Congratulations, Sam. Looks like Camperdown is off the calendar this time round!

Some words of recent wisdom from someone who has a 3.5 yr old and a 16 mth old:

For aeromodelling:
- Build and fly as much as you can before they arrive.
- Buy lots of spares, materials and consumables before they arrive.
- It IS possible to continue an aeromodelling hobby with infants, albeit reduced in quantity. You just need to be very good at time management and negotiation.

For Kids:
- You'll learn that though you cant store up reserves of 'sleep', you sure can build up reserves of 'tired'. - Get used to going to bed at 8:30PM.
- Routine Routine Routine - the first three rules for a settled child.
- The three other things they need to feel constantly is: Loved, Safe, Fed.
- No, they dont think that standing on the top of a windy mountainside for hours is fun. ... and neither will she. Slope soaring never counts as 'family time'.

Cheers

Kahn

Sorry to pipe in here again, .....but....

My 3 1/2 year old really likes to fly computer simulations like SSS and FMS. Especially the Santa Claus sleigh and the ladybug I found on the net for FMS. She also has done a roll with one of my real life slope planes and she helped me build and is learning to fly a GWS slow stick. I've told her we'll build her a pink one with purple maltese crosses (her favorinte colors) as soon as she is good enough to fly mine by her self. She's really excited for that. She also likes flying on the slope. Thing I've learned though is that you have to work within a youngster's attention span. Ten to fifteen minutes of flying, then a half hour of exploring the sage brush and finding cool rocks, etc.

I think it all depends on the individual kid's personality and how willing you are to share your hobby at their pace. If you can share your fun with your kids it can be really rewarding, even if it's not at the pace you would do it by yourself.

Sam Congrats on the Twins, Best of health to them and your missus.

Condolences on the end to your flying career for at least the next 2 years!

However the good news is that after that you will be able to teach the your pilots in the way of the JART side of the force.

My 5 year old had his first Solo on Sunday on the Spirit ARF.

Good stuff Samo.

Remember to store things up high... Even T-Rex is no match against one gherkin, let alone two.

Sam

Thanks guys for all your nice words, tips and encouragement. It's really appreciated.

Sara and I are over the moon about our impending family. Going to the ultrasound clinic yesterday was an interesting time, seeing them in there with arms and legs was a real thrill, and we were just amazed at how wriggly and squirmy they were! They kept kicking and rolling around on the ultrasound screen which was just awesome. I am sure they will need plenty of energy to "manage" later on.

We are expecting Twins to be harder, but not twice as hard... two of our very close friends have twins, who will provide us with endless good advice and encoruagement. Seeing theirs grow up is great. Just think about the slope combat sessions, and F3F later on...

Immediate plans are to build build build and spend the residial 2007 budget asap... The build programme consists of:
- Rodent
- Big Ceres (both slope and HP electric version)
- Merlin Slope version (current will be converted to electric version)
- Jart (for AntonL)

If time permits:
- Jart LWV that will compete with Antons (which will be around 30 oz)
- A limited run of Merlin short kits

Although I accept build and fly time will be sacrificed (...not entirely though ) I will be making the most of the remaining, which includes Camperdown 2008!

Sam,
building for a windy day

Congrats.
You are now entering into one of the most rewarding times of your life - Enjoy it.
Please pass on to Sara - all our best wishes.......and ......
On Ya Mate.!!!
Glenn.

Congrats Samo!

Better get building....remember you're building for 3 now.

Waz

Good Job Samo!

Did it go something like this?

Flight of the Conchords- Business Time (3 min 55 sec)

Nope. It will be more like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNOzWZmhROA

Andy
Who has quite enough with two of his own.....

Congrats to you and the missus Sam! The videos I took when my kids were small is absolutely priceless now. God bless you and your family.
Tom

Hey Samo,

Camperdown will be touch & go won't it? 12 weeks gone now, early birth for twins (usually), makes the end of January more than likely.

