Ep 206: Inside the 2026 Toledo R/C Swap Meet & Expo with Hank Rauhaus

[00:00:04] Hello everyone, welcome to the RC Plane Lab podcast. I’m Ron, I’m dave and I am hank. There you go, hank. Sorry, I was glad you remembered. Yes, sir, I’m back. That’s all right, everybody, we have hank rowhouse. Did I get it right this time? Excellent, god, wonderful. From the toledo rc swap meeting.

[00:00:32] Expo. The man, the myth, the legend is back wouldn’t go quite that far. But man, what it? What it? What an entry. Thank you, sir, I love you. I mean I’m doing absolutely fantastic, man, you, you are the face.

[00:00:46] Of this, and you have done so much work to put this on, and we like. For us, this is one of our highlights of the year, like being able to make it to toledo, for this swap meet is one of the things we look forward to every year. So thank you, first off, for all the work you put into it, and then I also want to find out what is new this year and how has the event evolved since last year. Well, I’ll

[00:01:10] Tell you what? First of all, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate those kind words because, as I told you the last time we talked, I really thought this was gonna be my golden egg, my rags to riches story, and it hasn’t really turned out that way, but it’s much, much more important to me because it’s really turning into something that I feel that this is my way of giving back to the hobby. The hobby has been wonderful for me: my, the friends I’ve met. It’s almost like family, and part of that was toledo and the thought that here we are in year six. I, I can’t

[00:01:40] Believe I can say we’re in year six, because I’m still trying to figure out how we survived covet in 2020 in year one. It was. We didn’t know what we were doing. It was crazy. But I will tell you this: last year, I think, was the year everything finally really came together. When you take down those curtains and you see 75 000 square feet of over 800 tables full of rc- goodness, it just doesn’t get better than that. And you have commercial vendors and swappers and you have families and that’s, that’s. That was. That was last year, was like wow, and then, after it was,

[00:02:13] Over. I’m like, oh no, that was the wow, what can we do this year? So, going into this show, there were some things that we really liked last year that we can’t bring into this year, and I guess the biggest thing is the rc racing. We had an oval track last year. That was a lot of fun, it was a lot of work and in the end, the financial decision to not bring it back is what it basically was and it drove that decision. We just didn’t get. We didn’t get the support of the manufacturers that we thought we would. The conversations I had with them was basically: hey, let’s see how.

[00:02:45] Successful we are next year and my thing was: well, the way we can be successful next year, you’re part of the show and it just didn’t work out. So we kind of we, we pivoted and we thought we had that big space. So we did something, we went back to something we tried before and I talked with josh bixler- flight test- and we’ve had conversations for the last six years and I’m happy to say that finally, this year, flight test will be coming to toledo and that is a huge thing for us. Yeah, this is how I say: oh, that was a big one. Well,

[00:03:17] I can tell you, in my eyes, flight test is one of the biggest. I’m going to tell you why right now. It’s because they do something better than anybody else and that’s what they do for the kids, the families. And I have tried, I’ve tried, to incorporate that in the schools where I work and I do okay, but when you go to flight fest and you see thousands of kids building two channel airplanes, going out and flying them with their moms, dads, it’s there’s nothing like it and that’s what I wanted to happen.

[00:03:47] At toledo, so I went to josh in december. I’m like, hey, man, we’re going to try this with or without you, but please, I really hope it’s with you. And I told him- I says, nobody does it better, and I believe that. And when they finally said what we’re on board, we’ve had a lot of talks, so I’m really excited because they’re going to bring their build tents. More importantly, though, we’re gonna have a stem tent, and I tell everybody this: they are one of our platinum sponsors, which is a top level sponsor for us, and their gift to toledo is: these kids are gonna get to take home.

[00:04:18] Two channel airplanes and blimps for free. That’s what I wanted, right, it was. Sometimes it’s like a match made in heaven and money’s not always everything. I’d rather see it geared towards something we enjoy, and so we’ll have a stem tent up and the kids will be there and what they put together they can walk right over and fly and then they take it home. So I’m pretty excited about that. That is probably our biggest thing. But there’s other things too. I can tell you by the numbers. Right now, guys, we’re in for our biggest year ever- I know I said that last year, but numbers don’t lie- and we have had an unbelievable amount of registrations as both swappers and even.

[00:04:53] On the vendors: we lost a couple of my favorite vendors for various reasons, which are excellent reasons. One family moved back to puerto rico. I gotta be honest, it’s a long drive. That was my big, big rc trucks. I loved and they had the big rc trucks and they, oh yeah, those were awesome. They were awesome and you’ll see. You’ll see one again next year. They might not be, but you’ll see the truck because we actually we talked about purchasing one of them and then in the end, to help finance their move, they sold it. But we’re gonna get back together. I talked to them all the time. They were a great, great part of the show. And then samson rc hobby.

[00:05:27] Was their first year and it turns out I, I derrick, a great guy. They’re great to the show and his real passion is also he does interior interiors for custom cars. So he is, yeah, and so he was out at sima, which is a huge car show, and they’re the custom car interior he did one best to show there. So they’re out in california may have a show that I guess is more important than the toledo show. So that’s where they’re going to be this weekend. But the cool thing is they sent some rs up for us, so that’s, that’s fantastic. But a lot of the regulars are back.

[00:06:00] Andrew jesky’s back with his wife page and ag aircrafts gonna be full. Go got innovative designs. Those are, those are mainstays. And I love seeing the old schools- dubro, sullivan, rich’s brew, bnb specialties, and then this year too, which is different,

[00:06:16] Than last year we have a lot of professional organizations we didn’t have so we have some.

[00:06:20] Clubs. This year the vintage rc society is going to be there. I think that’s cool because that’s that’s something that’s changing about our show, it’s morphing. So, yeah, I, I just I’m not gonna lie to you- I’m at that point where I’m anxious and excited all at the same time, but there’s nothing like day one for me right now, so real excited. Another big change is we’re doing the auction friday night, because I want to bring back. I was gonna say I like that idea, I really do, because

[00:06:49] So here’s the thing with like, like among us, like our little group of guys here. One of the things we talked about is, if you were doing the racing again this year, it would have been great to do that after hours. Friday: oh, that was always the plan. Oh, is it really well? Because, like, honestly, when we’re there during the day and swapping, I mean that we need to be at the tables. We want to be able to do that and not have to go do the racing and stuff. But what I like about the friday night thing: now it gives us something to do. Friday night we’re in toledo, we don’t go out to eat. I mean we will grab a quick bite or something like that, but then we just go and hang out in the in the hotel room.

[00:07:23] This gives us something else to do which is going to be awesome I’m really looking forward to that.

[00:07:27] Well and we’re well and again, like everything we’re, we’re always constantly changing and I loved the auctions the week. Singles had not gonna lie you. We’re not gonna have it over at the hotel because we can’t afford it, but we got that big open area in the back we pull cars in. So we’ll be back there and I can tell you this. There’ll be some things you’ve never seen like at our auction. We’re bringing in a real auctioneer this year. We’ve got a great guy coming out- indiana I’m very excited for. And then, another thing we’re doing for sure, because my biggest thing about the auction is fun. It’s like you said, it’s the brotherhood. The sisterhood is doing what we’re.

[00:08:01] Doing, but my team, the clito rc swap and expo team. We put together over a dozen different arfs with donated engines, electronic parts, and they’re all being sold at no reserve. Whatever they go for, they go for and partial proceeds that’s going right to the ama foundation, so the foundation is going to be there. I really want people to see somebody win something and walk that cash over and put it in the foundation’s hand. And this is this is it. I mean, this is what supports what we do. So we’re putting all that together. I’m not going to lie to you, though. I am bringing back the cash bar.

[00:08:32] That was my idea and it will be open after the auction because it gives us a place to do what you just said. You hang out in your hotel room. Let’s all hang out together, sit down, talk, because that’s what it’s about. So the auction I’m so excited for, yeah, and hopefully I’ll get to.

[00:08:47] Snag a few good deals, we’ll see. Yeah, that’s how we’re all hoping, or what we’re all hoping for. So, yeah, and I like things we haven’t seen very often, so that’s, that’ll be cool too.

[00:08:57] Well, it gives us a way, believe it or not, we it helps us generate money, because we’re always looking for ways to generate money. Because, this might shock you, it didn’t get cheaper this year. Good, no, it didn’t. It didn’t get cheaper, oh it didn’t. I was like: wait a minute. No, right off the bat, the, the glass city center hit us with our new contract and they’re 4 000 bucks just to rent the place. This is nearing a 50 000 budget, which, if my wife knew that well,

[00:09:28] It wouldn’t be good, because if people don’t come through the doors, lordy, lordy so. But that’s just another way we can bring in revenue. Got some big raffle prizes again this year, giving away 103 inch plug and play, aj slick, the da 120 beautiful 75 inch t34c mentor, the 20 cc engine donated from value urc. So we got some nice raffle prizes again. It’s the vendors: we got great vendors, man, but it’s just it’s I’m I’m very excited and I? I also excited to let

[00:10:02] That tyler dobbs, our ama executive officer, the guy he’ll be at the show this year, and I- I don’t know if you guys have talked about it much, but we’re. I’m a little leery- my, my group is a little leery- about the fcc ruling that just came down, yeah, back in december, yeah, and I think there’s a lot of conversation and not a lot of good conversation. So hopefully we’re going to talk to tyler about maybe talking about that a little bit too so we can get some things clear, because, depending on how that’s taken and what happens with that, that could change the face of the hobby yet again.

