Tribute to Dave Shipton 1925-2011
Dave Shipton passed away at age 86 on June 7, 2011. Sadly this marks the end of an era in American model airplane history.
Some current control line model airplane fliers may not know about Dave Shipton but many of us older control line fliers do. Dave was an active participant in early modeling and for many years ran a mainly mail order hobby shop from his home near Delavan, IL which he called Hobby Hideaway. Dave advertised in modeling magazines and you may remember his ads. Dave converted a large barn into the location for Hobby Hideaway and a museum that he called “Wings and Things.” The museum features a multitude of models, engines, kits and even parts from full scale aircraft. Many of the models are Dave’s creations and he was happy to tell any visitor about them calling on an unbelievable wealth of aircraft knowledge. He not only sold model kits and supplies but he also kitted and sold models of his own design. Dave was also a prolific model builder and he especially loved scale models. For many years Dave was a top scale model competitor and he also was active as a judge and contest director.
As was mentioned in his obituary, his proudest model achievement was a scale model of a Curtiss Condor which was accepted by the Smithsonian Institution and is still on display in the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. Dave was meticulous for detail and it is not a surprise that this shows in the following story.
A few weeks ago, fellow modeler, Jim Swearingen, had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. Dave reminded Jim, before he left, about his Curtiss Condor model that the Smithsonian Institution owned and asked Jim to look for it at the Air and Space Museum. Jim told me that he said to himself, “Sure, Dave, that airplane is probably in storage if they even still have it.” However, when Jim visited the museum he was surprised to discover that the Curtiss Condor was indeed on display and the label credited David Shipton as its creator. Jim took a photo of the model and presented Dave with a nice enlargement when he returned to Central Illinois from his trip. Dave was delighted to get the photo!
A short time afterward Dave entered the hospital where he died following a brief illness. During Dave’s hospitalization his minister stopped by to visit him. While standing just outside Dave’s curtained bed, Dave’s wife, Mary Ann, showed his minister the Condor photo and told him that is was a rather large model with a wing span of 61 inches. At that point the curtain rattled and Dave announced in a loud voice, “It really is a 61 and ½ inch wing span!!!”
During the summer of 2010 three modelers from the Tree Town Modelaires Club from the suburban Chicago area came down to fly with some local modelers at the circle that Dave kept at Hobby Hideaway. Fred Krueger, secretary of the Tree Town Modelaires Club, put out a special edition of their newsletter called, “Slack Lines,” featuring the fun fly and Dave’s museum. Below are some photos that Fred included in the newsletter.
Here is a link to David Shipton’s obituary:
http://www.davismortuaryinc.com/Visitations/2011/printshipton.htmlDave Shipton was a one of a kind and he will be missed by all who knew him.
My sympathy goes out to Dave's family.
John Cralley
Topic: Tribute to David Shipton 1925 - 2011 (Read 4428 times)
