News:



  • May 08, 2024, 10:36:14 PM

Login with username, password and session length

« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Johnny Clemens  (Read 1388 times)

Offline john e. holliday

  • 24 supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Admiral
  • *
  • Posts: 22776
Johnny Clemens
« on: May 19, 2009, 11:06:00 AM »
I am surprised no one has mentioned him.  The second school I attended in Dallas, Texas I managed to find his shop.  It was like walking back into history.  Spent half that Saturday talking to him and looking at the planes in the shop.  What got me was the number of the telephone batteries he had on the shelf.  He claimed two cells in parallel would last all summer.

That is where I found out about the circles at NW Highway & the loop.  Johnny was full of control line history and had lots of stories of flying locally.   The last time I was there after Johnny had passed on I couldn't beleive how his son let the shop go to pot.  Of course that was not the best part of town I was told, but, I have seen worse.

Any other guys/gals remember him.  DOC Holliday
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 01:03:58 PM by Shultzie »
Logged
John E. "DOC" Holliday
10421 West 56th Terrace
Shawnee, KANSAS  66203
AMA 23530  Have fun as I have and I am still breaking a record.

Offline Chris McMillin

  • 22 supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Admiral
  • *
  • Posts: 1902
  • AMA 32529
Re: Johnny Clemens
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2009, 12:24:00 PM »
Hi Doc,
Do you mean Johnny Clemens? Here is an AMA bio on him. Never knew him but knew the name through AMA and magazines.
www.modelaircraft.org/files/museum/bio/Clemens.pdf
Chris...
« Last Edit: May 19, 2009, 01:04:21 PM by Shultzie »
Logged

Offline Shultzie

  • Moderator
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Admiral
  • *****
  • Posts: 3474
  • Don Shultz "1969 Nats Sting Ray"
Re: Johnny Clemens
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2009, 01:01:34 PM »
Quote from: Chris McMillin on May 19, 2009, 12:24:00 PM
Hi Doc,
Do you mean Johnny Clemens? Here is an AMA bio on him. Never knew him but knew the name through AMA and magazines.
www.modelaircraft.org/files/museum/bio/Clemens.pdf
Chris...

THANKS!!! Doc and Chris....I will make the correction in the spullin' of Clemens
Yes Johnny was amazing...and if Bob Hunt is lurking...I would bet my britches and old VS300 slide scanner that Bob just may have a photo of Good Johnny somewhere in the files that we could post here on Sparky's Spot?
Logged
Don Shultz

Offline sleepy gomez

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Commander
  • ****
  • Posts: 216
Re: Johnny Clemens
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2009, 05:00:02 PM »
Yes, I knew his shop well.  I remember buying an old Goldberg Zing kit not all that long before the shop burned. Johnny then opened the new shop a few doors down but it didn't have the ambience of the old one.  I spent many hours looking at the huge twice motored seaplane hanging from the ceiling.  I recall he made what at first glance appeared to be a retail display of broken props with the sign PROPS - HALF OFF.  The little man was always very big in my eyes. 
Logged

Offline John Witt

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Captain
  • *****
  • Posts: 508
Re: Johnny Clemens
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2009, 06:50:45 PM »
I used to visit the Hobby Counter periodically when I lived in Dallas and I remember seeing a Burgess M-5 radial in the showcase on one visit. The place was one of those wonderfull shops that was so full of stuff, you could never guess what you might find tucked into a dusty shelf.

I was more into trains in those days and spent a lot of time in the shop of another hobby legend, Bobbye Hall, Hall's Hobbye House. She too is gone now, but was still running the business well into her eighties

Johnny was a real character who had character, to spin two meanings of the word.

John Witt
Logged
John Witt
AMA 19892
Edmonds, WA
"Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Offline L0U CRANE

  • AMA Member
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Admiral
  • *
  • Posts: 1076
Re: Johnny Clemens
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2009, 10:10:29 PM »
Johnny was a legendary guy, even before we lost him. My CD Certificate bears his signature, and is one of the few things I display with pride in my shop...

He was a character with winning ways. Always a pertinent anecdote or joke ready at hand.

When we were in Omaha - early 1970s - he visited as AMA Pres to address the local model clubs. Crashed with the Scale CB member, a neatnik named Dean Copeland, and at his general meeting, mentioned the experience. We all knew Dean as a very "neat" guy, of course. Johnny said he was visiting with Dean in his workshop, while Dean worked on another Scale masterpiece. Johnny said he saw NO sanding dust anywhere in Dean's shop, but finally noticed Dean was continuously "chewing" on something...

He also loved to bring out "the inverting handle." A CL handle with the line carriers mounted on a spring-wound frame. When you went inverted, you simply pushed a catch - the line carrier snapped 180°, and up was still up...

On an Air Trails follow-on - for Young Men, or -Hobbies, cover, was a photo of Johnny with a pair of other Dallas fliers, and their stunters. His story of the occasion was that he took his stunter inverted, and tried to see how low he could fly it. He got LOW! After a few laps down low, he found he couldn't climb out of that height. Eventually, the prop struck and the flight ended. He swore that the reason he couldn't climb off the inverted was that the fin prevented the model from nosing up, and that there was a trail of ground off balsa around the circle to prove it.

I miss him. Everyone who knew him misses him. I regret only that I never caught him at home, at the shop in Dallas...
Logged
\BEST\LOU

Offline "Big Art"

  • AMA Member
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • New Pilot
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: Johnny Clemens
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2009, 09:39:03 PM »
1953 Wow that's a long time ago. That's when Betty and I met this legendary man. Here is how it happened. Early spring I got a phone call from my high school English teacher. He asked are you still interested in model airplanes. I am looking for people to be officials in the upcoming Plymouth Internationals.
I was a timer for hand launch glider at Selfridge Air Force Base. C/L was to be held at Belle Isle in Detroit. I was a timer for Jet Speed. Circle next to us was combat where a blond girl flying a DeBolt Sport wing making the boys look silly. Might have been Shirley Austin. Circle beyond was a stunt circle where I watched a white very slow flying plane being flown by a young kid from Texas. After contest we were all going to an amusement park for dinner and awards. Betty and I were seated alone when this Plymouth Official came up and asked I see your alone may I join you. The name on his badge said yeah JOHN CLEMENS. A photo was taken which he sent to us. That was the beginning of a long lasting friendship that included the Nat's Toledo many visits to our state. A PR person without peer a great story teller a very sincere friend. Thank you John for being our friend. Small in stature but a giant among men. 

RESPECTFULLY
 
"Big Art" Adamisin
Logged

Offline sleepy gomez

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Commander
  • ****
  • Posts: 216
Re: Johnny Clemens
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2009, 12:31:32 PM »
Back when I was building and racing stock cars I took a break and stopped by to visit Johnny.  By that time I had spent 9 years in Free Flight.  It is never mentioned in his bio but I recall his telling me about driving open wheel race  cars on dirt horse racing tracks.  I think this was in the 1920s or maybe early 30s.  Homebuilt cars, modified Model T engines, and no real driver protection.  I'm glad he took up models
Logged

Advertise Here
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »
Tags:
 


Advertise Here