Day Forty Two 2013

Hubby Neil loves radio controlled airplanes. Building, flying, crashing (well, he doesn’t love that part) and repairing them. He claims it’s a hobby. I believe it’s an obsession. Why else would there be one sitting in a room upstairs, in various stages of construction. It’s winter. Too cold to be building a plane outside. Truth be told, his man cave, also known as his airplane hanger, is already full and is too small to turn around in anymore, much less build an RC plane with a wingspan of about six feet. I only hope he can get the thing back down the stairs and out the door when he’s finally finished with it.

Day Ninety Eight 2012

This is what happens when human fingers accidentally come in contact with the propeller of an electric engine radio controlled airplane--a visit to the emergency medical clinic, seven stitches total on two fingers, a tetanus shot, and a bottle of antibiotics. My hubby Neil's passion for flying RC airplanes sometimes backfires on him, quite unexpectedly, especially when one of his electric airplanes suddenly takes off (total freak accident) and the wing hits him in the leg, turns the plane right into his hand, and the prop slices through two of his fingers (to the bone on his ring finger). I can't even begin to explain to you how this happened. He says he was going out of his way to be extra careful around the propeller. Suffice it to say, this was a comedy of errors (daughter Kelly and I were laughing so hard we had tears). And it could have been so much worse. For this RC pilot, lesson learned. The hard way. 

Day One Hundred Three

The Big One

Anyone who knows my hubby Neil knows his passion for radio controlled airplanes--he buys them, builds them, flies them, sometimes crashes them, and repairs them. Last Saturday at his fly club's swap meet, he acquired this vintage RC plane (vintage meaning they don't make these anymore, it's pretty old and it needs some work). The wing span is probably close to nine feet. Maybe ten. He could probably fit our Buddy Cat in the cock pit. It's the big one. Looking forward to seeing it fly.

Day Three Hundred Eighteen

New Kid In The Hangar

Neil and son in law Jerry went to a RC Airplane swap meet in Nashville today. This is the newest addition to Neil's "fleet" as he likes to call it.

Yes, it does have wings. Aren't they pretty? The plane was totally finished. All it needs is a motor. It's never been flown.

Jerry excels at making good deals and helped Neil get a good price for this plane. I think it has a six foot wing span. It's the biggest one he has. So far. It's the same length as our love seat. I know this because the plane is now sitting behind it.

Day Three Hundred Thirteen

Ground Control To Major Tom ...

This is Neil in his "man cave". It used to be a workshop for woodworking projects back in the day. Don't let this picture fool you. He's building something to hang another RC airplane on. He was making so much racket with his drill, it scared him half to death when the flash went off on the camera.

Some of the planes are gas powered. Others are electric.

He's built a lot of them over the last few years. Some from scratch--cutting out the wood pieces and gluing them all together until it looks like an airplane.

Some have crashed and burned over the years. Some get rebuilt over and over. Others end up in the trash heap. Sometimes I think he likes to build and repair them more than he likes to fly them. Well, not really. The flying is a lot more fun, I'm sure.

Day Two Hundred Twenty Eight

Wings For Supper?

Hubby Neil flies radio controlled airplanes and usually stashes them in what I call his airplane hangar after he's done, but for some reason, this one ended up in the kitchen this evening.

This is just one of several in his collection and I hope will soon find its way back outside and into his hangar, also known as his "man cave". I don't venture out there very often, which is why there are never any pictures of airplanes on here. I feel kind of bad about that. His planes are pretty cool. I'll show them to you sometime.

Day One Hundred Twenty Five

My Fly Guy, hubby Neil. This pic was taken April 26, but he managed to get in a couple of hours of flying his remote controlled planes this evening before sunset and in between rain showers. He's had some crash and burn moments, but I think he enjoys rebuilding and repairing his planes just as much as he enjoys flying them.