[00:10:35] And not necessarily in a good way. So hopefully, hopefully, we can get some clear pictures from that too. And then for you, sponsored pilots, guys that know how to fly, we do have that fly area. If you’re not sure if you’re good enough for the flyer, just go back and watch for about two minutes. You’ll figure out right away whether you can or can’t fly in that space, because we have some unbelievable sponsored pilots from futaba, high tech, aj aircraft, ra corps, a bunch of guys back there flying. So everything’s looking good, I hope, nice. So then it’s going to be set up. The

[00:11:08] Same way this year as it was last year. As in, we’ll be able to drive in the night before with trailers and stuff and actually unload in the building. And actually something different again.

[00:11:17] This year because I wasn’t ready for last year’s numbers on paper it looked one way when they started coming. I’m like, oh my, it grew so much last year. I mean, when you grow almost 250 swap tables, that’s huge.

[00:11:32] So this year I’m actually opening up swappers- not just commercial vendors- can contact me directly on. They come in wednesday if they want to, because we have security starting wednesday and it just kind of just frees up thursday. So because last year, believe it or not, by the end of thursday 75 of all attendees already had their stuff in, so we don’t call it a three-day swap.

[00:11:57] But it is what it is. So I’m gonna send a note out, hoping to get some guys coming wednesday, just to make it easier for everybody, because I know leaving got to be a little tricky last year. But man, there’s just no way to. We got some things in mind, but there’s no easy way to get thousands of people out two doors in about two hours. No, it just doesn’t work. The physics is not good. So hopefully some of the holiday spirit will still be around. We leave because sometimes she’s a little grumpy on the way out because they’re leaving the show.

[00:12:29] And they want to get home. Well, nobody wants to be leaving, so that’s what puts you in a bad mood. Yeah, I agree, I agree. So I want to ask you a little bit too. So you, this is now. You said you’re sixth year of doing this, so you’ve got a little bit of experience under your belt. What? What do you have difficulties with, or what’s the hardest part of putting on an event like this, with so many tables and with the more people showing up every year, and with how much it’s actually grown?

[00:12:58] That’s a. That’s a fantastic question and I joked about here I joked about year one. Year one was survival. It was all about survival and I made some poor choices along the way and getting ready and during, and I’m growing. I mean it’s gonna be tough for me this year but I think the biggest change for hank- the hank that everybody knows- is my wife even said that I gotta dress a little different next year and she’s right. So this year I won’t be wearing my traditional colito rc swap and expo t-shirt. I do have some green more dress like shirts, I think, because I have to

[00:13:32] I have to transition from hank the swapper and then hank the guy that’s running the largest expo left in the country. I don’t want to say boss, necessarily, but right. And last year I got caught. I’m always buying deals and we bought 600 kits at the end and my team alone had almost 100 tables and four guys and with that racetrack I had to stay back to the whole time and I felt terrible at the end of the show because I didn’t get to do what I. I didn’t get to do what I love most and that’s talk to my vendors. So I told myself at that time I took one week off, I got right back into it and I think that’s another thing that really helped. Usually I take a couple months off.

[00:14:05] I can’t anymore. The show starts the next day when I went down to joe and all I’d like to tell you I was just there for fun. Nah, I was there. I was there knocking doors too. First of all, I went to every commercial vendor that came to toledo said: hey man, I’m so sorry because at the show this year I didn’t. I don’t think I paid enough attention to you and I will never let that happen again because our vendors are so gracious, so of course they would disagree, but that’s how I felt. So I think I’m growing up understanding my responsibility in the show that I love swapping but I go to 30 swaps.

[00:14:37] Before toledo. So I guess I can take one off, even though it is the greatest, at least the greatest up here. So I think that growth is important. I was gonna say that was one thing I was gonna ask too. So

[00:14:47] You’re not just the toledo rc guy you are, or the swap meeting expo guy you are. You guys put down a lot of well, don’t put on. You go to a lot of different swap meets and stuff throughout the years. We saw you up by chicago a couple weeks ago, three weeks ago, whatever it was. You had a bunch of tables up there. I said- or I know you said that you were going to. I saw online you’re going to date in this weekend that went out to iowa, lebanon, ta. Yeah, well, you hit a lot of the main like the bigger swap meets. How is that going? Like, how do you? What do you get away from? What boy I am?

[00:15:20] I got you brother what are your takeaways from that like what do you get out of that and what is.

[00:15:28] The goal of doing that. Well, we started. We started just a small swap in toledo. Our small swap was bigger than most, but still just a small swap. And, like I choose to run the toledo show, I am very personal about it. I know your table numbers, I know where you guys are located, I know where my vendors are located. I’m the only one that can say that. I mean, and this, we’re talking hundreds of tables, but it’s important to me. When I saw you, I’m sure I asked my wife just

[00:15:58] Raised her hand. She knows them too because she’s the one that checks them with me to make sure they’re accurate. But I’m sure within the first 30 seconds, like, hey, mandy, coming back to toledo, that’s how I am, because that’s when I check you off. And what if you guys don’t pan line? Your word is good with me and that’s one thing that I like: that personal touch. Some businesses don’t do that anymore. I choose, that’s how I want to do it. So I think I think that’s important, which is why we go to the small swaps. If I want you to come to my show, what should we be doing? Going to the small shows and, on top of that, these small, these small shows.

[00:16:32] We have two main clubs. We have the tiffin rc club and the valley cdrc club. They’re just a group of 50 guys, my buddies, we do this for you. We, those clubs, we try to give them some money a little bit. This isn’t about making money anymore, this is much bigger than that. And we go to these other swap meets. It’s those clubs are trying to make their money so we can help. We enjoy it too. But the advertising is key. But I’m not going to lie to you. This year, 33 swaps. We’re feeling it right now because we have dating this week. Then we go for four hours up.

[00:17:03] Into michigan and then we have toledo. So we’re gonna re, we’re gonna actually do a little reorganization there, because I don’t know if my team can keep up with this. We have four main guys right now that do a lot of the swapping and we love it, but it’s, it’s a grind, yeah, no.

[00:17:19] Matter how much you love it sometimes it gets a little overwhelming right and that’s like even like.

[00:17:23] Going to joan all last year putting on a pop-up swap shop. What a, what a corny idea, because I don’t want to bring my own stuff. And what it actually worked out? Fantastic, because what I got it wasn’t a plane, it was a, it was a museum masterpiece. That brought many conversations and that’s why I say make offer, because the offer I got about fell out of my chair, but anyway, that’s. But that’s what it’s about, that’s what makes it fun. So that’s why we do that. We go to the swaps and why- it’s funny though- you go to joan, all you go to.

[00:17:55] Iowa. You go to chicago. You see some of the same guys and I’m not gonna lie to you, but I like being hank the swap guy, but I also feel we do things right now and there isn’t a swap. We don’t go to where they sit me down and say: what can we change? How can we get more people through the door to the point where I’m? I’ll let you in and you’re the first one to know this, so I’ll share some information with you. We hot gossip we are. We are going to officially apply to become a, a special interest group with the ama for swap meets and expos in the country, because I think

[00:18:30] I think we have what it takes and I think we do a lot for that arena and again it’s just giving back.

[00:18:36] And I enjoy that. Yeah, that is so cool. You should be proud of that. Actually, that’s that takes a. That takes a lot of work to get to that point. I have a very loving and understanding.

[00:18:48] Wife who will be running the raffle booth this year yes sir so with all the different swap.

[00:18:56] Meets and stuff. You go to you really kind of see what is going, you see what’s being sold, you see what’s being collected. You see everything that’s kind of going on. Do you notice any differences in the several years that you’ve been doing this as to what has been popular? Is it more vintage, more foam? You see more giant scale stuff getting sold. What’s the hot item? Here’s the thing.

