Newbie Take 3

[Gordon Serpis 1]

Hi all

just by way of intro, this is my third attempt at actively engaging with our hobby. I started where most of us do which was making Airfix and Keil Kraft kits when i was a young chap- i must have made most of the obvious ones though did find those really small ones eg that KK Spitfire almost impossible to build and fly due to its small size. My paper round was purely to fund my model habit. I notice that most of those old vintage models are making a comeback inc Conquest, Caprice etc. My first RC model was a trainer called H-Ray. Anyway, being in a single parent household i set out to work and aeromodelling took a back seat.

I came back to it just after i got married and built a couple of Middle Phase gliders both of which i wrecked- i was trying to learn to fly on my own. I also bought quite a few other kits inc a Flair Sunrise which i started but then gave away!!! Likewise, i built a Dave Hughes Soarceror which saw some action on Ashdown Forest. Then mortgages, careers and children came along and once again my hobby was stored in the loft.

5 years ago we sold the company i was working for to a competitor and being the wrong side of 60 i assumed i'd be sent packing so in anticipation i bought several planes of Ebay inc 4 EMP Apex gliders all in various states of repair- you may ask why buy 4? Well, this plane in my view is one of the most good looking models on the planet. But when i first saw it advertised many decades ago there was no way i could afford the price of these beauties- all 98 inch foam wing and ABS fuselage. Hence the binge buy of Apex. I had also bought some old 35MHz kit of Ebay all of which then went into the loft as i didn't lose my job but instead found myself even busier than ever- i also loved my work/ career so was pleased that i could carry on my 40 plus years in the electronics industry.

Fast forward to last year and i copped for cancer of the prostate and needed surgery which itself was not an issue but the collateral damage was- those of you who've had experience will know what i mean- and i note that there is a thread on the subject on this forum which i applaud as it highlights the need for getting checked out. Surgery was a year ago and i've been going for blood test every few months which has shown that i still have active cells- now this does not bother me as i'm sure it will get treated. But it has now finally made me realise that now is a good time to get back to the hobby i have loved most of my life- so i retired three weeks ago and missed work the first two weeks but have now started to clear out the shed of all my old modelling stuff ( the loft got converted), during my Apex binge i also bought an Impala and Soarceror plan and kit from SLEC. I also bought the Jerry Bates WACO CG-4A Hadrian plan inc the laser cut kit from Belair. i also have my third Middle Phase to build.I am now in the process of looking at 2.4GHz RC kit to replace the 35Meg stuff - most of this gear will appear on Ebay anytime now.. And i intend to join a club as i believe this is my last go at our hobby so no room for error this time round. I was also given a Sonata glider as a Christmas present and this has already been the subject of my first post on this forum.

Sorry, long post and i hope i'm not sounding a tad sorry for myself,i'm not, I know i've been lucky. I miss work but to quote a former boss of mine- no one on their death bed ever said " i wished i'd spent more time in the office".

Looking forward to asking more questions and contributing when i can. Finally, i've been following this forum for a number of years and the expertise on it has been a joy to behold- some of those build blogs are an inspiration in themselves and has made me realise i need to up my game!

Glad to be back.

G