[Kiwi]

Guys.

I think I can add to what sleepy has said above.

I live in the Arid north of Chile and we have about five pilots, sometimes more but never together. They predominantly speak Spanish of course and so do I in a fair fashion. But the culture here is totally different to what I grew up in. Anyone who read my story on an addicted RC fanatic will understand. Modelling and hand skills is not part of the LAtin culture, at least not in Chile.

So I have my small group of guys who meet once or twice a month. I go every Sunday. Many a time my 8 year old is helper, spotter etc because there is no one to help. 40% planes are not one man toys.

So the Net as in Flying Giants is my connection with others who think and do the same thing. To me I would likely not be as fanatical in what I do if the Giants site did not exist. It really is a connection rather than just a web site.

I have visited the triple tree site twice. In 2004 I went for the Don Lowe, meet Biff, Pat Hartness and the likes of Kirby and his wife. It was a life changing experience. If you could say there was a Mecca for RC then that is the place. Then I came back again for the 2005 Joe Nall. Good god almighty, what an experience. I meet people who I only had seen faces in magazines, they spoke to me like good ordinary people do. No snobbery or classist society there. Everyone was out to help each other and enjoy the time. They also had an enormous respect for the place and those responsable for making the weekend work. Honest to god a different group of people to anything I have ever experienced in my life, and I have travelled the world. I came away from that week totally zonked at the way people enjoyed being together in a great place.

So what is the cure for that sort of experience.

Go back and do it again. I meet guys who have been going for 20 years and I know why. RC people are good people, whether it be pylon, pattern, IMAC, 3D or what ever else there is. They come from the same gene pool and I am so damned proud to be part of it.

Kiwi