[00:19:19] The first thing we bring to get rid of. Here’s the interesting thing that shocks me, and we saw it the last two years- and I think one year is a fluke, two years, no way. But different pockets still love their nitro airplanes and most swaps, selling what I call flyers. They aren’t that, they aren’t the beauty queens, they’re flyers. They’re the ones that have been flown, sometimes flown hard. It’s getting harder and harder, yes, sir, it’s getting harder and harder to sell those. There are a couple swaps: pot of gold out in iowa or, excuse me, pot of gold in indiana, and then the swap out in iowa and even chicago. The

[00:19:54] Nitro stuff was huge and it was used this year again, so I think that’s trendy. You think nitro is making a comeback? No, no, I think. No, I think it’s just. Those are pockets. What I mean, like this is going to sound out in iowa: they’ve got a lot of fields, so it doesn’t make sense. Chicago- I have no idea why. I think I think nitro is going to level off, though I think the electrics electives around it used to be: oh, he’s got electric, it’s something new. I mean, that was 30 years ago, so I think that levels off. I think foam- well, I think it’s hard.

[00:20:30] What we see is foam is foam. You can buy a brand new airplane and try to sell it the next day. You’re getting 60, 70, that’s it, and everybody might not want to admit that, but the market is only bears what the market will bear. So it’s, it’s a. Wherever you go, it’s going to be a buyer’s market, even down at parry this year some, some people were frustrated because sellers are trying to hold on to their things. But you got to understand. They remember what they paid for it to lato rc, swap and expo. We’re all about getting rid of, get something else, it’ll all. It’ll all. Wash out one thing I did notice that we’ve all noticed kits. Kits were had a.

[00:21:06] Wonderful run over the last dozen, 10, 12 years. We sell on ebay rc groups. They’re starting to level off to the point now we’re being able to sell kits at swap meets within 25- 30 percent of ebay pricing, which we know anything about ebay. That’s almost even money with less hassle. So we’re doing, we’re starting to sell kits a little easier that way. Oh, I forgot to tell you. That reminds me just to let. I got some really unique things coming to. I want to go. I’ll come back to that. I got something else. Sorry, okay, yeah, that’s trying to go. Yeah, I do. I just remembered.

[00:21:42] And everybody always asks this question and you might get it too: what’s the best swap? Is that a good swap to go to? My response is always the same: I don’t know. I don’t know what you’re looking for, because I’ve been to some small swaps and found the coolest things. I went out to chicago last year and finally landed that triplane rf. I’ve been looking for that I could afford under 800 bucks- 300 bucks, I mean that was a great swap for me. Might not have been for you, but it was for me. The one of the best little swaps I’ve ever been to is down in west virginia.

[00:22:13] 25 Tables. I mean I had some of the coolest buys ever. I still have a lot of that cool buy. But I can’t tell you and I hate. I hate saying, well, this swap is bigger, this swap is better. No such thing. That’s like people want to compare dayton and toledo like we talk about. Dayton has 350 tables. We got a little more than that. So what, that’s a big swap. Perry has 1200 tables. That’s a big swap. I’m going to swap in a week that has 80 tables, but I might find something whether it’s just as good. You can’t compare. We’re all in this for the same reason.

[00:22:46] Man I’m there to beat you to whatever that good deal is so and we’re all looking for something.

[00:22:52] Different too, so that’s right. That’s the hardest thing. You could be so excited about seeing something where I’d be like, why would you, why would you spend any money on that? That’s what makes it the.

[00:23:00] Coolest. I mean, if you think about it, isn’t that what’s like awesome? Yeah, we fight. We don’t fight over the same things. I don’t know what you’re fighting for. I have a lot too. Look at what I got. I’m like wow. But for you, man, and same with me, so- and that does remind me, by the way, talking about I know you’re gonna say I was just waiting. What, what, what am I gonna say? You are gonna say, hank, last year you promised me something to bring to joe null. I forgot it. Well, I will bring. It wasn’t just joe.

[00:23:31] Null, it was to toledo and journal, but that’s okay, that’s okay. I, I still have it there’s. The worst thing is I had to take it off. The high shelf got down to packet level. It’s been there since last year, so I’ve seen it quite a bit. It’ll make the trailer this year. Okay, it’ll be well worth the wait. I promise it will. Okay, that’s fine. Okay, it’ll be sitting on your table. You just have to decide.

[00:23:54] How much you want to pay for it hey real storage fees I’m sure for the last for the last year so.

[00:24:00] I’m sure the price went up right about ten thousand dollars anyway. Real quick, man. I got to share this story with you. It’s a cool. You got a second for a cool story. I have all the time in the world for you, hank. So four years ago I got a strange little email from a nice young japanese lady up in new york and she’s telling me about her father’s rc airplane and engine and another engine. I’m like I hear this a lot. I hear about collections all the time, but the interesting thing about this particular story is her father owns two of the six zimmerman four-cylinder inline

[00:24:38] Four strokes. One was a. There were quarter scales and six scales. He has two of the quarter scale ones and they were built. That specific engine was built by mr zimmerman for the tiger moth. It gets better. There are only six. He has two. One of his is actually in a tiger moth built by mr zimmerman, who designed the engine he has that. He bought it quite a while ago. He paid a lot of money for it and this year it will be at toledo. We’ll try to sell it at auction. It’ll be advertised on ebay and

[00:25:11] Rc groups, probably within the next week. But to think that I have something like that to me is there are only six in the world. I’ll have my possession two and one is built by the guy who built the engine and all his private notes, the specs on the engines. I’m not doing it justice right now but when you see it you’ll be like: holy moly, I have a. I have a- what is it? Mp3 file from 1987 of the maiden flight grainy as all get out but that engine. When you hear him fire up that engine.

[00:25:39] Holy moly, it’s an absolutely beautiful situation so I’m really excited for that to come. Anybody who comes to toledo hate to say this: it’s worth the price of admission just to see those things. And ultimately, I’m trying to help the family sell them. And we started this journey four years ago and then the dad got sick and then something else happened and this is the year we still have what? 19 Days? But everything’s in place this year. So hopefully the family makes it in the beautiful airplane. So I’m excited about that and when you see it you’ll understand I’m not doing it justice right now, but it’s. And again it gets back to that warm feeling about we’re helping a family.

[00:26:12] We’re and we’re showing something that you ain’t going to see anywhere else.

[00:26:16] Yeah, those are the things I love, the things you won’t see, because I mean, you have such a stage to show off things to, to get the word out about things that a lot of people don’t have. So being able to help people out like that is one of the things I think is really cool about your event, because you do draw a large crowd to it and it’s well known and it’s a diverse crowd. Yeah,

[00:26:41] Diverse crowd and grows every year. So last year’s, last year’s paid attendance was 3 284, which is pretty good. We needed every penny of it. But imagine that airplane just described. And then we had the static model competition this year. That I’m still trying to figure out. You asked earlier, I’m still trying. So this year we’re giving away a thousand dollars in cash prizes. We figured cash was king everywhere else, why not on these models, static models? And we actually have a category like 3d printed. I don’t think you’d ever think about seeing that a few

[00:27:15] Weeks. So we had. We had a little disagreement last year and I think you could appreciate this. I had an organization judging airplanes and they didn’t want to judge the foam airplanes as scale airplanes. Yet when you go to the ama website and pull up the rules that we use, there’s nothing that says you can’t judge foam like a boss, a build airplane. And so this year I’ve I have a group of judges. I’m the only one that knows who they are. The judge will be done. Nobody else will know. They’ll hand me over the winners. We have like 14 categories.

[00:27:50] So I’m really hoping this year I could promise you already know some things coming. It’s gonna be really some really cool stuff that, again, you haven’t seen. I got tether cars coming from the 30s. Most people have never seen them. I mean, think of and you’re like, well, why would you display it? Because we can right, when it’s your own show, you can display what you want and they’re going to judge, like everything else. So you’re going to have your beautiful scale built models. There’s 3d printed models. I got a quarter scale truck coming. These are ones that I know I mean and that’s again, I love stuff like that. No more do I have to put my stuff on the table and that’s good for all.

[00:28:26] Of us I had some airplanes out come on that well what was that the other year you had out there.

[00:28:32] The 10 foot lazy bee with four jet engines I wanted to say mud duck but I knew that wasn’t right yeah.

[00:28:37] That was an airplane. Yep, I love that airplane and it was. I was trying to spur the others to want to bring their airplanes. I think they’re starting to feel that the show isn’t just about that unbelievable scale build what I mean. So and then boss usa stepped up there the sponsors this year of the static show. It’s nice to be able to put cash on some things. I’m hoping it just it gets people interested. Some people like, well, if you’re getting money for this, why are you not? There goes, I guess you could say our some of our possible profit again.

[00:29:10] We’re past. That this is about. I’d like to make a little money. It is what it is. Longer in the black. Last year, we paid for our hotel rooms. That was a big bonus. That was the big thing. Last year, right, we paid for hotel rooms in the van, yeah, well, well, some people- maybe not me, I’m getting too old for that. So, but, yeah, that the static. I forgot about the static mile contest, so that it will be. Are you going to have a people’s choice award? It’s funny.

