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Announcements => In Memory of our friends => Topic started by: Kennyperkins on January 13, 2021, 09:40:56 AM
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I just received a call from Mia Rabe, Al's wife, and she said that he had passed away last night from covid. They both had it but she recovered OK. I have no other details at this time.
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So terribly sad. Thanks for letting us know. Farewell Al!
Dave
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There are days when it's almost discouraging to log in. Really sorry to hear this, Al contributed much and shared very freely. All the Best to his wife and family, hoping for great flying conditions for you now, Al.
Dennis
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My thoughts and prayers are with Mia and Al's family on this sad day.
Light winds and line tension AL; may you now rest in God's Good Peace.
Bob Hunt
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This is indeed a sad day. Much of what little skill I have today is a result of the years flying with Al and Bob, now they are both gone. I last saw Al at the 2019 Ash Memorial. He didn't fly. He was so thin that I barely recognized him. Still had on one of those blue jumpsuits. He will be missed.
Ken
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I am so saddened to hear this news.
Al was a major inspiration for my beginnings in this hobby and helped lay the groundwork for my later aviation career.
I am so glad that I was able to purchase his videos and consult with him about building his Sea Fury which has always been my favourite stunter.
Rest in peace Al and our condolences to his family and friends.
Rob and Kim Whitley
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A true legend of the hobby.
Al was that rare combination of master builder and flier all in one, with the vision and gumption to do what had not been done before, and do it superbly.
And he could rub out clear like nobody's business.
He will be missed but his legacy will be alive forever in CLPA.
Chuck
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Al's flight begins at 1 minute, he's flying his seafury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O881HyLPI0U
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Thanks for posting that wonderful footage David.
On a different note has anyone considered having Al’s surviving Sea Fury or other of his models be donated to the AMA Museum control line exhibit?
His accomplishments in semi-scale and aerodynamic research and application are certainly worthy of public recognition.
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Sad news. I first flew with Al at the 77 Nats but we didn’t speak directly until over 30 years later when we had the opportunity to chat on the phone. Throughout those years he was very good in providing insight and advise into ideas we corresponded on. His attention to detail was always appreciated, right down to his knowing the number of words he had on a particular DVD. Al will be missed, but his contribution lives on. Godspeed Mr Rabe!
G
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Such sad news.
Condolences to Mia and Als family.
Such a generous man in deeds and spirit.
Craig
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Oh Dear,
So sorry and saddened to hear of Al's passing. He was, indeed, an amazing and talented designer and pilot and pretty much the only National Champion I've ever known who would routinely draw crowds just to see him land those magnificent "closer to scale than most" wheel landings on his innovative "sprung" undercarriages below his stunt planes that looked like real planes!
OH, we jousted more than a few times over toy plane "stuff"; most infamously about whether us stunt Aces should be more concerned about aerodynamically correcting for P-factor or gyroscopic precession in the yaw axis of our toy planes (or neither, as one of us contended...I'm sure you can guess who it wasn't!)! Round and round we would go until "Round and Round" was Trademarked for some other reason...after which we simply sparred.
One thing I know for sure, Al will be debating aerodynamics with any and all CLPA champions who follow him into Heaven's hemispherical havens. Oh yeah...and hyping sprung landing gears as well.
We're going to miss you Al. God speed.
Ted Fancher
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This is sad news. I had a chance to talk to Al after he put up a flight with Bearcat at VSC during a break. To me the flight looked flawless. I asked him why he didn't compete any more? His response to me was, "Why should I". Yes he was a gentleman and I have one of his Mustunt kits waiting to be built with molded parts and laser cutting, also the DVD showing how to do it. D>K
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Thank you David for the video.
Awesome job!
I believe that was Randy Hancock launching Bill W. plane.
Randy built his tanks.
Another one gone way before his time.
Great memories fer sure!
The last few minutes of your video.....
PRICELESS! y1
"Tight Lines!" H^^
Wes
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This is indeed sad news, Just on Monday during our "At the Bench" video chat his name came up and his attaching airfoils to the hood of his car to get data on different airfoils. The control line community shall miss him.
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One of a kind and globally influential .
His articals on the Mustang & Sea Fury had adhearants from the far reaches of the planet . New Zealand even .
Kim Webby dis a M B 5 & his CAP 21 was ' Al Inspired ' . I did a MB 3 from Al's P-51 numbers & promulgations .
We should all be thankfull he had the fortitude to set it all down on paper & do his CD's .
His late Saito powered planes were amazing . Even if you dont really need 5 layers of fibreglass to retain the canopy . S?P
Au Revoir .
(https://discuss-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/original/3X/2/7/27a29b8158c78a331c1cbd8040f464d738c24b3d.jpg)
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I really hate seeing our friends names in topic titles here, all too often it's bad news.
I never personally met or knew Al but he has always been one of my absolute top idols in this hobby. His outstanding models and designs are a bit above my building skill level but have always given me great inspiration. Damn. I can't think of much else to say right now other than this really sucks.
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A video from far too long ago at Al's "secret" flying field, not too far from his house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbzKY3Y3iLc
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Some pictures over the years.
1). Al's Air Force. Another photo from this set was on the cover of Control Line World.
2). Al shows everyone "how it's done".
