calling it a day

[chris edwards 3]

hi everyone

over the last school year i have not really got any flying in and now with AS exams coming up i have next to no time for flying so with a heavy heart and a tear in my eye i am having to call it a day with the flying

its been great talking to everyone on the forum, getting tips off people and seeing how people responded to my first traditional build. i have no doubt i will be back in the hobby one day but for the foreseeable future i cant see as i will be for a long time.

Chris

(I'm the one with the fuzzy hair)

[Martyn K]

Hi Chris

Don't give up. Pack everything away carefully - you will need it again fairly soon. Once an aeromodeller - always an aeromodeller..

(So speaks a man from experience)

Get over your exams - they are important - and A levels will follow. But - you will be back

Martyn

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Hi Chris, you're to be applauded for concentrating on the exam work. I wish you the very best of luck in those.

Don't forget you need to relax a bit in the summer, so why not get some flying in then before the hard work starts again for A levels?

Apart from that, I can pretty much guarantee you're right - you'll be back in the hobby at some point in the future. Going by recent advances in technology, just think what advances there might be by then! That will be exciting.

[John F]

As Martyn says don't bin your gear or sell them on, keep them for a bored Sunday morning. Worst thing I did was to get rid of all of my stuff years ago. I always wanted to restart afterwards but never had the money thereafter.

Good luck with your exams.

[Wingman]

Aye Chris it, pretty much, happens to us all - that's life Anyway it's in your DNA now so anytime in the future when time and finances allow you will get back into it (took me 40 years!) Best of luck for the future.

[IanR]

Chris, well done for putting your exams first. As everyone says, pack your gear away carefully so you can get at it easily whilst you're looking for a job, after uni. (not LOL)

Best of luck, young 'un.

Ian

 

Edited By IanR on 14/04/2014 11:33:10

[Steve Jones 2]

Hi Chris,

Good you are thinking of your exams, get them done and the more you achieve the more choices you may have. Time is always difficult but dont give up completely.

I too put things on hold for exams and uni, planes and helis waited until i had the time... A squirt of fuel, new Batteries and we were away again

I am glad i did as the practical problem solving modelling gave me, as well as the social side has definately helped in a life in engineering (26 yrs and counting!!) my first boss told me it was my aeromodelling which caught his eye on my CV during the grad intake !! ,

I'm still modelling and its as challenging and rewarding as ever.

Good luck but think hard before you walk away as its amazing how little time you need to give to keep the fun alive.............

Steve

[cymaz]

Good luck. Keep the two best planes you have and pack them away carefully. Take the batteries out of the tx aswell and store it safe.......you never know, the flying bug will lie dormant in you.

One day you will come back to it. good luck for the future

[Concorde Speedbird]

Sad to hear that. I'm in the same position as you, and the flying has taken a dip (especially building) while exam preparations come first (i.e. now!) but in the summer weeks I plan to try and do a bit more.

Good luck in the exams.

CS

[Pete B]

All good advice above, Chris - and thanks for your courtesy in letting us know

Good luck - and, as the Terminator said - "I'll be back".....

Pete

[Steve T]

Whatever you do, keep your models and the gear! I went overseas in the late 1970's and only came back for good last year, 30+ years since I last flew but I am now more involved than ever before. But what a massive regret, selling all my stuff, no matter how out of date the electronics would be, the models could all have been upgraded. I had a Vic Smeed design 2 channel with a Mills .75 diesel up front, I would probably swap all my foamies to get that engine back! Someone somewhere will find room to store it all, once an aero modeller....and so on.

[Simon Chaddock]

Chris

Do well in your exams and get yourself to Uni.

You wont have much time in the first year but provided you moderate the beer (and girls!) you should be able to find enough time for both building and flying in the subsequent years - I did!

I even took up full size gliding as well.

Happy days.

[Shaun Waters]

Hi Chris and all,

I think that from the photo you fly at Banbury, I saw you there on a visit last year and was impressed by your commitment, if you guys look carefully, in the background, you will see Chris's bike along with the trailer he built for carrying his models around !

That's commitment.....and a lesson to all those of us who will only build models that fit into our cars !

It is also most encouraging to see a young man prepared to put the effort in, Chris, if you are putting the same amount of endeavour into your studies you will go far..........you might even end up earning enough money to fund the hobby you obviously love !

Very Good Luck Lad,

Shaun.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Well then, mmmm, I'm going to go against the flow! Don't give up if you enjoy it! Just learn to manage your time better - an important life skill!

As a Prof at a UK University I'm the sort of person who will be looking at your UCAS form next year - and like 99.9% of my colleagues I see well rounded human beings as better potential students. Yes, we are looking for academic attainment, yes we are looking for people able to dedicate themselves to achieving. But we are also looking for people who might be leaders of the future. People who can manage a busy life, can talk to other people and can relate to the challenges others are having. They are the students we really want! Not zombies stuffed full of A-level knowledge and absolutely nothing else - who can't even hold an intelligent conversation with you and have no outside interest in their lives.