[00:29:42] That you mentioned that I did the first two years. The first year we had 14 people vote. The second year we had almost 30 people vote and, to be honest, in the end I don’t want to say nobody cares, because there are people that care, but it I don’t have a way. I can’t figure out a way to do it where, if you want to make sure somebody wins, they win. So that’s why this year, the way we’re structuring it is we have all these different classes, right, and then in the end we have a fifth.

[00:30:14] Place, a fourth place, a third place, a second place. Those are all cash prizes. We have a best finished film, best finished paint and then we have the joe david memorial award, which is best to show, but anybody can win. It’s not. It’s not geared towards anything, so there’s no reason that, believe it or not. In a 3d print plane, if on this judge’s scoring sheet shows that it wins, it wins. Now I can promise you. There are some things on the scoring sheet that 3d printed planes we have difficulties with. But that’s okay because whoever put those planes out there, they just want people to

[00:30:44] See them. And how cool is that? Here we are 2026. You have scale models, 3d printed models, foam models, aluminum models from the 1930s. I mean, that’s just wild and that’s where we’re at. So

[00:30:58] Yeah, that’s. It’s always neat to see the, the different airplanes and different models and stuff that are there, because I haven’t been in the hobby for all that long. It’s only been 14, 15 years now, whatever, so I wasn’t around two years. Yeah, I know right. So I wasn’t around in the in the, in the heyday, I guess, of nitro, of all the, all the stuff that’s kind of phased out. So it’s it’s neat to go to some of these places where there are displays of things that are. What’s what? I’m looking?

[00:31:30] For, for lack of better term, nice models. I mean, they’re not junk, they’re not things that have five pounds of mold growing on them, that somebody’s trying to get three dollars out of. It’s an actual model that was flown 30 years ago and in good shape and to me it’s neat to be able to see that kind of stuff almost like museum pieces, and that’s what last year we had.

[00:31:51] Joe david. We had some of his airplanes there and everybody the feedback on that. These planes, some of these planes are 50 years old. The feedback was fantastic. They loved it and that’s good because we surveyed people and that was good and I agree with you. But I also I think that’s what’s cool about swap meets. We always talk about what one’s best. How many times you’ve been a little old swap meeting there? It’s like holy moly, there’s this beautiful something sitting there and sometimes they’re priced okay, sometimes not so much, but I agree it’s. It’s finding the stuff you don’t see anywhere else. The heyday of these shows.

[00:32:24] Swap meets and the expos. There was no internet, there was no tv. That was it right and we can never go back to that. But the static display is one of those things that, whether you love or whether I love or hate it, it doesn’t matter. I’m telling you, people love them and that’s why I wish I could figure out how to make it better. And this year I’ve gone all in. I mean, we spent money on it, we’ve got a sponsor, we have classes. I’ve talked to personal people. There’s a gentleman coming up out of kentucky named william jackson. He, he builds some unbelievable. He takes foam, just a.

[00:32:59] Regular foam airplane and by the time he’s done, from three feet away it looks like it’s a piece of glass. It’s unbelievable art. I don’t know how he can fly it. I could, because well.

[00:33:10] Sometimes bad things happen with foam, but it’s, it’s stuff like that. So I actually I reached out to him like: hey, man, you want to come up here? He goes: okay, thanks for asking. He’s got a facebook group- three, four thousand people- and he flies turbines, but he loves doing these foam airplanes, just some cool stuff. So yeah, fingers crossed, fellas, we’ll get some nice stuff. Ron, you can put some stuff in there too. Nothing says you can’t, we don’t have anything to put in.

[00:33:39] Well, there’s still time. That’s right. I sold, I sold what. I sold what you had last year at jonal. That’s right, you did, you did a.

[00:33:50] Good job on that one. That was that’s impressive. So there are with the different swap meets that we go to throughout the year. I consider some of them buyer swap meets and I consider some of them seller swap meets. Toledo is unique and that it’s both. Like I can. I can tell you right off hand two swap meets we go to where I know I’m going to find something that I like and I know it’s going to be cheap. I can also tell you other ones that we go to where you go to look and you’re probably not.

[00:34:24] Buying anything, but if you have something to sell, it’s a good place to go. So, having said that, as a vendor, not just as swappers, what kind of feedback do you get from the guys that are showing up every year about how toledo compares to other events? And this is the. I’m just going to go to the.

[00:34:42] Numbers because the show, like I said, it’s going to be bigger this year and I can promise you, when shows grow like let’s talk about perry, perry is an unbelievable swap meet. You ever been to perry? You’ve been out of perry, right, I have not. No, that’s a bucket thing. But well, let me tell you something. I tell everybody it’s worth the drive one time at least to see it because it’s it’s 1200, 1300 tables and I talked to the guy that organizes it when I was going through some of our growing pains and it’s the same conversation down there. It’s just the buyers, that is, sellers, and it’s

[00:35:15] Everyone’s different. For toledo you asked about, so it’s all about numbers we’re in. Every year we’ve increased at least 15 percent in swappers and attendance last year was almost 20 percent in swappers. This year I don’t know the numbers yet, but I promise you it’s more. The only way that happens is everybody’s happy. You have buyers that are happy. You have sellers that are happy. It’s, it’s amazing thing. If you’re on some fun- and maybe you do this, just sit and watch the transaction, because as they walk away, the buyer’s like man, I stuck into that guy. The seller’s like

[00:35:45] Man, I stuck it to that guy and everybody’s smiling. What I’m talking about, what’s the best trade in the world where everybody’s happy and that’s all. The only right price, is the one where

[00:35:54] You’re happy for selling it and they’re happy for buying it and that’s I and that’s the one.

[00:35:59] Thing I believe- and this is just my belief, I think that these shows take on the aura whoever runs the show. I believe that, and people that know me: I’m a fun loving guy. I like to have fun, I like to make a little money, I like the family. My wife just said: very little. That hurt a little bit, it’s true, but the thing is, though, when you go to toledo, you feel that, you feel that warm and you see smiles everywhere. I mean I, I told my wife I’m having a, my buddy who’s a, he runs a.

[00:36:34] Little. He makes those hats with those cool leather patches, he’ll be up front. I can’t remember tony’s business lanyards by tony, lanyards by and he, he made these sweet hats last year, only made five of. They were sold about two seconds. So he’s bringing one for me just so I can give it to this gentleman who comes with his brother from turkey every year. They always come, they always barter, we beat each other up, everybody’s happy. They give my daughter candy from turkey and last week gave me a club hat. So I want to repay him this year and that like to me, I can’t wait. But I mean I remember we and in the

[00:37:07] End we’re both smiling. I can’t tell you what I sold him. I don’t care, it’s, he was happy. I was happy, everybody’s happy, and I remember when I sold the week single show- I don’t know, Ron, if you ever came upstairs, but I used to sell at the old week single show. I’d have 55 tables of swap- biggest, biggest swap in the area. We literally would post signs: everything’s for sale. We sold the trailer and by the time saturday evening came it was all gone. Hundreds of planes- I gave planes away.

[00:37:38] It didn’t matter, because there’s a point where you’re good, everything’s good, and that’s what I love. They would come to us because everybody would tell you can buy from us. We call ourselves liquidators, but I can promise you we make our money too, but that’s what it’s about. Everybody’s happy. So I just wish I’d be. I wish I’d be a little, make a little more money, being happy, but it’s still good. Sometimes you don’t need a lot. No, you buy, sell to curb your appetite.

[00:38:05] Of buying that’s what I tell people oh I get that completely because you never know what you like.

[00:38:11] Until you have it. That’s why I started turbine jets. I wish I would have never started that one. No, my wife just said: me too I love turbine jets. My buddy who sells the swaps- whenever I barter with him he just looks at me, goes: jets are expensive. That’s why I got to pay up, so I feel it.

[00:38:28] Now yeah see tommy is a turbine pilot now so am I and we’re trying to get dave to find something.

[00:38:35] We’ll get in one of these years. Well, I got a. I got an old school turbinator with a 120 on it. I absolutely love it. Old wood kit, built retro in the 160s. That’s fast enough right now, but

[00:38:48] Maybe something else later. Great, yeah, oh, I love it. Yeah, so how do you balance? Okay, so, going to toledo, you have a good group of vendors and you also have a good group of swappers. How do you balance where that line is, like it used to be, the front part was all vendors, back part was all swappers. Now it’s morphed into one area as it grows and also a second part to this wow follow-up. What happens when

[00:39:22] You outgrow that place. I wish you would have asked that. Let’s go back to the happy question, the first one. Believe it or not, I always felt this bothered me because the toledo week scene was when they would have their show. Even as the show shrunk, you have to understand. The last year, the week scene, those had their show. The black curtain area we have now, it was about the same size, what I mean, but we were always upstairs. The swap me was always upstairs and it drove me nuts. So I told myself, if I ever do a show I’m gonna be on the main floor. So six years later,

[00:39:54] We’re on the main floor but we have vendors in with us too. Some vendors want to be with the swappers. I love the curtain area, I do. I want that area, but I love guys that want to sell wherever they want, and I hate to say it like this, and I always tell everybody we’re always going to have enough room for everybody. Well, I’m going to be honest with you. Eventually, I guess, if we have that problem where we’re getting too big, we’re gonna have to make decisions. I don’t foresee that right now. I mean, if our projected growth continues on the path that’s on, we probably still have another.

