I've created a monster...

[Txmustangflyer]

At the age of four, to enter pre-k, (private school) my grandson, who has ausbergers and epilepsy, endured a 4 hour (supposed to be) iq test that he completed all questions in 2 and a half..
Now, the epilepsy means he can't spend a lot of time in front of tv's or monitors, and his hand eye coordination wasn't the greatest. The epilepsy is centered in the speech center if his brain, so, often, he is mistakenly called autistic by those who do not know or understand.
Due to his IQ level and his ausbergers he could easily disengage and tip to the autistic side of the scale.
So grandpa, in all his wisdom told his mama, to get him a little, micro rc plane, indoor only to fly. Now my problem is..he's hooked. He now wants a plane with a pilot like grandpa is fixing to build. OMDL what have I done..he's going to be broke for the rest of his life, two hundred rc planes and no wife.)
So, after his most recent crash, to which, the wings popped off the plane and cannot be fixed...(no backing out now) and while waiting on new wings to fix his little airplane he has now been perusing online rc stores..(I done did it now..)
He wanted a smaller 20cc warbird..(NO, not at age 4) but I have convinced him that a small, epo foam trainer with tricycle gear may be coming NEXT Christmas if he behaves, and gets really really good with the one he has.
I've also instructed mama to get him a kids membership in the AMA and find an rc club that encourages child memberships to give him a safe place to fly a bigger plane.
His mamma now wants to kill his grandpa, but, hey, it's like gun safety, the first time they show a little bit of curiosity, you gotta start teaching them....right?
He got super curious over grandpa's "ustang..."
The funny thing is, he had his little plane, would look at it, then spend hours on YouTube and anything on aeronautics he could find to understand why a plane could fly, then to understand how to control his plane.
He then proceeded to tell his mama, the drag coefficient, lift coefficient, airfoil shape, wing area, servo torque etc of his little plane. The 4 year old knows more about this new fangled rc stuff than I do..when he gets excited he reverts to sign language and I can't keep up..his hands are a blur.
The little monster is going to be flying 1/4 scale by the age of 7 and I'm freaking scared lol.

 

[Txmustangflyer]

Now, there's a lot of back story to my grandson and his mama, by blood, she is, actually, his big sister. No, I am not her father, I sm her uncle. (How redneck can you get...) but my wife and I raised her. Her birth parents became addicted to meth, and his birth mother used while pregnant. My daughter took him on after birth mom got arrested. She has now legally adopted him.
It's a miracle he even survived the womb and I am so very proud of them both. She is well on her way to a career as a veterinarian, on a full ride MENSA scholarship and maintaining deans list, a 3.8, my grandson, and working 30 hrs a week at a veterinary clinic.
Hes reading, generally, at a 4th grade level, doing algebra, calculus, and trig, mostly self taught.
The school is at a complete loss in what to do with him. He's basically there to develop social skills, really. We don't want him in AP classes. His sensory disorders get the better of him under pressure.
To be honest. I'm glad to have found him an outlet that's still an escape but keeps him engaged. He's a totally different kid when that plane is flying, relaxed, but focused. Our only problem...five minute flight time, four hour recharge time..lol.

 

[Txmustangflyer]

Wayne..if you see an order that looks like it was typed by a 4 yr old...call his momma first lol.
Yes, he has a credit card that's tied to a trust fund left by his grandfather (not me) but, normally, requires mommy's approval...there was the order of 5000 Legos though...a train set....
The Shelby gt 500 he found used..(no, I'm not joking. He's 4 and he bought a freaking car. His momma went ballistic but the executor of the estate overruled, due to "good investment"
He doesn't have a freaking license and owns a 2015 Shelby GT 500. (Yes, I'm jealous if my 4 yr old grand son's car) the real funny part, the car was two blocks away from where they live. He was gonna walk over and sign the freaking title (smart a#$..worst part..apparently the little...can bargain. He only paid 7k for it.)
The executor (lawyer) called his momma and asked if SHE had bought the car. Her response..."What car? I bought my fiat 2 years ago..."
Yes, we are all in over our heads..big time, with him. But you all know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.
Funny thing is...when he does stuff like that..he's always my grandson, not her son, not my wife's grandson..my grandson...how does that work, exactly?
What's scarier..he's been caught car shopping again too. But apparently he can't decide between a 67 Shelby gt500 or an Aston Martin DBS. Whats worse..the executor has already ok'd the purchase of either one. 4 yrs old and he wants Jay Leno's garage and Wayne's hobby room lol. Yet they get mad at me because I, honestly, can't find fault with either one...all I can say is "That's my boy!"

