Good Afternoon,\u00a0 I hope all of you readers are safe and sound and practicing safe viral isolation.\u00a0 The Mrs and I were house-bound from Wednesday last week until Wednesday this week (had doc appt and grocery curb-side pick-ups).\u00a0 Our experiences of social distancing in the public sphere were not smooth, nor are we eager to try that again.\u00a0 But that’s not the subject of my writings today.<\/p>\n
What many in the country (and world) are experiencing now is not much different than my day-to-day since my retirement 3.5 years ago.\u00a0 I stay at home, do my stuff, and only went out in the evening or weekend if the Mrs said “let’s go”.\u00a0 So, this is nothing new to me.<\/p>\n
Strangely, it feels new – and not just because she is teleworking every day now, but mentally and emotionally, it is different.\u00a0 2020 has proven to be a trying year, and we are only through the first quarter.\u00a0 I’ve had web-site issues that I had to battle, supplier issues, increased prices for materials and postage, drop in sales, my mother passed away, our sons opened a new coffee shop – which is now closed indefinitely, and this virus thing is affecting the world in a myriad of ways that we couldn’t image in late last year.<\/p>\n
Our near-future flying is in doubt – our indoor sessions are cancelled indefinitely, and outdoor sessions will be uncertain, and this time not just because of the weather.\u00a0 All you have to do is look at the chart of infections to realize that we haven’t come close to peaking on this yet.\u00a0 Here in Michigan, we have been hit hard – the Detroit Metro area is taking a big hit (where most of our aging Cloudbusters live), and according to the numbers I saw this morning, the county where we fly outdoors has an inordinately high count.\u00a0 AMA has not cancelled the Indoor Nats – yet – but who would be surprised if they did.\u00a0 After all, according to statistics in the end of May, we will either be on the tail end of an overwhelming spiked curve, or we will be in the middle of the flattened curve.\u00a0 This isn’t going away any time soon.<\/p>\n
All of this is taking a toll on me.\u00a0 I consider myself level-headed and not given to irrational fears or panic – and I am not panicking or fearful.\u00a0 But I am being dragged down emotionally.\u00a0 It is hard for me to stick to any of my projects:\u00a0 I can draw for a little, but I’m not eager to create something new.\u00a0 I can pack orders, but I get tired of that, especially if a tedious task pops up where I have to “do something” (make parts, cut boards, count out a large number of things).\u00a0 I am even struggling to build anything.\u00a0 I currently have three planes in process.\u00a0 I am finishing one that I started yesterday (see below) but I just don’t have much motivation to build anything.\u00a0 And, I am more irritable than normal (not that anyone notices – HAHA!)<\/p>\n
Of course, we all go through slow patches.\u00a0 But I truly feel this is different.\u00a0 I just don’t feel like doing anything.\u00a0 I get up and do some of the stuff I mentioned above, but I take many more breaks than before and I get sucked into social media.\u00a0 It is easy to see that and say “don’t go there” but there is little elsewhere to go – it is still cold and wet outside, so I cannot go work outside or on a car or stuff like that.\u00a0 I cannot responsibly go away from the house.<\/p>\n
On the positive side, I can see all of this in me.\u00a0 I know it is happening to me and, because I know, I can try to do what I can to improve my lot.\u00a0 I know that when I DO feel inspired, I need to take advantage of it.\u00a0 I know that I MUST get orders out, so knowing certain things are less pleasant than other things, I tackle the more difficult stuff when I am feeling a little bit better.\u00a0 And I know that building models will come back, even if flying doesn’t right away.<\/p>\n
I have started on the Mega Caudron C.640 (as seen a few weeks ago), but it is stalled.\u00a0 I started another Indoor Embryo (Hobo), but set it aside while I worked on the Corona Home Front Combat 1\/2 Sized NoCal event.\u00a0 I’ll get back to the Hobo soon, but I probably won’t have anywhere to fly it.\u00a0 But, I did build something simple (nearly – it’s not quite finished).<\/p>\n
I started on a Sky Bunny for the McCook Squadron’s Bill Warner Memorial.\u00a0 This will take place in June at Muncie (all things permitting).\u00a0 This plane is so simple, you can build it in a day.\u00a0 And it is durable – everything is at least 3\/32″ square (except for the sheetwood – ribs and pylon – which are 1\/16″ sheet).\u00a0 I’ve got to make the motor stick and landing gear, but all of the surfaces are built and covered.<\/p>\n
For the tail, I dug in my scrap tissue box (you DO have a scrap tissue box, right?) the black tissue is scrap black Esaki, the yellow rudder is left over airbrushed (from a Durham Air Limo, I think) and the wings are some “domestic” tissue that I saved.\u00a0 This tissue came wrapped around a bottle of gin we brought back from the Hebrides last summer.\u00a0 Because of this, I will be calling my model the “Isle of Skye Bunny<\/strong>“.\u00a0 Technically, the distillery<\/a> was on Harris<\/a>, not Skye, but it’s close – both islands are in the Hebrides<\/a>!<\/p>\n I’ll be giving the surfaces a coat of Future to seal them up.\u00a0 And, yes, building this made me happy(er).<\/p>\n Good Afternoon,\u00a0 I hope all of you readers are safe and sound and practicing safe viral isolation.\u00a0 The Mrs and I were house-bound from Wednesday last week until Wednesday this week (had doc appt and grocery curb-side pick-ups).\u00a0 Our experiences … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/volareproducts.com\/new2024\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/SkyeBunny02-1024x620.jpg\")
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