By Frank Sutton
Carlos happened to be flying at SEFSD Field back back in the Summer of 2018 when Alex and I arrived for the first time to fly his brand new R/C plane – a Radian. We met Carlos and after talking with him, he pointed out (then) SEFSD President Brad who was the second SEFSD Pilot we met. Both Carlos and Brad were of invaluable assistance to us because little did we know at the time, we had the wrong type of transmitter for Alex’s brand new Radian. With their help, Alex was eventually able to fly and we both happily joined SEFSD. Since then, we have made so many great friends we are thankful for, and our lives have been extraordinarily changed for the better!
Alex’s appetite for flying is insatiable; whether in the cockpit of a sailplane or at the transmitter controlling an R/C plane, Alex loves all aspects of flying and wants to make it his career flying cargo or passenger jet airliners. Alex’s Mom, Joan, and I are encouraging him to do well in school and follow his aviation dreams.
Over the past nearly three years, the number of R/C planes in Alex’s “hangar” has steadily increased. Alex’s hangar used to be a spare guest bedroom, but now it looks more like an actual aircraft hangar and Aviation Repair Depot! Even after experiencing a few setbacks when a plane would be totaled in a disastrous crash, Alex’s collection kept slowly increasing and increasing until there was no room left in Alex’s Aviation Repair Depot with planes everywhere from floor to ceiling in all states of repair and disrepair!
Brad’s recent announcement to sell of some of his outstanding planes inspired Alex, Alex’s Mom Joan, and myself! We decided that it was time to reduce the size of his fleet. Alex and I nearly simultaneously thought of giving some planes to one of our good SEFSD Pilot Friends, Carlos! Quite a few of Alex’s planes have not even been flown once in the past year because Alex has his favorites, so we knew this was a great opportunity to make a plane donation to a well-deserving best friend!
Carlos has been out of work for nearly one year after his accidental eye injury on the job, and Carlos has always been busy designing and creating his own custom planes like none we have ever
before seen – just take a look at his triangular FA/18 Blue Angels plane, it actually flies great! Carlos is also always skillfully rebuilding and repainting planes and making them fly and look brand new again, we thought he would love to have some of Alex’s planes and the price was certainly right – FREE!
Alex looked around and found three planes he wanted to give to Carlos, then he looked some more and found five, then six planes. Eventually, Alex selected a grand total of seven planes for Carlos!
We asked Brad to help us contact Carlos because we didn’t have his E-mail address or phone number, and Brad passed our phone number to Carlos (Thanks for the assistance, Brad!). After a series of text messages, we offered to drop the planes off at his home but Carlos and his wife came out to our home to pick up the planes on the afternoon of Monday, 08FEB2021. Before Carlos’ arrival, Alex lined up all seven planes (and one transmitter) along with any spare propellers/parts in our back yard for easy
retrieval for Carlos. When Carlos arrived, Alex and I could easily see the big grin on his face as he saw all the planes and I can tell you that I could see a grin just as big on Alex’s face too!
Alex walked with Carlos along the line of planes and gave him some information on the condition of each one – some had a minor problem which Carlos advised would be no problem for him to repair with a little foam board and glue. I can assure you, Alex and I both were very happy to see Carlos was so appreciative and excited to be given these planes. For me personally, it was truly a heartwarming experience to watch and listen to these two expert Pilots discuss the planes and flying with SEFSD!
Carlos loaded the planes in his van and was so thankful, he could not stop thanking Alex for the planes! We told Carlos that we were very happy too that these planes which Alex has loved to fly, now had a new Pilot that would fly and love them as much as Alex had. This was WIN-WIN-WIN for all……
A WIN for Carlos, the gift of seven planes!
A WIN for Alex and I, it is better to give than to receive!
A WIN for Joan, now there is a more room in Alex’s Hangar/Aviation Repair Depot!**
** SEFSD Logic: More room means more space for more planes!
V/R,
Frank Sutton
