"HERE CUMMDA'-JUDGE!!! THE  LATE (BUT NEVER LATE)N/W's GOD-FATHER OF STUNT!
"I DOUBLE DARE YOU TO STARE INTO THOSE EYES!"

 THE EAGLE-LIKE DESERNING-EYES OF A STUNT JUDGE! For this ol' stunt-grunt...Charley was like a father, brother, dear friend and fellow modeler with the biggest BRAVE HEART and passion for stunt and stuntflyers throughout the NW. 

His contributions to Stunt Grunters throughout the NW were MONUMENTAL and a driving force behind control-line stunt competition. By his selfless dedication to everyone who loved modeling and especially stunt....he was always there for us.
What a treat when it was Charley's turn to host our monthly Tacoma Modelairs meetings, that took place in the workshops, basements, homes, of our membership.
 
From the first  moment you stepped inside  that home of Charley's ....one could actually FEEL THE PRESENCE OF A HOME that was filled with a family that truly had love and respect for each other...and had more than enough to share with everyone who entered....especially model builders. WE WERE MADE TO FEEL LIKE FAMILY!

Charley took his stunt judging VERY SERIOUSLY.....from the moment the contest event was scheduled to start. He was always there on time...ready to go...stop watches...extra umbrellas for both rain and shine...extra score sheets...extra pads...cones...calculators...first aid kits....CRYING TOWELS....all business from the moment he held the PILOTS MEETING...he was no longer Charley!
 Like a line from a movie "THEY CALL ME MR. TIBBS!" Suddenly, if you had any common sense of respect....We called him "MR. HUFF!" It was up to his "runners" to keep he and his judging staff from being "distracted!"  Many contests...HE WAS THE ONLY JUDGE that we could glean...but when we were fortunate or unfortunate enough to have 3 or more judges....HE ALWAYS INSISTED ON A JUDGES WARM UP FLIGHT...where you could see and EVEN HEAR HIM OVER THE SNARLING UNMUFFLED ENGINES, his loud voice in the ears of the judges, telling them and illustrating what they should be looking for.... "Guess everyone knows why he often pick ME to give a warm up flight?" 
Even at the center of the circle...over the snarl of my old Shark 45 I could hear him say to the other judges watching...LOOK! EGG SHAPED LOOPS!!! THERE! BOBBLES IN THE SQUARES...WATCH! MISSED THE ENTRY OF THE OVER HEAD!" OOOPS! ...and finally as that old Shark was gliding into a landing...he didn't even need to shout! THERE! SEE THAT WOBBLE IN THAT LANDING PATH....AHHH! NOTE THAT HOP BOUNCE LANDING?"

Although Charley has gone home...I feel so privilaged to have known such a giving and caring gentleman and often still think of him. He had so many beautiful, humorous and funny quips....that we had heard a million times.
Just one quip stand out when Mr.Huff was approached after a competition with that all important question?
A question that so many of stunt grunters who thought that they were slighted or scored too low or thought some one else should have scored higher....He would dig through his clip board and hand the flyer his score sheet and say:
"See me later after the contest, we'll talk but always keep in mind

I'M DA'JUDGE!!! I SEE  WHAT I SEE! AND THAT'S IT!"

Hey gang...Please share your MR. HUFF and Charley moments with us today? Although he has passed some time ago....he still lives in our souls.

I remember Mr. Huff as all business and at times what I thought as a little grumpy which I now know was just his way and we all loved him for it.

Speaking of judges. How many found themselves under the eye of Jim Parsons? Jim was one of the toughest and most fair judges I ever flew in front of. Talk about a guy that really didn't care WHO was at the handle. He judged what he saw. Period! When he handed in a score, you know you worked for every point. Great guy and very knowledgeable. He passed several years ago, but I still remember his  scowl when judging and great smile when shooting the bull in the pits.

