Dennis,
1969 Mystere With 52" Span. Engine OS 35S
1970 Same plane painted Grey, White, Blue or Black, I can't exactly remember either
1971 Same plane
1972 A Gieseke Nobler that was a really good flying airplane.
Engine GMA Fox .35
1973 A Silhavy large Gypsy with a paint design his mother came up with. Engine an OS .HP40S
I don't remember if Mike flew at the Nats in 74, but if he did, he used the large Gypsy again.
As far as I know the Gypsy was the last model Mike ever built.
Mike went on to get his degree in Law Enforcement at Sacramento State, then got his Commercial
Pilot's license and helicopter ratings after I had given him his first flying lesson in 1973.
That's what led to his demise. He had become a helicopter rescue pilot for the US. Forrest Service
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He made a late night flight in September 1996, upon his return instead
of staying at one of the lodges he opted to drive home. Mike never made it, his car was found over
the edge of a steep slope where he had crashed into a tree that killed him. I found that out from
his dad Bob, who I had called to ask for Mike's current phone number.
Mike is the only flyer I flew with regularly that I can say never crashed a plane, in practice or at a contest.
Jim Pollock