My Cherokee on it’s maiden flight from last weekend. These pictures were taken by Samuel Williams.

I managed to get myself to the field and it was a struggle. I needed to visit my friends, the sunshine and the fresh air after being cooped up for days in the stuff sicky house.

By the time I went to the store for groceries we needed, got gas and drove up there I was pretty exhausted. I sat for a while and chatted with friends and then made two flights with the Cherokee and one with the 2meter powered glider. All were good but the lift was out of sight. Once I got to altitude I cut the motor on the glider and flew for a very long time on a thermal. I finally got bored and had to force the plane down and landed on the runway.

Last flight of the day was Mark’s Killer Chaos he built from scratch out of balsa and a glass cowl. The plane has retracts and it’s just gorgeous. Mark is also a “Killer” pilot and flew the plane with style.

As I write this I could use a nap but getting you with my friends and flying was good for me. I look forward to getting back to the studio tomorrow and getting some work done.

I must of heard the words fear and terrifying one too many times to know that was made just for the shock value and the money. So what else is new? From the trailer alone I can see there’s nothing new hear. This subject will always be the laughing stock.

The title says it all. Alien Abduction. So these people that made this show have evidence it is aliens. They don’t. It’s just a term. It’s a sleazy taky title. And it makes people who really have experiences with the unknown remain in the shadows. Thanks a lot.

One day real science will tell us the truth. Webb will discover life off the Earth as it is intended to be for our civilization.

It’s true I wrote a book about my experience with this stuff and a movie both called, “But Something is There” and the title says it all. There’s something there. But I never said what it was or ever used the word “Alien”. Because to be honest, I don’t know what it was I was dealing with. Conjecture never offers answers. It just makes things worse and this is how cults are started.

Embrace your life and the mysteries of the Universe. It is enough. Great wonders are ahead.

I couldn’t stand being boxed up in the house with this damn illness. So Mary and I went to the studio just to make things seem a little more routine. I managed to get 2 masks finished with hair. That was all I had the energy for and we went home.

Thanks for all the emails about our being sick and your worries of it being covid. We are both vaccinated, boostered 3 times, and we wear masks every time we are out in public. But one thing you roll the dice with is grand kids. They go to schools and bring this stuff home. Every reason they should all be required to wear masks still.

The pandemic is not over and everyone has a responsibility to do everything they can not to spread it. This is not the kids fault. It’s the schools, the politicians, and the people that run our local government. All they care about is money.

It doesn’t matter what I have, covid, cold, or flu, we shouldn’t be spreading it around because you can’t lose a day at work or school. At least out of respect for others where a damn mask.

I was looking forward to this weekend. I had a slot car race with my local club. Tomorrow I had flying at my model airfield. All gone now.

Mary tells me this will all fall on death ears and maybe that’s so. But I needed to say this for the record. What may be just a mild cold to some of you can turn deadly for the elderlyor the immune compromised.

Today I’m a bit better and I’m hoping to be better still tomorrow.

I’m going in again this week to finish out these orders. Thanks so very much for your orders. I apologize for being behind on them. Some of you have been waiting a long time and appreciate your patience!

This is going to take awhile but tomorrow the kids go back home and I’m going to go to the Studio for 3 hours and at least get some hair laid on the masks.

They say 3 days coming, three days on, and three days going. This is the second day on so it’s my hope I will be much better on Monday.

Mary and I are both healthy and have good immune systems due to the food we eat and exercise.

So here’s hoping.

It’s one thing to have your grandchildren visit. Not much you can do to prevent getting sick from them. But in general I have continued to wear a mask in public indoor situations. You can prenet getting flu or cold, let alone covid.

Feeling a bit unwell today and Mary more than me this all comes from visits such as we are having from the grandchildren. It’s some kind of cold. Sore throat, coughing, yada, yada. Not the dreaded “C” because we can smell and taste just fine.

 It looks like our trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo today may not happen and instead we’ll just stay home and try and feel better.

Tomorrow I need to get back to the studio no matter what and continue on. The little darlings return home with their Dad Friday morning. From then on out we are back to normal at the studio and will finish and ship all orders next week except for the few we just received.

Sorry for the delay. But as it is said, “Life happens”.

Despite waiting for visitors to arrive that never did, grandchildren in the studio I played with, I did manage to get all these masks painted and painted well. I did find I had some more paint. the paint that went overnight from 40 dollars for a quart to nearly 70. But I digress.

So today I have a little girl that got a rocket kit way back last year when I got my Level One at the desert. We are going to build it today so she can launch it Thursday before she goes home. It’s a simple kit and shouldn’t take long. For the rest of the day I will be putting on lots of hair on these masks.

I should finish this Friday and all the remaining masks will go out next Monday. Some might on Friday because it’s a grandchild free day devoted to only the masks.