3). Snaggletooth Mustang at Rich Oliver's house.
4). Critical Mass
5). Critical Mass Landing
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I met Al when my dad took me to the 1968 Nats in Olathe, KS. His airplane was fascinating to me and he spoke about it with a sure, technical tone which I found drew me in even at 9 years old. He seemed like he wanted to teach what he had found to all of us which was just right for someone in school, the adults took him in other ways!
Al was a Braniff Airlines captain and my dad a TWA captain so they got along well having that in common. They soon discovered they both had ferried P-51's to Trans Florida Aviation in Sarasota where in the early to mid 60's era many Mustangs went after being bought surplus on speculation by men with a little dough to invest in high risk ventures. Often young pilots with good stick and rudder skills were hired to ferry them and again Al and dad had that in common.
I have a ton of anecdotes about Al from the late 60's and early 70's... I'll try to put a few into words over the next little while.
Chris...
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Some pictures over the years.
1). Al's Air Force. Another photo from this set was on the cover of Control Line World.
2). Al shows everyone "how it's done".
3). Snaggletooth Mustang at Rich Oliver's house.
4). Critical Mass
I worked with AL to make him the graphics for the Critical Mass. He used the graphics to make masks and decals for the model. He was very kind and sent me the plans for the Critical Mass for my efforts. I have to hunt through my computers and see if I can find them to put in a post here.
5). Critical Mass Landing
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So sad to hear this. One of my heroes from the time I picked up my 1st handle.
Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Tight lines and calm winds AL.
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RIP
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We have lost a true legend of our time.
Rumor has it there is always great flying weather up there!
God bless you Al.
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He seemed like he wanted to teach what he had found to all of us which was just right for someone in school, the adults took him in other ways!
This was the Al that I knew. Even as an adult, his tendency to "always be right" never bothered me and I learned more about CLPA aerodynamics from him than I can remember.
One thing that I have notice here is referring to the blue & silver mustang as "Snaggletooth". I had always thought it was the silver one with the sharks mouth. That was the one he was always flying when we flew together. Memory fades and I probably have it wrong or the name stuck to the whole series.
Still don't believe that he is gone - Ken
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Rest in peace.
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I'm so sad to hear of Al's passing, even though at our ages such losses are all too common. That's two for me this week of people with very significant contributions. Al's contributions to model plane design and structures are enormous, and I use the present tense deliberately. He was clever and sensible in his pursuits. I read all his writings with relish and great appreciation. I met him at VSC 14 and found him a fascinating person to talk with, since he was willing to discuss everything about his models and share theory. I will always cherish the Bearcat plans that arrived from him unannounced. I know he was concerned with his contributions being remembered and hope there are always people willing and enthusiastic enough to search history. He'll be there.
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Rest in peace.
Elwyn,
A great photograph that brings back many memories. I met Al at the Olathe 1968 Nats which was his first Nats. But that is another story. That first encounter was the beginning of a long friendship.
That photo you have shows Al is launching one of his Bearcats. There was another Bearcat he had at the 2000 VSC which I think is the only one he attended. That Bearcat was white with the dark blue diving eagle on the side of the fuselage (His second painted with this scheme). He wanted me to fly it. I am not anxious to fly another person's airplane and was not very enthused to fly that one as it was brand new. He kept insisting, so I relented and flew it that one time. It was a real experience. ((I have flown some other of his airplanes including that Cavalier Mustang he had at the 68 Olathe Nats and the Mustang he had at the 78 World Championships, he placed 2nd, when I accompanied him there in Woodvale, England (another story)). I will always remember that Tucson flight. When you first fly a semi scale Bearcat like Al's design, you get the impression there is a short stubby creation out there that sort of resembles a beer barrel. We all know that beer barrels do not fly. We all also know that not only do they not fly but they cannot do a loop. But that thing flew, so I tried to do a loop, and it did. A couple more practice loops, then I tried a square. WOW! I try to be safe on the pullout of a square with someone else's model. But this thing turned to level flight about 10 feet higher than I thought it would. Then some respectable (at least for me) square horizontal eights. Except for OTS, I seldom build a design from someone else. However, a year or so later, I had my own Bearcat from the magazine plans with a Hunt lost foam wing which resulted in more than 10 years flying the thing with 1,000+ flights.
This is one of many stories I have with AL.
We are loosing too many or our own. Al - I miss you and will never forget.
Keith
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Tough week. A nurse I've worked with for 18 years died yesterday. Now I hear about Al. I only met Al once, but he struck me as a good guy. He'd argue with a stone over it's hardness, but then would smile. I'll miss him.
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My goodness. Bob Whitely and Al Rabe in the same day. Too much, too much.
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Damnit.
Al rabe was 40 years ahead of the competition.
I learnt so much from Al, only met him the once ,but we conversed many times and I had all his dvds and articles. ( as we all did im sure )
That practise circle in stunt heaven just got a little harder to get some airtime.
Rest in peace, to the original king of Stunt.
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Al was a good friend and he will surely be missed. I had spoken with Al in December about visiting him as soon as the virus was under control. He had a great deal of influence on my building techniques and on the type of airplanes that I was drawn to. Rest in Peace my friend and God Bless..
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Captain Rabe's Obit:
https://www.donnellyscolonial.com/obituary/7317930