[00:40:26] Four or five years, we have to breach that decision. I don’t have an answer right yet. We’ll come up with one, but I really love everything being on one floor. I love there being no wall dividers, I love it just wide open, but we still have a lot of space back there. I don’t know how to get all the people in and out without that big open area to turn around in, so that’s something we lose. That what you didn’t know is last year, before everyone came, we mocked it up with tables. We brought our own trailers and to see how small we could get to where it was still workable. So we

[00:40:58] We do have some space but, believe it or not, it’s not a lot. On the other side, of course, we have more. So I don’t have a good answer yet if I come to that problem. What a wonderful problem to have, because I really want to keep it. Two reasons: I want to keep it one room. One because we control who pays admission, which I say tongue-in-cheek, but we need that admission. Number two: I just love it because you feel like it’s all together. I love that feeling when you start putting things out in rooms, like at dayton. I love dayton swap. But one thing I don’t love about:

[00:41:30] Dayton is you have the two buildings and if you’re not in the main building you’re in the other one. It doesn’t matter that main building is the main building, even with perry, you’re either in the main building or one of the other ones. What I mean, that’s that feeling, and I like it all in one area. Or we could go to smaller spaces. Instead of an eight foot table, we go to, like lebanon does, five foot spaces. That’s no. Yeah, lebanon, pa. Actually they line their tables up like we do and they’re five foot spaces. 30 Bucks a five foot space. No chairs- oh, the chairs are not, I mean.

[00:42:03] They’re you have to yeah especially for a swap it’s two days you have to have the first year we.

[00:42:09] Went to lebanon we didn’t know the no chair thing got out there like oh my lord so we learned.

[00:42:15] Somebody to bring you somebody go to the store and buy some folding chairs we actually did that we.

[00:42:19] Went to a gas station so I got some. I got some of those camp chairs, we actually it was pretty comfortable. But yeah, that’s, that’s for real. So, no, no good answer yet, bud, but I hope to.

[00:42:30] Have that problem and we’ll solve it like that every year. We have been so this will be. If this is your sixth year of doing it, this will be our fifth year of going right, yes, right. So, because we missed the first one. First year, it was just tommy and I and we went just to buy stuff. We didn’t have tables or anything like that, but we’ve had tables every year since then and, yes, it has grown and it has gotten to be much more impressive, let’s put it that way, since we started going yeah, and

[00:42:59] That’s what I’m hoping. I’m hoping this year is with flight tests there. I want to, I want to. I want ama and flight tests to have conversations again, because they had. I mean, if you go online you can see flight tests at the old ram shows up in the east coast and the nice thing about toledo is there is one politic. It’s the politic of toledo. We’re all there for the same reason and both flight tests and the ama talk about community. Well, if you talk about community, you should probably

[00:43:31] All belong at least some part of the community. And the one thing that I think ama really struggles with is the education department. I mean, sometime I’ll share with you my personal stories because, remember, I’m a middle school teacher and this year I got a whole bunch of grant money to go out and buy things. I went to the ama first. Well, I ended up with flight tests for a reason, and it’s okay I’m. I know that the ama and flight tests had a little falling out, but it’s been years ago and it’s time and I’m hoping this year at toledo maybe we can at least have that first sit down.

[00:44:02] Because you got tyler there, you got josh there, why not? Let me be bygones and we need kids, right? I don’t? I don’t agree with everything anybody does. I’m sure you don’t either, but we have to look at the greater good. Sometimes, like if I looked at you and said everything about toledo is perfect, just how I want it, I would be lying to you. I’ve done things already. I’ve talked about things today that I don’t like. But who does like them? The people that go, my family members, the community, and that’s why you do what you got to do. So the stem is important to us because

[00:44:37] If we don’t start getting kids involved, they don’t have to worry about toledo, because there won’t there won’t be a need for toledo and, I think, for flight tests. I think clubs are important. They have that big, huge family, but it’s time to think about getting these kids in clubs too. So, yeah, that’s a side gig, but yeah, that’s one thing that the two clubs that I

[00:44:59] Belong to, we are lacking in younger participants. Let’s just say the, the average or the mean age of members is, and mean is real, yeah, is high and getting older every day. So, yeah, you’re right, I mean there needs to be a lot of outreach, and I think the new president of ama- we talked to him that, greg stone before he was elected- yep, I think that’s one of his goals too- is to actually get out there with stem and get some of the, the younger kids involved. So, yeah, and this is the thing,

[00:45:30] This is where, yeah, and I agree, stem is important and this is where I know the ama understands. They understand the importance, if anything, about the ama and how a lot of their. They have partnerships with some fantastic organizations and, and it would take to me building a stem program from the inside out. It’s going to take years. It will that’s if you start right now when there could be an organization around that has a turnkey system that works just fine and I would say better than fine. So that’s I. I agree we, we got to get that going, man and I.

[00:46:02] Hope to leo could be the place where it all starts that would make me happy it truly will shall be set.

[00:46:07] Up and you will feed them and you will give them drinks and you will make- I will give them more drinks. Yes, have you ever been to play fest? You’ve not been to play. No, I have not. All right, we got. I’m gonna be honest, I’m. I was. I was gonna say I’ll be honest, I’m probably one of the, the minority and in the hobby and the fact that I have never built or flown a flight test airplane. Well, if

[00:46:30] It makes you feel better. I am with you in that minority. Now, okay, I have flown. I have never built, but at flight tests, because I wear the green toledo rc swap and expo shirt, I’m immediately an expert. Oh, okay, flown and tried to fly many, many, many different things after checking for CG, making sure the props been in the right way, making sure the receiver’s set up the right way. But I will tell you what. I want to invite you guys right now. You ever want to come to flight fest, just let me know and I will set you up. My team. I’m just telling you will leave. It’ll change. It’ll change your.

[00:47:04] Mind about something I don’t want to say: change your mind. You, just you can’t. The feeling is something that I can’t explain. I didn’t believe it, like it can’t be this good, well it is. So I would love, and- and the best thing is- everybody’s- sent around flying what we love to do anyway, and so I.

[00:47:23] Hate to compare, but for me to wrap my mind around things, I need to compare it to something I know. So compare flight fest with what you and I both know as joe and all. Good question, that’s a great.

[00:47:39] Question: okay, the biggest joe and all is in our hobby is the grand am all they have what I think they’re gonna see, that of six, seven hundred pilots. No, they say 600 pounds. Get their plaques, I think.

[00:47:54] This year they have a thousand right yeah I thought last year was like 11 or 1200 registered pilots I could.

[00:47:59] Be wrong, great nope. And you have everything all over the board you have from. You have your 3d line over here, you have your jets over here, you have the electric and the water here. So it’s to me, joe, and all is like pockets of great things. And then you have those demonstrations. It’s all fantastic.

[00:48:18] Flight. Flight fest is not like that. Flight fest is something a little different. They do their parades of airplanes, but they’re different things. It’s not, it’s a whole it’s. And the weird thing is like at flight fest you see very expensive airplanes fly. You don’t think you would, or like. We sold the swap meet. This is our third year selling. Then there’s a swap- what a swap tent. And we finally started bringing normal airplanes, non-flight test stuff. We killed it, man, shockingly they don’t just fly flight test and we thought: I mean, we started two years ago with foam, they love.

[00:48:52] Foam. But this last year, dude, we brought everything, including balsa, yep, all of it. We had nothing left to sell. We were done a day and a half early, we ran out of stuff to sell and we had probably almost 100 airframes. And so it’s just they’re too. It’s hard to compare because- and this is monetarily- you have to look at joe and all. Joe and all is for anybody is not a cheap venture. It really isn’t, I don’t think. No, it’s very expensive, even for what you guys did. You guys, if I were to live at joe and all for a week- not with tgk connectors- I would definitely be down the electric line by the

[00:49:26] Water. I love that stuff. That’s my, it’s my people. But I know people over in the 3d land but like, let’s talk about that, way in the corner you have 3d and that’s a great community, but they kind of pocket off a little bit, just. And there’s nothing wrong with that, where a flight test is just one big pile of people, not good or bad, it’s just too. It’s hard to compare. And the other thing is, of course there’s no, it’s all electric at flight fest, but it’s not. I had the same thing you’re thinking. When I think of flight test, I think of cardboard airplanes: build, fly, crash, repeat, right.

