Jack Higgins TEMAC #81

[Papa]

My name is John Higgins but everyone knows me as Jack. I was born many years ago in Dublin, Ireland and emigrated to Canada in the Centennial Year, 1967. I had a wife, a 9 month old son and little else. Through much good fortune and the help of many Canadians who became our friends we established a life in Toronto. Our second son was born in 1968 and we became Canadian Citizens in 1972.

Growing up in Dublin, in the late forties and early fifties, my Dad and I built many different types of Model Airplanes. Some from primitive kits but mostly scratch built from plans. We started with rubber powered Wakefield Class free flight models covered in tissue and doped to create a reasonably tough surface. We progressed to free flight diesel powered models and control line models with short wings and great big diesels. Scary stuff then but even more so now that I look back on it. We did not belong to a club and everything we learned was through trial and error. If only we had found a TEMAC back then.

Life intervened and I tried to pick up the hobby when starting out in Canada and I joined the RC flying Club of Toronto. I had brought a veron kit from England of a Cherokee and started building it. That lasted about a year and again the time constraints of making a new life and raising a family, with all the attention that requires, meant that the hobby was put on hold. I was still very attracted to it and bought copies of RCM whenever I could to keep up with it.

Time passed, the kids grew up and I got into HO scale model railroading. I volunteered as an official in road racing, the Air Show and Air Cadets. Fast forward to June 2007, a year end parade for a Cadet Squadron and a father had a display of RC Model Planes. I was blown away with the miniaturization of the servos and amazingly they had little electric motors. The bug struck with a vengeance and after some research I found A&J's in Unionville. My layout was ripped up and sold and became my first 4' x 4' work table in less than two weeks.

Further research led me to TEMAC and I paid a visit to the field one Saturday morning. There were a few guys there with models so I introduced my self and said I was  returning to the hobby after a hiatus of some fifty years and would they mind if I hung around. Gordon Braun-Woodbury could not have been more welcoming and introduced me to Glenn Nikolaiko. Again that same open arms treatment plus a lot of patient explanation of how things worked and what they were doing.

Next weekend I met Michael and became a member and have continued to make wonderful friends in the club and the hobby. I bought planes and crashed planes and eventually became a pilot with wings. I like to think I earned them but I think they gave them to me out of pity so they could move on to quicker learners.

I strongly believe that you only get out of an endeavour what you put into it. I also believe that if you have a talent that you can use to help others then you have an obligation to use that talent. So I decided to write a sometime newsletter that would be current and would entice some long time members to return to flying at the field. Michael gave me his blessing and the TEMAC Teaser was born. I decide some time later to change the name to Ticker as in stock ticker but misspelt it Tickler and decide to leave it at that.

I like to do things for the club and get great satisfaction from seeing the growth and success we are experiencing. While I may be a catalyst in making things happen it is only because of the wonderful support of the Board and the members that I have the ability to do the things I enjoy. A list of successful endeavours would include the mini Fun Fly's, The skills Challenge, The work parties, The Pilot's meetings, Piker Class BL Team Racing and the Scratch Building Course. These all make this a dynamic, fun place to be but would be nothing without the support and involvement of the members. Members are everything.

I wonder what the next challenge will be?

Jack.
or as my mother christened me
John Joseph Damian Higgins

[sihinch]

So delighted to have your "endeavours" Jack, as you put it! 

[Michael]

Damian?

[eddiecj]

WHOA! Giant free flying short wing diesel powered models!! Sounds like a V2!