I don't mean to brag on him, but I'm sitting about a thousand miles away right now, can't sleep, and found out he had a grand Mal seizure today at school. If you know anything about epilepsy, Grand Mal and Petit Mal seizures are the worst. They can be fatal without immediate response. I didn't want him to possibly leave this world without people knowing he existed, without people knowing a little bit of my grandson. All of us here have kids or grandkids so you can see what's driving this series of posts. Pride, love, worry, and being too far away to scoop him up and calm him. He gets so upset at himself when he's not even to blame. I talked with him some tonight. Last thing he asked was when I was coming home.
So, a bit of my family to this family. You all have become a sort of family.
Wayne, Jarron, Rafael, Doc, Konrad, Hank. Through all my dumbest there has never been a flash of irritation, anger, or resentment. Just acceptance and kindness. Even for a numbskull, redneck like me in among engineers, factory owners, business owners. You encourage everyone, engage to solve problems, advise when needed. Like a brother would a brother.
Family is not bound in blood, its bound in honor. I feel honored to have shared in your knowledge, and your acceptance. So, if this were to be my last night, which I doubt that our maker is done torturing me yet, I wanted to say thank you, to all of you.
My return to this hobby has not been the smoothest. But you've still made it fun.

 

[Wayne]

Wow, sounds like a rough start to life, but has huge potential to do amazing things. Keep him stimulated and keep introducing him to new things. He sounds like he has a huge appetite to learn and do. Get him some tools and probably not a bad idea to introduce him to electronics if you haven't already. We have a couple of very intelligent but high strung people in my family also, and they can be a real challenge to feed them enough data. If he can focu his energies (sounds like he can) then he should be able to do anything he wants in life. By all means, encourage that in him. If you try to slow him down or limit his potential things could spiral out for the little guy. Sounds like you only need to point him in a direction.. Keep doing that.

How about a nice RC trainer? These are great and last a long time with some repairs after a wreck.

Slow Stick Kit with Power and Control System Parts

We have been testing many different components in our Slow Sticks and have settled on this group of parts as being best bang for the buck; durability, performance, price etc.This power/control system is an excellent way for the beginner to have a plane that can grow with them. The experienced...

alofthobbies.com

I think you will have fun with it too.

 

[Txmustangflyer]

Yeah the trainer will be an electric, just not super big..more park flyer sized as a next step. EPO foam for sure.
I just gotta remember...this is the kid that disassembled my Dewalt 20v cordless drill, then after figuring out how it all worked, immediately lost interest and wouldn't put it back together...
Did you know Dewalt's warranty won't cover that? I was hopeful..

 

[Wayne]

LOL. Yeah, I used to pull apart my Mom's kitchen appliances. So did my brothers before me. Think they all got a nice rebuild about every 3 years when we hit "that age"

Look mom, only 3 screws left over..

 

[Txmustangflyer]

LOL. Yeah, I used to pull apart my Mom's kitchen appliances. So did my brothers before me. Think they all got a nice rebuild about every 3 years when we hit "that age"

Look mom, only 3 screws left over..

Lol

 

[Txmustangflyer]

The latest..he and mom had to make a trip to the matress store for one of them purple stress reliever things..his GI Joe needed a bed..The salesman has a daughter with autism and went along with it..they not only got the stress reliever/GI Joe bed, but mom got a purple cushion for her desk chair at home..
Sometimes when they get their minds set, there's no turning them away. He can be as stubborn as a mule on some things..