[00:49:59] Here’s the funny thing: though: flight test now has build fly, don’t forget to get your aurora 5, gyro and our little free sky radios, because we can keep it from crashing. Do what I mean. So even they’re understanding a little bit of change, but there’s two different worlds and it’s but like. I had a great time with joe and all, but if you would ask me right now where I’d rather go, flight fest, but that’s me. I love the kids, the families. I’m an educator. That’s what I like, and that’s not that I don’t like joe and all. I like joe and all too, but it’s just.

[00:50:32] That’s just something different man and now I don’t remember did you stay on site at joe and all.

[00:50:37] I did. Oh, oh man, they set the, they set the vendors up. I mean, the way I got to joe and all is charlie who owns tgk, I’m like I’m not going, I’m not going, he goes, I’ll pay for everything. I’m going. I’m going, I’m going to, I’ll go to general with you, sounds good. So he literally paid for my, my tent space for the toledo swap and expo and with that we got a real nice premium camping site. Literally I had a golf cart, but even I can walk it, just I don’t know 100 yards away. So very okay. So

[00:51:06] You guys you guys are up behind that barn then just off to the one side of the swap right yes.

[00:51:12] Yes, if, where my tent was. If you look at the front of my tent and look out left, those campers were right there. It was fantastic. I got- you still, don’t worry though- four inches of water, but fantastic, I will be bringing those rubber boots this year that I heard about and thought how bad could it be? Oh, was I a fool? Yeah, it’s bad. Yeah, it always happens. You get one or two days.

[00:51:31] Of rain when it’s rain it’s not sprinkles you need boots yeah it was and I charlie and his dad.

[00:51:36] Were so happy and I was happy but wet, so but I, I learned, but yeah, it’s just two different things, man, but I, I, I would tell everybody go to both things because again, flying’s flying and like, the amazing thing is like last year, you see some crossover because, like kiki, flex innovations, when they come, they put on demos lane walker, who’s an aj aircraft sponsor pilot, he has his 100 cc big and down there he ripped it around. So you, you have crossovers. And the other thing: I didn’t- I- this is my ignorance- I didn’t realize that flight tests would have pilots, that

[00:52:10] Can fly like precision 3d? Oh, they do, and some are 10 years old. Yes, and it was. I was the same way. That makes me so mad. I, I can’t. I do that either. But like last year, we’re selling balsa electric airplanes for money, more money than we can sell it. A swap, like we have stuff in my hangar right now. That’s safe for flight fest because we know we make more money. But to see these kids buy it from us, throw a receiver and go fly it within 10 minutes and then fly it all weekend, this one dude.

[00:52:42] Bought a cute little 450 size e-flight. Sukoi put it all weekend. On the last day you destroyed it and it made us feel so bad and he looked at us goes why? Because I had probably 100 flights on this thing. It was fantastic. That’s a 13 year old. I’d have been crying. He was like this is what it is, man. I guess I shouldn’t have pulled so hard. The wing fell off. I’m like: oh, I saw it. Full speed snap. Full speed snaps do not do well and it didn’t so, but yeah, it’s.

[00:53:10] It’s wild yeah well we’ll have to keep that in mind I don’t know about this year but maybe next year.

[00:53:16] We can try and hit. Yeah, seriously, I mean, we- I’m not going to say we have a pretty good end, but we’re, we have a pretty good relationship and you don’t have to feed yourself, we’ll take care of all that. You’re going to figure out where to sleep, you, but depending on where it’s at, there’s always hotels, but it’s worth it if you have a place to go, and that’s what I mean. I have a team down there. Last year we had nine guys between rc swapping x, but it was kind of funny. They all said the same thing: if you wear this shirt, they think things. So even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter, just stand around, look cool. The kids come up. And we flew in the combats too. I’m not gonna lie, I love that stuff. We flew a two meter e-flight trojan in the combat and, and it was, it was.

[00:53:53] A guy at our field flew it so hard the whole front end came off, so it was a. It was a beast anyway, but we, we got her all back together and it was fantastic. We got some special ones for this year, but that’s just fun. We were taken out by a little 12 inch foam wing. That’s all. Those do the best in those. The pusher wings- yeah, there’s. Yeah, it can’t compete with them. Well, we have, we put skewers on our leading edge which look really cool. But if you really think about the design of a wing, having things that can stick things, not good because we caught that wing.

[00:54:29] And lost all. Lift on one side became a spin. It was awesome. And then we get out there. I’ll never forget the kids like I gotta get my picture with you. I took you down. He’s like a six-year-old mike.

[00:54:40] Man you did good call brother so it does sound fun I’ll I’ll give that to you.

[00:54:47] All right I’m holding what maybe I’ll take your shiny with me I’ll make you come to a.

[00:54:51] Flight fest. You can get it there. No, don’t do that, but we’ll see like that. It’s something we’ve talked about before. It’s it’s. I want to say it’s only like eight or nine hours away from here of a drive, so I mean, it’s not where are you coming from? We’re in stringfield, illinois, so central illinois.

[00:55:10] So yeah that’s a drive I was only 12 for us perry is only a lot worse than that I was gonna say I.

[00:55:18] Think perry for us is like 18 or 19. Yeah, I keep forgetting, you’re way over there. Well, when we go to joe, I was gonna say when we go to joe and all we’re, we’re about 13 ish hours, 14, 13, 14 yeah.

[00:55:29] Yeah, actually perry for me was 12, 12, okay, yeah, don’t know farther east, yeah, yeah, a little farther north, but it’s just, it’s only a drive. You got buddies too, you can drive. Oh, I know there’s.

[00:55:44] Only so many years oh trust me I know I will I will probably hold you to that just so you.

[00:55:52] Know I might regret it that’s all right I won’t regret it I promise that’s what makes it all fun.

[00:55:58] I know right it’s the people you meet and the things you get to do with them that’s like I.

[00:56:03] Remember seeing you- though I laugh because I get to joe and all- I’m like I’m out of my element. I was out of my element for like three seconds and you were one of the first people I saw. I’m like you’re here. And then all of a sudden I realized something: it’s all the same players, just a different location, and that was the most wild thing. And then, like eric, eric from national ball. So I had no idea the guy could build. I’ve never seen his stuff and he has some of the most beautiful big airplanes- absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t know that. I had no idea. I’m like because you.

[00:56:36] See him. I see him at toledo selling balsa wood, selling kits. Wait, he actually builds those kits. He’s an unbelievable scale builder, no idea. And he can fly. Who knew that? I didn’t.

[00:56:48] Yeah, it’s like said, when you see people in their element and you kind of start to realize that you see the same people and over and over again, it’s pretty cool, and that’s even all these swaps we go.

[00:56:58] To. We had people who went out to chicago last year it’s a nine hour, I’m sorry, chicago was about a six hour drive for us. We had guys in toledo then come and say I said if you come to the show, let me know. I had a dozen guys go. Hey, we came out to chicago. We had to check this out. This year they’re bringing a bus out, a literal bus of people are coming to toledo pick up from the chicago show.

[00:57:17] That fox valley I think that’s just wild man that was a good that was a good swap meet there too yeah.

[00:57:24] Love that swap I we I wasn’t gonna go back because it was far but I love it and they’re so nice what a.

[00:57:29] Great club yeah this was our first time going to that one I’m glad we did yeah it.

[00:57:35] You ask about a buyer seller’s market. That’s another one. I mean, it just depends, because I see it both ways there too, because we were sellers but, man, at the end we were buyers, not because we wanted to, we just couldn’t help it. They’re making us buy things. So we did. I picked up- oh no, go on, you’re fine. I picked up some early power save receivers for five and ten bucks, 20 channel. The guy was thrilled to sell them and I was very happy to sell them. Then he sold to me and I sold.

[00:58:07] Them again. It’s stuff like that’s what I noticed one of the one of the planes I bought, like you’d do the normal haggling back and forth in price and stuff and you find I mean like you’re gonna buy it no matter what they say, but we’ll see how cheap we can get the fun part, man. And then, like you come to a, an agreement on that and you hand them the money and stuff and like they were genuinely like thank you very much for buying this, they were very happy that, like they didn’t have to take it home or something like that. I’m like man, if you’re that thankful, I

[00:58:38] Should have tried a little bit lower. Okay, should have gone lower, but that’s okay, I’m happy, you’re happy, so we’re good. But yeah, just a bunch of really nice guys up there. Well, the guy selling.

[00:58:47] Those really expensive receivers. He had six of them plus he had some power box gyros never heard of. They’re 150 bucks a piece. I found out dirt cheap and there’s two guys just hamming and hawing. I looked at the guy. I said I’ll buy the whole table, all of it. He just looked at me: you want it all? No sure I’ll take it all. He goes: okay, I bought it all. I let the guy stay in there. I said: do you want this? Because I’m about to buy everything. He kind of looked at me like you ain’t gonna buy everything. I’m like I bought it all because it was just too good of a price. It was older than I thought, so I didn’t make quite as much as I wanted to, but I did all right and the cool thing is all.

