AMA News - District IX Report

NEWS FROM NEBRASKA: A note from John Pakiz of the Nebraska Free Flighters sent word of the passing of Dick Hawes. "Dick Hawes passed away last December 11. He had a massive heart attack, slipped from this life very quickly, and didn't experience much pain. "Dick's passing has been such a loss to our club. He was the editor of the newsletter. The Winding Stooge, for years. Dick had announced last fall that he would do the newsletter for another nine issues, then retire from it. At 76 years of age, he deserved the rest. "Dick's energy and enthusiasm are legendary. He was such a light! Sometimes at the club meetings he'd lean back, put his hands on the back of his head, look up toward the ceiling, and just start expounding on old memories or some theory of flight. Whenever he took this posture I'd tell my son to pay attention because he was about to learn something. "Dick joined the Nebraska Free Flighters in 1984. He was a few years away from retirement then, but once retired he had the chance to build a little more and travel much more. He went to Muncie. Indiana several times and Genesco. New York twice. "We all enjoyed his stories of modeling in the late 1930s and after the war. but beyond all of this, Dick did something for me once that I'll never forget. We were at Beatrice Indoor site and I had a model that I was afraid to fly. Actually, I was afraid to launch it. It was brand new and had never been flown before. Dick came up to me and simply said, 'You can't win if you don't play.' "I never forgot that, and to this day I've never been skittish about flying a new model. If 1 bust it, so what. That's what tests my repair skills and I didn't spend 40 years acquiring them for nothing. "That's what I remember most about Dick; he wasn't afraid of anything—even death. Twice I heard him say, 'I'm going to build this or that model before I die, or shortly thereafter.'" f >SS tsi Dick Hawes, 1925-2001. -• >« News from South Dakota: From Jim Tiller of the Rapid City Propbustcrs R/C Club comes news of the second annual South Dakota Air and Space Museum Show and Contest. "After last year's successful show at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum (SDASM) open house at Ellsworth Air Force Base, they again invited us to take part in their activities. "We planned our Static Show and Contest as we did last year, but we were not able to complete arrangements for an air show by our Gold Squadron AST. The museum is just outside the main gate at Ellsworth, and with the continuing national security concerns, it was not possible for us to get permission to put on an aerial demonstration. "The open house, Saturday, May 10. was marked by rain, wind, and unseasonably cold weather—even for South Dakota— keeping attendance and entries below last year's numbers. The quality of the models, however, was as good as or better than before. "After some tough scrutiny by judges Jerry Norton and Wayne Grace, six trophies were awarded. Best of Show and Best Sport went to John Kellog and his Utopia. Best Scale airplane was awarded to Gene Kelley's P-47. Best Veteran went to Alf Riisnaes and his Piper Cub with nearly 100 flights on it. "More than 80 ballots were counted for the People's Choice award that went to Gene Kelley and his P-47. Museum director Ron Alley presented the SDASM trophy to Kevin Kari and his Proctor Nieuport 28." Kevin Karl and his SDASM trophy-winning Proctor Nieuport 28. John Kellog and his Best Sport and Best of Show Utopia. Alf Riisnaes and his Best Veteran Piper Cub which has more than 100 flights on it. Float Flying: "The Propbusters have long enjoyed float flying at New Underwood Lake, just a stone's throw from our flying field. For the last two years the number of participants and airplanes has been growing steadily. "This year, to kick off the float-flying season, we scheduled our first event of the season for Sunday morning. April 13. the day after our annual auction. Since the auction usually brings buyers from as far away as Nebraska and North Dakota, we put the announcement for the float-fly in the auction advertising and asked those who came to make a weekend of it and stay for the float-fly. "The South Dakota weather gods this time were gracious as Sunday turned out warm with a slight breeze that did nothing more than make it easy for floats to break water. "We had nearly fifty people present and the airspace was often crowded with four or five airplanes at a time. Although our boat retrieval crew was kept busy clearing the runway of stalled or errant aircraft, only one airplane received any serious damage. "We have four more water events scheduled this summer for our seasoned water fliers."