The following was submitted by David Ronningen:
It was a combination of trust on behalf of an Arizona resident and a huge coincidence that enabled a determined seller and a willing Colorado buyer to close a long-distance sale.
Terry Hauger, an Oro Valley, Arizona, resident was put in contact with 14-year-old Skylar Buckwald of Firestone, Colorado, through a Facebook marketplace site. Skylar was inquiring about a Multiplex Fun Cub RC airplane he had been seeking for quite some time and Terry had one to sell; however, a deal fell through after it was learned shipping costs were prohibitive and exceeded the $200 selling price. It was mutually agreed the deal couldn’t be done.
The Multiplex, a relatively rare airplane since the model was discontinued in 2017, was the last of roughly a dozen airplanes Terry was selling. Determined to find a buyer, Terry went to several flying sites in the Tucson, Arizona, area. It was near Catalina, just north of Oro Valley at a temporary field for the Sonora Desert Flyers club, on February 17, where Terry ran into Jim Hilgeford.
Terry told Jim the story of the failed sale between Skylar and himself and that he really wanted the teenager to have the airplane. Coincidentally, Jim had a friend in Westminster, Colorado, approximately 25 miles from Skylar’s home. The friend, Scott Emerson, who was president of the Sonora Desert Flyers Club before moving to Colorado, was going to Mesa, Arizona, for a event on February 24. Jim was going to meet Scott and offered to take Terry’s Multiplex to Mesa so Scott could take it back to Colorado and deliver it to Skylar.
The idea appealed to Terry, but he had to find out if Skylar was still interested. He was. During their previous communication, Terry had questioned Skylar about his RC flying experience not only to make sure he was not being scammed, but to be sure Skylar could manage the airplane and not crash it on the first flight.
Because Skylar was a minor, Terry asked him to bring an adult into the picture. After Skylar’s mom joined the communication, it was learned Skylar had been flying RC airplanes at a field in Dacono, Colorado, for approximately a year. Terry was satisfied that Skylar and the Multiplex were a good fit and he had a legitimate buyer. He called Jim to make the transfer arrangements.
On February 21, Terry turned the Multiplex over to Jim, a man he had known for four days, not knowing if he would ever see the $200 he was asking for the airplane. He trusted his fellow AMA members to follow through with the arrangements.
Terry didn’t need to worry. One week later he got word from Skylar’s mom that they had the airplane in hand and Terry had his money the same day.
Terry, a Rothsay, Minnesota, native had been flying RC airplanes on and off since he was 14 after being introduced to the sport by Terry’s “Uncle Will.” He built and flew his first RC airplane in 1994 at a flying field at Pebble Lake Park near Fergus Falls, Minnesota. After moving from Vergas, Minnesota to Oro Valley in 2015, his flying time fell off. Finally, after some gentle encouragement from his wife who was eying the extra storage space to be gained, Terry sold his collection, much to the delight of a 14-year-old 900 miles away in Colorado.
Was it delivered by Air Mail, courtesy of a Cessna Sovereign? I’d imagine there is not a FunCub around has ever moved that fast or high.
The Multiplex Fun Cub was transported by Scott Emerson, in his Chrysler Pacifica. .
Jim Hilgeford is pictured next to the Cessna Sovereign his son Larry Flies as a corp pilot.
Larry and Jim have been AMA member since 1976.
Dave Ronningen is Terry Hauger’s life long friend. He is not an AMA member. Dave agreed to write this story for Terry at Terry’s request because Dave had been a newspaper reporter when he was in college in the 1970s.