[00:59:20] Those power box gyros I never heard of. They went to india. Really one guy, yeah, one guy in india bought them all. My niche, his name, is m-a-n-I-s-h. I talked to him almost every night on it. We messaged.

[00:59:32] Back and forth. Yeah, that’s so funny, that’s awesome. Yeah, you just never know who you’re gonna meet. No, nope, not at all, sir. A couple more questions. I don’t want to keep you too long and I know.

[00:59:46] I enjoy man. I love this. Like I told you, I’m not just saying it, it’s one of my favorites, just I, just because I feel like I’m just talking in the basement somewhere. Well, I mean, I don’t know where you are, but we are in my basement, so that’s. Maybe that’s I am. I am in my kitchen, so there’s only place, a decent wall. This is my podcast place. Like I said, it’s just you and me looking at you right now, because we’re not doing this on my couch. Get comfortable, exactly.

[01:00:16] Me while I take a drink no you’ve done really well I know you’re not feeling well but man.

[01:00:21] Do it excellent, keep it up trying to trying to keep the coffin, do a minimum and now that you say that, I feel one coming on. But that’s okay, we’re gonna get through this. So, with all the actual swap meets you guys go to and all the stuff you do- 30, some odd, you said a year- and with all the planning for this and all the other stuff, do you ever get time to actually go out and just

[01:00:42] Enjoy flying. Yeah, I’m almost embarrassed to tell you this, but I will remember. I told you stories. By the way, when somebody starts to say we have to, we have to reorganize how we do what we do, and it will happen at the end of the season, because last summer the one thing I didn’t do I did more flying at flight fest. In that four day span that I did at my own home, at my own house. What you guys don’t know is my mom and dad owned a 30 acre farm. My dad started the hobby shop. I took over on that.

[01:01:14] Farm we have a 2 000 foot runway we fly full scale yeah there’s our field and I didn’t fly.

[01:01:23] So it’s true, I’m being honest with you and that’s why toledo this year I kind of spread it out a little better and I still didn’t fly as much as I wanted to. But I, because I’m so, I mean it is. It says it wears you down, it wears the family down. I know that the nice thing is my family and I, we recharge. Every summer we usually try to try to take a trip to disney, which is why I have to sell so much. But we love disney, it’s a happy place, but it’s and. But I’m really gonna work on.

[01:01:54] That and it’s kind of weird. Like I said, I’m changing for the show. This is me growing up. I’m 55 years old, but I mean growing up in the world of whether or not I want to be. This beautiful mug is the face of something fantastic and I have to start. I have to start getting my life in order a little better to make that happen without so much work, like I have to let go of some of the power, which is really hard for me. I mean, this year I have people that aren’t official green shirt wearers helping me and it was extremely difficult, but some of them came to me last year when I was in. No, you might not.

[01:02:27] Have known it. But last year, before the show started on thursday, I almost had a doubt on nervous breakdown because there were so many things that were going against us that we had no control over. And that’s what people don’t realize. At a show- you don’t control a lot of things. That happens. The infrastructure can tell you what they want to do and when somebody comes out and says the fire marshal’s here and you have to move a 60 feet of truck and trailer when it’s blocked in by 52 other vehicles and you have in your contract that it’s supposed to be there, it might sound like a

[01:02:59] Simple fix. It is not, and that just started a whole snowball thing and I had a one of my buddy’s daughter step up and help me and she was so good at what she did that this year on thursday I’m no longer the contact. If they need to talk to somebody, they go to her first because I have to remove myself, because it’s just too much stress. So I’m letting other people help me and it’s hard because I want it to be so perfect. Like I put a tablecloth that would have to be so perfect. Like I let that go. I’m letting things go and it’s going to kill me not to go sell stuff. I can tell.

[01:03:32] You- I mean I. I haven’t done it yet. I hope I can get rid of my favorite t-shirts- is one of the ways to not be a swapper for two days, but I have to, I have to. I always have to remember the most important thing is: swapping is important, but the toledo rc swapping expo, if we want- and like I tell everybody, we want it to be around, I have to, I have to help make sure that part of that is: I have to take a role. I have to grow into the role that I’m trying to be. Yeah, so man, I almost teared up.

[01:04:03] Right there, I’m good, though I’m good. Well, if it makes you feel better. I have not flown since january, so the last month was actually the february was actually the first month, because I keep track of flights and all that kind of stuff. It was the first month that went by without me flying in a little over two years. So yeah, it happens to all of us, I know, and that’s that’s why.

[01:04:28] I got into the turbines at the end of last year. I’m glad because once you start flying those you get it’s a bug that is very infectious. So I’m looking forward to that. But god, I don’t want to end on that. I’m going to tell you, though: I love what I do with this. I love I’m very lucky. I have a very supportive family. I know my wife is- probably she’s my most important committee member, because most of the time it’s just her and I and we sit and throw ideas around and like, as soon as we get off this, she’s going to do pricing for me. I got to swap that swap and

[01:04:59] Date and she’s going to put out about 30 price tags I need out, and she always is supporting stuff like that and at the show. She’s important, but I think that’s also important that people realize I’m married. I have a family. I love that. My one daughter is always at the show hustling rascal tickets. That makes me so proud, because she’s a hustler. She’s going to do great things in life and that’s what it’s about. It’s a little above that. So this year, though, I’m going to be part more of the

[01:05:23] Family is up front too. So with all of that, there’s a lot to be proud of. On what you’ve done, is there anything that particularly stands out from this year, from this year’s planning, from what you’re changing that you’re proud of, like it feels like you actually accomplished something that you were wanting to do for a long time and finally happened. Can I answer this two?

[01:05:48] Ways. I want to talk about last year, however you want. Okay, last year, I mean, I did cry at toledo because we had the family of joe david, who actually was the first gentleman to have a rc event in the toledo detroit area. I purchased his collection several years back and I met the family and we have our best to show is named after him. But to bring them back and they see his airplanes on the table because we sold a lot of them and after a while, like why the hell we sell him this cool stuff, why don’t we keep it and fly it? And so we did- and to have that family.

[01:06:23] Come back and present his award on our stage. To me was I just. That was probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had there, so I wanted to just bring that in because I am an emotional person. That was very emotional for me and they’re coming back this year. They said they don’t want to present the award, but they want to see us all. That’s why we do this right. Yeah, now happier. No, that was very happy, but very emotional is flight test. I’ve been, I talked to flight test and

[01:06:53] Stefan in year one, two, three, four. I didn’t talk to him in five and it’s funny, I got to give a shout out to my team members because I had two team members that kind of. They went to me above and beyond and they started visiting josh and family and crewed out at his place, edgewater. They started flying with them. They actually attended some of josh’s. They did a lot of bible studies well, and it was what’s kind of cool. It was a natural thing and I never mentioned them, but I saw what.

[01:07:24] Was happening. I’m like I just gotta wait till I can manipulate this. So we all talked about it. That’s what it was, and it’s weird because, in the end, what started the whole thing, their relationship, was with josh’s wife, jen. She wanted to get him a specific airplane for christmas and they knew we do the swapping, so we started finding what she wanted. And bringing flight tests to toledo is important because of the stem temp situation. We’re we’re going to give the kids something.

[01:07:55] That they can take home with them. And I gotta be honest, I’m very proud of the fact that under the same roof we now have flight tests and we have the ama. I won’t. I won’t say breaking bread, but in the same building. And before you can sit down and break bread you have to be somewhere you can talk to somebody and I believe that we have the, we have the aura you need for that conversation to happen and I can promise I will walk every ama vice president. I run into any executive member right on back there.

[01:08:27] Because I want them to see those kids under that stem tent building and see the joy they have when they go fly their stuff, because there ain’t nothing like it, man. So how’s that? Good answer, I was practicing that one. Thanks for giving it to me earlier. I’m just kidding, but what it’s? It would have been the same answer. I’m just. That is, as we say, a big fish. Yeah, and there’s been every year. There’s always something I still look at: the small, the small vendors that still come to our show. They’re getting older and one guy cuts a check b&b specialties. He cuts the

[01:09:03] Check that says I’m not dead this year cash it in march I’m like okay he’s still around so we catch.

[01:09:11] That bad boy? Nice, yeah, it’ll be interesting. I’ve never- like I’ve never- been to flight fest or anything like that, but I’ve never met any of those guys either, so it’ll be interesting to see them in person and actually go up shake their hand and say hi. So yeah, I actually watched. I watched josh he’s.

