[Rob]

I had a simular problem in Owen Sound the Guy who had the blimp had no idea what was going on. The first time i flew it the guy offered me free admission to the hockey game( not my cup of tea) so i told him i wasn't here for the games and he would have to do better then that. then he offer me again free admission to the game and $25 ok i can handel that as long as i didnt have to charge batteries and put the thing together. We agreed to it. the next game I walked in 5 mins before the first period was over. The guy came running over to me and was asking me where i was and that he hadn't got anything ready. His first mistake. So i calmly asked him where the blimp was and if he had charged the batteries he said no. i told him this was going to cost him and quickly got the blimp set up and threw a half a charge in the batteries and had it ready just in time for the intermission. made a quick flight and then finished the other intermission with no problems. He came up to me after the second intermission when i was packing the stuff up and asked me to take the stuff and charge the batteries for the next game. I simple told him that it would cost him more money if that was going to be the case. We agreed on $50 and i would look after every thing setup and charging the batteries he agreed and handed me $25 dollars cash and said thanks. I said i think you own $25 more dollars. he said he wasn't going to pay and i said fine i will take the stuff home and that would be my pay and he would have any batteries or TX to fly the blimp with and i started to walk away. He quickly pulled the other 25 out in a hurry and paid me. Be care full who you deal with and make sure the money is there. I no longer talk to the guy or fly the blimp for him it wasn't a good experience for me but i did like flying the blimp. sorry for the novel but i thought i would share

[Gary Maker]

Rob, Sorry man, I truly don't mean to be an antagonist but to me this sounds like you created your own problem.

For one thing, I would rather take the batteries home myself and charge them to make sure that they operate properly when I have to be the guy flying the blimp. I know for a fact that the charger that comes with the blimps is a fully automatic charger/cycler. How much work does it take to hook up a battery to the charger and push the little red button to assure good operation of the blimp.

I too have flown a blimp at the Owen Sound arena and I know how much the team gets paid to advertize on the blimp. Its not as much as you might think! $50 to just walk in the door, fly the blimp for a total of 10 minutes and then walk out the door with no other obligation or responsibility is a lot of money for a small home town hockey team to justify! My goodness, a huge University like McMaster can't justify that kind of money for just one of its teams to have the blimp flown at each game!

Also, pay and job requirements is something that should be discussed before taking on the job in the first place then you can say yes or no and be on your way, one way or the other! On the floor (or Ice) 5 minutes before the game is neither the time or place to have this kind of discussion, if you want to avoid hard feeling of the kind you mentioned!

At McMaster everything went easily and smoothly dispite the fact that we had to hustle to do repairs and get it ready after laying dorment for 7 months laying on the floor of the press booth! Holes patched, batteries cycled and charged, electrics tested, blimp inflated and balanced and everything finally complete 15 minutes before the first game. With good communication between us and the University staff everything was successful for the first two games on Saturday and it will only be better from here on to the end of the season as the blimp is ready to go with each new game and Ron will have the batteries charged and cycled properly and be ready to go!

[Bent]

This is my second season with the crew that operates the Toronto Raptors blimp at the Air Canada Center. It took a year to sort out the compensation arrangements to everyones liking. A few guys dropped out early because they couldn't justify the time investment. I'll probably do the same thing one day. For now though, it's still an enjoyable and challenging rc experience. Flying the blimp is the easy part, fitting in to a particular sports scene takes some patience and a good attitude.

[ronm]

For the guys having problems, it appears the problems were not with the blimp flying, but the working arrangement.
No matter what the work activity, wether it be blimp-flying of hair-dressing, you could have the same problems.
This blimp is about 6 years old, and has been flying successfully at every game. There is no reason to expect any problem there. In fact, the guy in charge informed me that they have budgeted to purchase a whole new system for next season!
Can't forsee any major problem here.
Heck, if I don't like watching the games, I'll just bring my favourite RC magazine to read while waiting for intermission!

[ronnieo]

As long as you dont have to fly it in Belleville.....there shouldnt be a problem........ignore the armchair critics Ronm.......have a good time and congratulations!!


Ron Harway
President
Sun Parlor R/C Flyers
Windsor

[ronm]

Thanks Ron!

[Dave Holmes]

Ron, have a ball with it, and when it becomes a job, let go. In the mean time, best of luck!

Dave