Check out the kids in this photo from the NW at the 1968 Tacoma Mall contest...
HEY GARY...THANKS FOR THIS SHOT from your archives...

Gene Matheny on the left.
Leo Mel next
GARY LETSINGER conducting aerodynamics class. (Bluzbrotha's shades)
who's nose and knee is showing next to you Gary on the right?
JOE DILL...a six pack winner of 6 first place awards in a row. Here he is as a new transplant from Spokane.

Don Schultz---WOW---here you are--back after 43 years !!!!! Great to have  you as"commander" of this site!!!  I can't believe the-- ""WHOS, WHOS"  of the '60's that have been posted here !!!  Gene Mantheny, who always came with his "grey ghost" plane---always took first place at the Willamette Modelers contest in Albany.  Chuck (?) from Tacoma and I were your "stunt" judges in that era.  Leo Mehl, is still one of the nicest guys in the NW and is one of the oldest competition pilots around here.  Joe Dill and Bob Welch !!! WOW, I can see it as yesterday that flight they put up with both of their "Chipmonks"--flying tiogether in the stunt pattern.  I have spent a life time trying to find a "partner" to fly duel stunt with me--never happened, but I still think about it
and the beauty of that flight. I still have the orgional "inked" plans of those chipmonks- I believe they started out with a Nobler wing plan and went from there. speaking of plans--I think I have about 90 pounds of plans--can never have enough plans !!!!!
Dave Shrum, Roseburg, Or. (R3C2--another story!!)

  That is Leo Mehl?!  There has to be more than one Leo!

Yes...but are you kiddin'??
THERE IS ONLY ONE LEO MEHL....and only one ARTIE ZZZ!!!
Art...
You just gotta SHARE A FAVORITE LEO MEHL story.
Have you ever had the pleasure to fly one of Leo's planes? What a visual picture it is from the center of the circle..
Leo, if you are lurking...was it Tim Dunlop that after watching me fly one of your airplanes, took his turn to test fly that new plane of yours-----waaay back in around 1962 or???
After he took off, Tim flipped over into reverse, that model of Leo's and flew the entire pattern in unside n' basssakward' counter clockwise direction...until the landing which he had an extremely difficult time in landing.
That was the last time Tim or I ever flew any of Leo's beautiful stunters again.

Hey Shultsie, Boy does that photo bring back  memories, Gene Matheney was the best flyer in the northwest for a long time. It was sad when I got back into this hobby that I learned both Gene and Tim Dunlap had passed on.  Gene and I flew almost every day togather in the summer. His plane was of his own design and it looked a lot like a Spitfire. It had one of the tightest turns I have ever seen on a stunter  Gary Letsinger was one of the first guys that I saw when I got back into competition. He remembered a Ruffy I built to look like a jet and was painted in camaflodge. The contests we had at Sandpoint were great. Watching ben Madson fling his beautiful Wankle bomber. Staying at his house and practicing at the Tacoma dome. All great memories. Thanks Shultzie