friend (We'll call him Mike). He told great stories about flying and was such a well known pilot he drew in a crowd of other pilots and spectators just to hear him talk. He also talked up the plane I had sold him. He said how well it was built and finished and that I had all these other planes for sale too! With that endorsement, coming from him, that's all it took! I sold everything I had and was also asked by a couple guys if I would be willing to build some planes for them!
I was unsure what to say. My plan to make a little money for my hobby had not worked out. I had made a lot of money and I was being asked to custom build planes too! "Mike" pulled me aside and said that I should say "Yes" to building the planes but to charge 4x's what it cost me to build them. He told me something I've never forgot.
"Quality Costs"
So I made arrangements to build some planes. This started a building frenzy and I soon had to enlist my housemate and her kids into this new venture.
SCALE R/C and Me
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