Ben Madsen of Tacoma without question has given so much to the modeling community over the years.

The Tacoma Modelairs.....used that amazing basement shop of his for our monthly get-together.
He is a modelbuilders model builder, from his amazing carrier scale airplanes...
His outstanding memorial German scale models that took so many trophies.....for his virtual reality models...that up close, you would swear that you could could almost hear the crew talkin'.
A crowd would always gather when he brought out a finished new project.

but his greatest gifts to me was that he was one of the best stunt model builders and winning flyers in the NW during the early 60-to late 70's.
but his memorial gift to me was that he has been a life long friend..he was my best man at my wedding in 1970.
Our mutual passion for modelmaking, water skiing, motorcyle riding through the woods at Harts lake Praire, and our love for anything that flies...really bonds that time can no erase.
He and his beautiful wife...fed me n' gave me breakfast, many times when I was alone and didn't know many folks in the Seattle Tacoma area...He is and was.....like a brother.
THANKS BEN!
 U MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN SO MANY OF OUR LIVES!

Like a brother...we both had a passion for extremely ugly hats. He stole that hat from Bing Crosby's old convertible, huh?
Here is the Shark 45 with the Veco 45 that gave us a sizable collection of 2nd or 3rd Place awards.

(Hey Leo Mel...My memory is toast. The stunt judge next to Ben beat George Alrich out of 1st place...at the Nationals in 1952?  (Or was it 1959)
Is he still with us!
Sad to say that my demented brain cells...can not put a names of these two amazingly gifted stunt judges?

The photos...of course are compliments of another dear modeling friend for life.
 GARY LETSINGER... who by the way...has on his shelf more than just a few of our 1st and 2nd Place hardware.
Gary is another one of those genius Boeing aerodynamic engineers who is a walking bible on just about anything that flies...

Smotzie,
Although I didn't get to know Ben as well as you have, I remember him as a real gentleman and always treated this young teenager, in the early 60S, with respect and was always helpful. I wish I could have gotten up to WA and spent more time with a lot of the great people up there, including you. Just didn't have the money or the time at that point. Sure hope I can see everybody that's still around some day soon.

Bruce

Schultzie...The Stunt Judge on the left (well, in the center) looks a lot like John Lenderman. I think John won in '52 and placed in the top 5 or so in '59 or '60. First one, he flew a Still Stuka with a Fox .35, but in '59, I believe he flew a Nobler. AFAIK, John is still hanging around Clatskanie, OR. Bob Stalick would have contact info. Let me know if you think I'm correct! John turned into an F1A, F1B and F1C flier, later made the US Team in F1B and was Team Manager a couple of times.    Steve

Ben has two slides of me taken in 1964. one plane was called the Rebel which is now called the Grinder. the other is a plane that looks like an Ares. I don't remember that plane so It must not of lasted to long.

Ben Madsen of Tacoma without question has given so much to the modeling community over the years.

The Tacoma Modelairs.....used that amazing basement shop of his for our monthly get-together.
He is a modelbuilders model builder, from his amazing carrier scale airplanes...
His outstanding memorial German scale models that took so many trophies.....for his virtual reality models...that up close, you would swear that you could could almost hear the crew talkin'.
A crowd would always gather when he brought out a finished new project.

but his greatest gifts to me was that he was one of the best stunt model builders and winning flyers in the NW during the early 60-to late 70's.
but his memorial gift to me was that he has been a life long friend..he was my best man at my wedding in 1970.
Our mutual passion for modelmaking, water skiing, motorcyle riding through the woods at Harts lake Praire, and our love for anything that flies...really bonds that time can no erase.
He and his beautiful wife...fed me n' gave me breakfast, many times when I was alone and didn't know many folks in the Seattle Tacoma area...He is and was.....like a brother.
THANKS BEN!
 U MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN SO MANY OF OUR LIVES!

Like a brother...we both had a passion for extremely ugly hats. He stole that hat from Bing Crosby's old convertible, huh?
Here is the Shark 45 with the Veco 45 that gave us a sizable collection of 2nd or 3rd Place awards.

(Hey Leo Mel...My memory is toast. The stunt judge next to Ben beat George Alrich out of 1st place...at the Nationals in 1952?  (Or was it 1959)
Is he still with us!
Sad to say that my demented brain cells...can not put a names of these two amazingly gifted stunt judges?

The photos...of course are compliments of another dear modeling friend for life.
 GARY LETSINGER... who by the way...has on his shelf more than just a few of our 1st and 2nd Place hardware.
Gary is another one of those genius Boeing aerodynamic engineers who is a walking bible on just about anything that flies...

Ben called me this morning. He doesn't own a computer...so he is going across the alley to Howard Lynn Doody  to GO ON LINE AND CHAT WITH US...another great stunt grunt from the past that used to hand Ben and I 2nd or 3rd place awards...more than we liked?

Here are a couple more shots...
Ben with that look on his face telling me...to get the UHaul trailer hooked up behind my old 62 VW because the truck of his now collector car...WON'T HOLD TWO BIG STUNT MACHINES AND LEAVE ENOUGH ROOM IN THE BACK SEAT FOR HIS SON BENNY WHO NOW IS 50 YEAR OLD?
how is that for old farts...Ben is 72 and he always proclaims that "HE COULD KICK MY CRADLE OVER if were babies again?"
Second photo..."HEY SHULTZIE..LOOKS LIKE "DOODYMAN" JUST PUSHED US OUT OF FIRST AND SECOND PLACE TODAY AGAIN ?"

Donnie...Thanks for revitalizing this particular thread. FYI, John Lenderman passed away this past year ('08) November, I think it was.  But I recall seeing a list of Walker Cup winners on SH or SSW by Keith Trostle, and John's name wasn't on the list. Still, you can win Open and still not win the Cup, so I didn't think all that much about that. But I still thought I remembered seeing "Lenderman" on the trophy, when PW brought it to a meeting. However, I asked PW recently, if John's name wasn't on the Walker Cup, and he replied "Most certainly!".  Well, I know Keith has had the Cup, but not as often as PW...so I'll take Paul's word for it. Anyway, to answer your question about John...he's gone.

Now...that field youse guys were flying at reminds me of a place in "Tacomer" that I once flew at, in a combat contest. I even remember a significant amount of one of my matches there! But excatly where was it? No clue.

Ben, being a fellow Machinist, could no doubt kick your cradle over! I was CD of one of the last contests we had at Clover Park in Tacoma, and it fell on me to ask Ben to fly Advanced, since he entered Intermediate, and there was nobody else in the class. Anyway, Ben whined a little, and then ended up in 8th of about 16 or more. His stock Magnum with ST G.51 was a pretty nice flying combination, and Ben knew what he was doing with it, too. The next time I saw Ben was in the LHS in Parkland, on a Friday afternoon, after work, on the way to the club meeting at John Hall's old place. Ben immediately spotted aluminum chimps on my jeans and choos and made a comment about me being a machinist. I didn't know he had been a chipster.   

I vaguely remember Bill McDow as an OT Free Flight guy from Vancouver, WA. Didn't really know him much, being a pretty hardcore FAI FF specialist. But I think I read that he fell to earth some years ago. I'm sure Leo would know, or maybe I'm thinking of somebody else. It's amazing how a guy's modeling career will take twists and turns and sometimes go a full circle, or just drift around on the big thermal.

If I'm able to go to TNA this weekend, you're flying, MISTER SCHULTZ! Make no mistake about it!!!!  Steve