So, what to do? Well if I were you I'd get myself a nice little foamie aerobat - an Extra, a Sukoi, a Yak something like that. Something small enough to leave in one piece. It'll be electric powered - so when you've worked hard and need a bit of fresh air - just pop a couple of lipo's in your pocket, grab your Tx and your model and have an hour's "R&R" - you'll work all the better for it. No set up time, no complex list of components - just instant flying. What could be more efficient?

This will keep your hand in, give you a valuable release, teach you how to portion you time better and enable you to truthfully say on your UCAS form that you are an active aeromodeller! Believe me, most universities will find you a much more interesting prospect then!

Go on - you know you want to.

BEB

[Shaun Waters]

Wise words BEB.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Peter Miller]

May I suggest that you do not actually give up. OK, so it will be very reduced while doing your exams but modelling does have a very important use.

Constant studying can leave one stressed. A short time building or an occasional morning flying will help you unwind.

Over many years I have found that a little modelling is the best tonic and tranquiliser for anyone. Total concentration with no real break is not always the best way to absorb learning.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Good luck to you Chris

Don't forget to have fun now and then, you only get one go at being young

[Matt Holmes]

I would agree with BEB words but would think twice before throwing a couple of lipo's in my pocket.

[Erfolg]

I must agree with every one, who has said do not give up modelling.

As one who is not the sharpest knife in the draw, who has a degree, and a chartered engineer, it was interests other than study, which made life worthwhile.

It is not only the time you devote to study that matters, it is the quality. By quality, I mean, understanding what is wanted, what you actually know, what you are not good at and do not know and making and adhering to a plan that fixes the issue. More importantly recognising that you cannot effectively study at a high level or even average level of intensity all your waking hours or even what time passes for free.

You have to do other things, best with a bit of variety.

So make out a time table, of when you are studying, what and when. Most important are the free periods. Some time for flying, should be there, with other things.

I can appreciate that building models is not compatible with study, but this is the era of the ARTF, is that the way forward?

Your biggest threat to success is girls and drink, not aero modelling. But there is room for all, as long as you understand the prime objectives.

A lesson I have learnt, is all that rubbish I was taught, so irrelevant, turns out to be the most fascinating bits of education, that ultimately gives a clue to much in aero modelling and life in general.

Best of luck, in what ever you choose to do. Oh, a thought, from some one who is unbiased, if you are taking "media studies", there is no need to study, just get on with modelling,

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Posted by Erfolg on 14/04/2014 22:39:50:

Best of luck, in what ever you choose to do. Oh, a thought, from some one who is unbiased, if you are taking "media studies", there is no need to study, just get on with modelling,

LOL! Funny - but in my equally unbiased opinion - true!

[IanN]

Posted by Erfolg on 14/04/2014 22:39:50:

Your biggest threat to success is girls and drink, not aero modelling.

And if you're really lucky, when you get to uni maybe you'll meet an aeromodelling girl who drinks perfect combination - just think what a prawn you'd feel then if you'd packed it in and ditched your gear

[Striker1980]

I feel the odds of meeting aero modelling girl are low, however I picked up the hobby towards the end of my education (8+ years of uni), it actually provided a welcome release from study that didn't involve booze.

Though, point of note, pack up the planes safely as others have said, they won't spoil and wait 'till you meet some random awesome (and patient) girl, then pick up the hobby again, eventually you'll have kids and they'll love planes, I've even converted a copy of one of my 2 year old sons planes into a scale fighter jet, he loves it.

Trust me when I say that the hobby isn't what'll screw up your education.

[Depron Daz]

Chris, I can only reiterate what others have already said so far, but I will also give you my story.

Way back in 70's I started fishing with my dad, and continued through my teens with my friends. In the mid 80's I joined the Royal Navy straight from school, and finding myself in a similar position to you, I went and sold all of my fishing gear. By this time I had a lot of gear, possibly around £800 worth, which in the mid 80's was a lot of money! Then came my first marriage and buying my first house in the early 90's, so time and money was scarce and couldn't afford to buy new gear. Having come out of the RN I found that I still couldn't afford to buy any fishing gear, and regretted the initial decision of selling my original gear. If I had kept it, then fishing would've only cost me the price of a rod licence, a pint of maggots/worms and food to eat. I really missed the fishing, the freedom away from the house, work, and moreover, the then wife! (that's her <----)

Fast forward to the mid 90's I joined the police, got divorced, and got back into fishing, so I went and bought all new gear. Now, with any hobby, technology moves on, and things are improved, however similar to fishing, flying model planes will still be possible with your current gear years further on. More importantly, should you find some spare time during those study years and your planes and gear are stored away, you can just get it out and go and have a days flying when you want.

Studying is very important, but so is having time out doing what you like now and then, but if you sell all of your gear, I can guarantee that you will regret it on those spare days. Don't make the same mistake young man, stash your gear away, and you'll be able to use it when you want. Remember, it isn't costing you anything when it's stored away!

Good luck with your studying.

[Mogs]

I'm with everyone else, don't give it up - postpone if you have to, you will be back.

I think the best advice from above is pack away properly, I forget the Tx battery, 30 years later, it was a real gooey mess.

Best of Luck