Mind you I've been there..... Ben was due at the end of January and I still went. No-one could beleive that I did - they all thought I should be at home supporting her. Bugger that She spent 9 months readying for birth. I spent 12 months readying for Camperdown. Priorities, pal.

Boy was she understanding (or pleased to get rid of me........ )

Ben managed to stay inside until Feb 10 so it was OK in the end.

What's the Ceres? The Baudis model? Or is there another? Maybe a PSS version of he CAC cropduster?

Do tell.

They little units are due for presentation at the end of Feb. Samotage insists on adhering to a strict schedule, and I am also betting they will be quite comfortable inside the "oven" necessitating "induction".

I am banking on Camperdown as the "last hurrah" for a little while - from the sounds of all you lot I rekon this is a sounds move. At least my building will be all done soon, so I will be "prepared". Planning on another Campervan tripage too.

The Big Ceres is the new large Baudis ship, should give your wiz a run I'd rekon

Sam,
who wonders what a cropduster is?

Everyone here seems to be tossing in their pearls of wisdom, so here come mine:

Rule number I. Make sure you can bring the plane back and land it in you hand or, at least, at your feet, every time, before trying to get the kids/wife interested in the slope. If you don't, at first, they all set off down the slope after the plane - you don't have to ask them. At first they seem to enjoy it, but suddenly you find they lost interest AND NEVER GET IT BACK. IT WILL COME TO LIGHT (30 YEARS ON) THAT THEY HELD IT AGAINST YOU, for life, that you only took them along to RETRIEVE your TOY!

Rule Number 2: Sell all your planes now, whilst they are in good condition, current technology and worth something. If you are going to really enjoy the kids and your marriage, there is really very little time for anything else, if you plan on feeding them as well!

Rule number3: If you do insist on keeping up "the sport" - good on yer, mate -, make sure than you have a goodly supply of foamies and cheap radio stuff in the cupboard, so that the offspring/wife can learn to fly, without you getting all uptight about them flying/crashing/losing your precious crunchie...
NOTHING gets them bored quicker than you (me) hogging the trannie because the bloody plane's too difficult for them to fly or too expensive for them to crash!

Rule Number 4: Don't fly your plane when you are supposed to be showing them how to fly. This is a short road to disaster (two planes lost) along with offspring's interest. Leave your's in the car, or under the bush until the little dear's thumbs are falling off, or "their" foamy is totalled. Only then may you launch your treasure into the stratosphere and show them how its done.

Rule number 5: Never take the family (or any other) DOG to the slope. He will leave your planes alone, except for running back and forth barking like he was demented) but will, without fail, catch and return (partly mangled) your used-to-be best buddies priceless 5m. scale ship. If you tie him to a stake he will create enough noise for the animal protecion people to appear on mass and you to suddenly find all the other good-old-boys, whose planes and company you valued for so long, just evaporated and found another site they forgot to tell you about. When, after this experience, you decline to take him on your Sunday-morning-outing to the slope, you will be verbally assaulted by the entire tribe as being the most selfish person on earth. Poor dog! Poor YOU!

Rule number 6: Never EVER, LET ON HOW MUCH YOU SPENT (OR ARE SPENDING ON THIS HOBBY! Do not expect, or even less, demand HERSELF to tell her how much she spends on trinkets/useless clothes/tupperware/pressure cookers etc.

Thirty years on, you will be like me, trying to get back into this, seriously, but still without enough time! Don't worry, though, it will be worth it. I would not swap any one of my three kids, or 4 grandchildren for all the models planes in the world! Any offers for my w***????

Don't forget what my (late) grandfather told my (also late) father before they were wed: "Don't worry, the first 35 years are the worst!" I have survived 41 years of marriage now, and he was right!

Cheers,
Christopher

Originally Posted by samotage

The Big Ceres is the new large Baudis ship, should give your wiz a run I'd rekon

It should kick my ass form here to next month. A state of the art slope racer vs an ageing, fairly fast 2.5m sportster?

Can't wait to see that go.

Are the new editions fully moulded ? If so can we have a look at the female mould (FORGET the plug though - NOT interested)!