Reading Bob Hunt's comments about Bill Simons got me to thinking about how my modeling life had been influenced early on. I suspect we all have someone that took an interest or helped to guide us on the road to building and flying stunt planes. I have to say that the biggest influence I had early on was my cousin Bill Mayo. Bill started flying in the late 50s at Whittier Narrows in LA area. He started me off about 1966 when I was just a kid of about 10 years. He wasn't the supportive, willing sort of mentor, I must say. I would ask questions and he would answer a couple then start asking what I thought. He always pushed me to come up with my own answers. After a couple of trainers (two Guillow Trainer IIIs), I built my first "real" stunt plane (in that it could complete most of a pattern). A PDQ Flying Clown powered with an Enya 19. My cousin helped me pick it out and sort of watched as I built it. He didn't comment much, but would sort of look disapprovingly if I started to do something foolish. The plane did get built and it was the first plane I flew inverted. A Coyote followed and again, he would come over and look over the work I'd done, point out where I blew it and why what I had done probably wouldn't work well. Then ask what I thought I could have done that would have produced a better outcome. A bit at a time, I learned. He had a great sense of humor and never made me feel badly about what I'd done, but he instilled in me a need to always try to do better. That next time I needed to take more time or be more consistent in my effort.
He once told me that it was always easier building something right the first time than trying to correct an error. This is probably why I still pitch components that are too heavy, not straight or whatever in the trash rather than trying to correct them. His shop was in the attic of an old Victorian house where he lived with his wife and son. The me, it was a museum. I would enter it and marvel at his workmanship and the beautiful planes that adorned the walls. With Bill, it was never good enough. That whatever he or I built might be "acceptable", but it could always be better. He helped to to always strive to improve. I can always be lighter, straighter or have a better finish. That each effort was a lesson that taught some skill that would be used later. That it was the accumulation of skills that made a good builder and flier.
Bill passed away several years ago as the result of injuries sustained in a car accident. I miss him a lot.
Topic: Those that have influenced us (Read 1130 times)