Jim Parsons was another  great judge and human being...GONE ALL TOO SOON! As you know...he lived up on the south west slope overlooking the Kent Aerospace on a home waaaay up on the hill.
 He used his telescope everyday too keep a eye peeled to see if anyone was down there flying. He would throw his planes in the car....and in about 5 minutes....here would come Jimbo' to cut a few holes in the sky with us.
Before I got married in 1970....he would often invite me up to that  beautiful deck with the most awesome view of the valley for suppa' Especially as the sun began to set...all those windows on the East side of the valley looked like they were all on fire, due to the reflection off their picture windows. Then the twinklin' sparkle of all the lights etc as the sky turned shades of lavender, purple and then a dark Navy.
Those mountains in the background were the last thing to disappear before that big orange moon would come up out of the East.
Looks like both he and I  really loved that place...and  I always begged him to sell it to me...if he ever planned on moving. Jim would laugh...and said HEY! THIS IS MY HEAVEN ON EARTH.

 Also he had a model shop in the basement to die for...
Both Gary Letsinger and I....being single....Hummm? Hey Gary if you are lurking?

 We always knew if we planned our flying sessions just right at AeroSpace...we could always glean a meal that his dear wife would always offer without a second thought on the way home up that steep hill.
GADS I MISS THAT STUNT GRUNTER GUY!!!
The only time I ever saw HIM SHOOK UP AND SPOOKED AT A CONTEST. Was the first time I flew that custom BRAND NEW Chipmunk...with the ST-46.

As he walked up to do his appearence judging, just seconds before my first round flight...
HE LEANED OVER MY MODEL...BENT WAAAY over at the waist...and "KAAATOWINK!"
 Next, All we heard was the sound of one of his ball point pens that was in his shirt pocket...that suddenly feel out of that pocket, like a dagger and stuck completely through both the inside and outboard wing panel's silkspan covered brand new shiney wing panel...

I JUMPED BACK AND SCREAMED! OUCH! JIM!!! WHAAAA?   He was more upset than I was...which made me feel sooo bad that I yelled but as luck would have it...

Bob Emmett had a piece of duck tape in the car...We both tried to console Jim...but he was just broken! "DON...PLEASE, LET ME FIX IT? (IT WAS PURE AND SIMPLE AN ACCIDENT and I felt reeeeeally shabby, because he always GAVE ALL OF US, SO MUCH MORE...AND I WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM THAT MODEL...for freebeee if he had asked for it, plus I kept thinking of all those FREE MEALS THAT HE AND HIS WIFE HAD ALWAYS PROVIDED FOR ME....plus he could spot mistakes and was always there to show me how I could improve something.

BOTTOM LINE:
I was ever so thankful and soooo fortunate to have a friend like JIM PARSONS!
Right on Randy.
We miss that JIMBO SOOOO MUCH!  (by the way...that was the first 40 appearence that I had ever received in all those years of competiton. Hummm? I think Parson;s was reaaaaally easy because of his lawn-dart ball point pen.

HEY! RANDY...ANYONE?
 I DON'T HAVE EVEN ONE PHOTO OF JIM PARSONS!!! SOMEBODY GOTTA POST ONE!
Both Jim Parsons and Charley Huff...judge and ruled our world. How great is that?

By the time I was flying, Jim was just judging. Toward the end, his health was failing but he would still come to the contests and work. He loved stunt and put his heart and soul into it. A truely great guy.

Hey Randy and NW Gang...and all stunt grunters!!!

I finally found a couple of photos of Jim Parsons...the "gent on the right with his world famous JUDGES OUTFIT!
The other two judges are Gary Letsinger and Bob Emmett. It would appear that Jim is getting ready to really start diggin into the nitty-gritties appearence purty points of that model of Gary's

JIM PARSONS was such an inspiration to all of us...in fact the next shot is of Phil Granderson pointing to the patch job that Jim put onto my old Supa'Chips wing (after Jim Parsons infamous pen that dropped out of his pocket and stuck right through my brand new paint job's wing.
At Phil's suggestion...
I put on a "HAPPY FACE STICKER DECAL onto the wing surface to keep the pen-punture from expanding.
JIM PARSONS...KEEP LOOKIN DOWN..THIS ONE'S FOR YOU...(till we meet again between the earth and sky where all our old departed stunt grunts fly...if we are so lucky!

I remember "Mr. Hough" (correct spelling), and knew his son Charlie from flying speed. I saw Keith Loutocky (sp?) last winter, and he said Charlie (Jr.) is still around, flying R/C gliders, I think. I don't remember what Keith did at Boeing, but he's retired...very sensible!  Steve