The week started with a trip into town. I needed more materials and a trip to my favorite hobby shop in LA. This time it wasn’t in the rain and it was pleasant and beautiful. Spring and the rains contributed to a landscape of green and mustard flowers that laden the hills with different shades of green and yellow.

Mary put up her blog early because the grandkids are here. She was pretty busy. Here’s her post for this week: https://marycacciapaglia.wpcomstaging.com/2022/04/09/fiber-oils/

Driving home I reflected on my visit to Smith Brothers Hobby Center and the 40 years I have been shopping there. I had a new airplane in the back of the car and it brought a smile to my face.

I wrote this piece about why hobbies are so important and overlooked in their importance by family members, and friends. Hobbies do extend lives and enrich them:

Yesterday began with another trip into town for materials and a stop at my favorite hobby shop in the world. Smith Brothers Hobby Center in Reseda. 

Home

I have been friends with the owner and the people that work there for over 40 years. They have survived as one of the only few remaining old time hobby shops in LA because of their loyal friends and customers who shop there instead of the internet. 

It’s a beautiful, happy place full of the wonders that so captured our hearts as children. It has kept our inner child alive. It has contributed to much longer lives than would have been possible with the passion and love for our hobbies.

I could have ordered my plane online, paid the same price and had it delivered. But when you buy from a local hobby shop you get the social pleasure of visiting there, looking at what we’re about to buy, hold it in your hands, having your questions answered by experts, and visiting with old friends. Even though you pay the same price, you help the hobby shop. Since they are dealers they make a profit from your purchase that goes a long way to keeping them in business, not Amazon. If we are going to keep the hobby shops and the experience of them alive , we all need to support them and stop supporting online businesses that can never provide the same experience I had the joy of yesterday.

Now that I have a field close to home with a paved runway it has changed the hobby for me.

When I moved to Ventura over 9 years ago I lost my ability to fly locally off and paved runway close to home. I flew gliders on the dunes and cliffs when I could. Took off grass with small planes at a park in Carpinteria. Everywhere I could go with the exception of the local dunes was a long drive. So I didn’t fly much and I gave away many of my planes. Now that I have an excellent field 18 minutes from home I’ve started flying regularly once again. I had no idea how much I missed it. And it dramatically changed my disposition. Not that I was unhappy, but it just contributed more to my happiness and joy. 

Being that I’m a bit rusty, I picked up this Piper Cherokee yesterday. This is an excellent well mannered general aviation aircraft that has a wide flight envelope.

 This will allow me much needed practice navigating the new field and the flight pattern there. And with its scale lighting it helps improve visual flight orientation. I’ll be flying this weekend and I’m really looking forward to it.

I know so many people well into their 80s that are healthy, happy and playful because of their passion for model aviation, slot cars, trains, rc cars and more. Please support family members no matter their age in their interest in any of these hobbies.

As for the rest of the week I spent it trying to catch up on orders. I’m down to 7 masks. They are prepped and ready to paint. My hair came in yesterday and I also have the glue to lay the hair.

The one thing holding me up is the paint I should have that early this week.

Because of these orders I haven’t had the chance to start anything new. And with my grandchildren who arrived last night spending 5 days with us I probably won’t this week either. As they say, “Life happens”.

I have been sneaking in a half hour here and there on my Samba 2 meter glider and managed to get it covered and ready for hooking up the electronics.

This plane can be hand launched  and if the conditions are right you can find a thermal at low altitude and start turning into the thermal and climb it until you reach several hundred feet or more. Flight times can be as long as you have battery power. It doesn’t have a motor, makes no sound, and has no carbon footprint. [Well it does have a carbon fiber boom. Does that count? 😉 ] other than that, it’s all balsa hand-built. This is pure natural flying.

That wraps it up for this week. Lots of interesting things will be happening next and we’ll see you then. Thanks for all the orders and emails!

Lots of love to you all,

Steve and Mary

The Art of Steve Neill

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Fine Art America – Steve Neill 

Collectors’ Mask Store

SNG Aero – Rockets by Steve Neill
…and Mary on the web
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The last 3 days have been Grandchildren’s time mostly. We went to the Marina just down from our home and saw the seals and played in the park. The WW2 AT6 Texans of the Condors paid us a visit.

Sunday I went to our local field where I made a maiden flight of the Cherokee. It flew very well and I made three long flights with her. 

Mark was there flying his scratch-built Super Kaso. We had a good turn out of all kinds of airplanes and helicopters. It was a great day. Perfect conditions and plenty of sunshine. I swear that field is magic.

Later in the day we played slot cars and I let the kids call home on a TOS Star Trek communicator.

Back to work today for a bit. We have a special visitor to our studio and whatever time I have left I’ll be painting masks!

The kids go back home to Vista Friday morning and we’ll get back to our routine next week and finish and ship all the remaining orders.