Tim Dunlop and I had the wonderful pleasure to met Jerry  (and little Chris) McMillin and Pat Collier on that hot tarmac at the 1967 nationals. Tim and I stayed in touch with Pat for quite a few years.
Like Jerry, Pat truly lived and  led by example....what a gifted modeler, flyer, great human being and what a passion he had for everything that hath wings!
 Wow! He is missed.
Chris....if you are lurking: Fill me in on where and what Pat is doing these days?

2nd overexposed photo borrowed from the 'diapers' gallery website:)

Don,
I have written two replies for this over the course of the month. When I post it, the computer grinds to a halt and the message doen't post!

Tim, I think is his name, Pat's son that flew two up with Pat during the 60's display flying days, was at a contest about 2 years ago. He said his dad was fine. He was going to try to pick up stunt again, but i haven't been out to a contest in a while and I haven't seen his name either.

Were the Starduster's an evolution of the Skylark?

Chris...

Thanks Chris...your photo of Pat really shows off the colorization mooocho' bettern' that old slide of mine?
I have sooooooooo many great slides of Tim Dunlop and his beautiful stunters...what a friend Tim was to so many of us...before the Good Lord took him back home waaaay to early.

Chris, Do you and your father remember Vance...Tim's young son, who was about 4-5 years older than you?
I will send a photo for recall?

Sure,
I remember the face and the Dolphin, Dondo. That takes me back! I always was amazed at the kids that flew stunt, because they got through the whole pattern!

The elder was a stud!

How is it that every one in stunt now needs to lose 30 to 100 lbs!!! People make fun of the white attire, but there aren't too many that could pull off wearing it today and look like a tennis pro like the guys back then. Something in todays diet?!
Push away from the table, boys!!!
Chris...

You are right about Tim (the father, being a STUD!) For many years he was a fire-boat Captain on the Willamette River in Portland....and later became Staff Captain for the City of Portland until he had to retire early, due to an inoperable brain tumor in 1972. Sadly he passed this life all to suddenly. He was a great father to Vance, and a great husband to his beautiful wife Audry, and a beloved brother in balsa...I THINK OF HIM OFTEN....especially when it snows.

He always watched what he ate...jogged miles every morning before work...lifted weights with his crews and stair climbed the large buildings in full fire-suit gear on a monthly basis. Was also a great chef! (Most Fire Dept Captains are!)
 Plus!!!
TIM NEVER DRANK BOOSE!  Bill Werwedge, Dave Gierke, and a bunch of us went out to a local pub during the  68nats and hoisted a few....
Tim was of course the daaazzzzzzuuuugnabreated' driver...We teased him and bought all the POP he could drink.
Dave Gierke kept yellin' to the bar tender to "BRING  OUR TIMMEEE' ANOTHER POP!" Naturally Tim enjoyed himself...a bit too much (at our expense) that next morning before the elimination rounds from hell began...by razzin me about how puffy all our eyes looked in that early morning HOT SUMMER KANSAS SUN!!!

 Tim was an extreme skier & thrill junkie... who also tried to kill me at the 10,000 ft level of Mt. Hood.
Tim and I were invited by the ski patrol to ride up to the 10,000 ft level of Mt Hood...(they knew he was trained in all kinds of first aid..and often skiied for free)

A few weeks earlier I had met some of the ski patrol during a filming by Jim Jarsted. I was part of his skiing crew who were paid to pack his movie gear and film during  some of his week end filming gigs.
We both jumped at the invitation...but for fact! "NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH!"

After arriving at the 10,000 ft level, all of us  hopped out of the snow cat and popped into our Marker bindings and our long freebe test WHITE STAR SKIS and headed down the mountain..

What a beautiful sunny morning (at first)  with about 6 feet of new powder snow. They were all expert skiers (but me) and I played fool-ooo' the leader and still managed to keep up pretty well with them.

 I had skied lots of steep stuff on the lower slopes but this was the first time that I had experienced skiing on  HIGH ALTITUDE wide steep open fields of deep powder... and because I had nothing to judge just how fast we were skiing...we were floating up through that deep powder at incredible speeds......
THAT IS UNTIL the lead ski patrol captain and his  partner...connected tails of their skiis while painting lace pigtail patterns in that pristene uncut smoooooooooooooth powder snow. They EXPLODED IN A HUGE CLOUD BURST OF POWDER SNOW....but the rest of us kept on flyin' down the mountain.
The rest of us flew by those two lead skiiers who were unhurt and JUST AT THAT MOMENT...I HAD A REFERENCE TO JUDGE OUR SPEED!!! THAT FREEEEAAAAKED THE "heckydonolddoout of me and by this time...the high altitude....the lack of  OXYGEN and proper training.....and after too many brewski's at the BLUE OX at Timberline Lodge the night before....my legs and lungs were about to burst!!! I swear I could almost see the tunnel of light and hear the angels sing..NOT!!

PRAISE THE LORD...THAT REMAINING SKI PATROL LEADER by this time wasn't feelin too good either so we decided to stop and wait for the other two lead ski patrol that had "powdered out."

It took me weeks.....to recover from that thrill down Blue berry Mt. Hood Hell Hill! My nose-ears-lips peeled for almost a month. I looked like I had a very bad social disease. NOT A PURTY SIGHT!!!
Sorry for the rant!
SPARKY!!! IT APPEARS THAT OUR STUNT HANGER NEEDS A "LOUNGE" THAN THIS GRUNT SECTION! MAYBE ITS TIME TO RENAME THIS STUNT GRUNT TO "THE PROPWASH-LOUNGE SECTION!"

You crack me up, Donaldo.
Chris...

Chris....
You must have some interesting flying stories...especially about open cockpit airplanes?
Did you read that silly story my old co-worker...who loved bi-planes and help rebuild an F4 and his ordeal with a stray cat that had been "napping in the map pocket?"
(I am sure that the story over the years...became quite embellished to say the least but still a funny story with a happy kitty ending? Which if true...might not be the case?