[01:09:29] A little younger than me. I remember josh, when I was just coming out of college as a young fly flyer right down the road from us. I remember seeing him and I didn’t put it all together till later like it’s bixler, I’m like who? And then I remembered he’s done fantastic for himself and his family and his community and then they have a good thing anytime. You get kids flying is a good thing to me, yep, I agree. And then you get them building something on top of that. You get them hooked. Yes,

[01:09:59] Sir, yes, sir, all right, couple last questions, sure, okay, and they’re not hard ones, so I’ll just. I’ll let you go on that one. I don’t know why I’m getting nervous, but go ahead. No, okay, we’ve been there. Toledo is something we know inside and out at this point on how things work. What would be your best advice? Best advice for a first time attendee, first time attendee that wants.

[01:10:25] To just swap or wants to go to the whole show they want to feel toledo as its entirety somebody just.

[01:10:32] Showing up as I want to see what toledo is like walking in the door yep not somebody that’s.

[01:10:39] Sitting up to swap, not somebody that’s actually coming to see. I would wait till about 9: 30 on friday. I’d stroll in, I’d stop at the nice little coffee shop, I’d grab myself a coffee. I’d stroll over to the vendors, I’d pay, I’d pick up a map, I’d go through the main door and then I’d just pick an island start. I walk back and forth, back and forth. When I get hungry I go over to the concession stand at the end of the curtain space. You can decide if you want to go into the swap area.

[01:11:10] That’s. That’s I mean. If you’re there to see the show, you don’t. You don’t have to be there when those doors open, because I don’t know if you’re ever that, you’ve ever been there. Yeah.

[01:11:21] It. It takes 20 minutes to get the first round in and it’s really it’s pretty cool. I mean it’s. We had the drone. Our drone pilot last year videotaped that for us, so we’ve used the video this year. It’s pretty cool. But come just after the rush and sit back and enjoy. What I found out is these vendors want to sell their product. Don’t get me wrong. We all want to sell, but that it’s the talk, it’s the communication. Zora propellers- great example. I got a question from zora this year. Hey, can we come? We don’t have much product, we just want to talk to people. I’m like, well, heck, yeah, right, I mean of

[01:11:55] Course you can come, you’re allowed. We really got to know zora. They actually came to flight test. They sponsored some of flight test stuff. But it was just a cool question because, yeah, you want to sell. But what I found is the more you talk, the more you sell. Anyway it all goes together and I talked to the vendors. I didn’t talk as much last year until I got to joan all, but for the most part most vendors were pretty happy. I was a little nervous because, like gator rc came last year, they’re a pretty big fish and they inquired about getting more space this year. So I know it must have been okay for them. That’s always a good

[01:12:29] Situation right. So that’s probably my advice. If you’re a swapper, buy a 25 dollar table. Buy a table for friday and get there thursday. That’s my advice. Yeah, because I do not. I know some swaps. Absolutely no selling on thursday. I’m not gonna lie to you. I can barely breathe on thursday. Sure, I’m not gonna monitor what’s bought and sold. I’m not gonna say some.

[01:12:53] Of the best deals are thursday no you catch them as you’re walking in you’re like how much you want.

[01:12:58] For that I’ll take it I mean guys go home and reload it’s amazing yeah it’s amazing now do you have a.

[01:13:05] Lot of people to do just one day tables, because I know we’re there for the weekend so we buy tables for both days. But you said buy a table for friday. I’m like, well, yeah, just do that. There are some. But

[01:13:19] You would be shocked. I can tell you this. They’re like what I usually do: if I have a friday table sale, I’ll put somebody’s saturday on that same table, just like I mark the table off for the weekend. We don’t, we don’t, ever we. There really isn’t that much. There was enough, because if you remember where the auction was last year, those are all friday people. So you probably got I don’t know 12, 15 tables. Those are all fridays. Because we get rid of the tables, then the auction goes there, but not

[01:13:52] Not much we do have people I’m going to be honest there are people that have walked up.

[01:13:58] And the way we work is this: it’s really easy. You can’t come into the show early, but if you are buying a table for friday and then pay the admission to come to the show, you come to the show because we still need the revenue. But there are guys that’ll buy a table on thursday. It doesn’t matter to us and anybody who gets it thursday can come on the show. This year they come in early, come in wednesday. I don’t anticipate a lot of people, a lot of swappers come on wednesday, but some of the bigger vendors do. I mean I got a group out of new york. Their last year they had 20.

[01:14:29] Tables. They threw up to 26 tables this year. Nice, it’s a whole group. Yep, he recruits his home guys and I give. I help them out a little bit too. One of my pet peeves is 25 bucks a table. Sounds expensive. Well, if you go to as many swaps as we go to anymore, that’s the norm. Well, it’s 50 bucks, really. Well, the swap is two full days so and I put tables, oh yeah.

[01:14:56] We’ve gone to yeah we’ve gone to plenty of places where the price is nearly that but it’s a six.

[01:15:01] Foot table. So it’s four hours and they’re big boys faces. Now we’re down. I mean, this is truly the swap table. Distance is the footprint. It’s eight foot. So between the two rows you have eight feet, so you have four. The other side has four. But even my big belly fits just fine, because I was the test.

[01:15:18] Pilot but the reason I’ve never I’m sorry I was just gonna say I’ve never been behind our table and.

[01:15:24] Felt cramped. So it’s, it’s a good. Well, it’s just a lot. In the very first year, remember, those tables were how much? Were they married? 20 Feet because of covet. It was ridiculous. Yeah see, like I said, we didn’t. I didn’t get to see that one. Yeah, it was. And each year they get smaller. But next year will be the first year where every set of tables has an end cap. Why? Because I can, and it’s just I’m building towards that question. You asked a while ago what happens when? So, just by capping rows, it’s almost.

[01:15:52] Another 50 table spaces yeah you have the amount of people going there then you need to.

[01:15:57] Start doing that and it’ll be interesting. This year a dubro is back. They want to be in the middle island, so they’re like they’re back in the swap section a little bit. They’re great guys, brian prime, but they’re back there and I might even have static back there if I have. I’ve got a plan for can you imagine this? If I don’t have enough space up front for static, what another great problem to have some already planning for that. We’ll see how it plays out.

[01:16:23] Well, awesome, I know we’re looking forward to it. It is one of our highlights of the year, like we said before, and it’s coming up pretty quick, not to make you nervous: april 10th and 11th, so we’re

[01:16:34] What? Three weeks away. So what are what are the hours this year? Well, on april 10th it’s 9 am to 5 pm. April 11th, it’s 9 am to 3 pm. If you are a vendor or swapper, you can start getting at 7 and, like I already said, any vendor or swapper who wants to start coming wednesday- and this will all come in email to them- they’ll have to let me know. Thursday door opens at 7, 30 and then friday.

[01:17:00] Night’s the auction you guys close down for a little bit yep so what’s going to happen friday.

[01:17:05] Night at five o’clock. Everybody will be cleared except my crew, and they’ll put the auction stage up at that time. The airplanes will be judged, the judging will be going on and then we’ll open back up at seven only using the one door, and then nobody will be able to get back into the arena where the merchandise is. So the auction will be on the back wall. You’ll be facing the back wall, not the merchandise, and I’ll have my people there watching that. The bar opens at seven, shuts down 11. So I truly am trying to create a I’d love, for the auctions will probably go a couple hours.

[01:17:38] Out whatever it goes. I don’t know, that’s not only up to me, but then I want a space where I hang out. That’s where we’re going to hang out. I mean, I’m paying 24 000 bucks for it might well.

[01:17:46] Enjoy it on a friday night. Right there you go. It’s the best venue to have at this point. So yes, sir, awesome dave, do you have anything you want to bring up before we go? Nope, I think you.

[01:17:57] Guys have all covered it I’ve just been sitting over here enjoying myself in the corner he’s not in.

[01:18:02] The corner. By the way, nobody puts dave in the corner, nobody. I know he’s on the other side of the table, not a corner. Well, hank, in that case I’ll let you have last word. Well again, guys, I just want.

[01:18:14] To thank you for letting me have this chance to talk to you, and what I like about this is it always gets into the real stuff, and I’ve done multiple podcasts this year, but this one really it. It just feels real to me the way we talk about things. Thanks for giving me a place to talk about some of the things I wanted to share. With regards to the kids and stem and flight test and I hope, I hope this venue this year. I hope everybody gives us a chance. Come on out. I still get people who don’t realize they’re a show in toledo, so anybody that listens, make sure you let them know. Hey, there’s still something going on toleo first or second week in april and I hope to see you there.

[01:18:48] Man, awesome. Well, hank, thank you once again for coming on. We greatly appreciate you taking the time out of your evening because I know you have lots to do to get ready and I guess we’ll see you in a.

[01:19:00] Couple weeks. Yes, sir, we hope you enjoyed this episode of the RC Plane Lab podcast. For topic suggestions, to ask questions or to give any feedback, connect with us at rcplanelab.com or email us direct at either Ron at rcplanelab.com or Tom at rcplanelab.com. You can also text us or leave us a voicemail at 818-351-9846. Please subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, may your landing be gentle.