Allen  has been my friend and confidant since 1991! That's awhile ago but as of now it's only been an instant. He has been very helpful over the years to many of us in many ways. His quiet and level headed manner  was truly appreciated. His writings were always spot on and his compliments were always appreciated. I enjoyed his humor and his company. My prayers are for him and  Kathy in this time of terrible loss.

Rest in Peace my Dear Friend,

Phil Spillman

 

I am in shock.  Allen was a friend for 30+ years, although we only saw each other one week a year at the Nats.
He will be missed greatly.
My prayers to his family.
Frank

Truly sad news, he will be missed by all of us who new him.
Andy

God keep you Allen,

Here's a guy we could all try harder to emulate.  He was always supportive of others efforts and went out of his way to acknowledge your accomplishments. He nurtured stunt from small 1/2 a trainers in the hands of children through to designing and publishing excellent airplanes capable of competition at the highest levels.  

Let's look at his writing, he's been the on scene reporter for Nats News, putting out daily reports with photos during the Nats, there's his stunt news columns always full of stuff from around the district, there's his flying models column always of interest to beginners through to experts. Just his efforts here would be LOTS to fill.... But there's more.

He published many many designs, some original, some historically significant. All were a big undertaking and always motivating...  One of his articles left you hungry for the building bench!  

Contest efforts, while I don't know what went on closer to his home, I saw his efforts at the Nationals.  He made sure the beginners and intermediates had a TREMENDOUS experience at the nationals.  He had special trophies, large piles of awesome prizing to pick from,and he had lots of support.  This too represents a significant effort!  

Flying!  He loved to fly! And fly everything from profiles to full tilt super stunters!   Allen was a modellers modeller, he could design build and Fly!  On top of all that he wrote about it all so we could all see and learn from the things he was discovering.

You'll notice that Al didn't engage in the petty bickering that flares up on this site.  He would rather not lower himself to such things but rather encourage change through positive comments. A gentleman, this is how I will remember Allen, a gentleman, a modeller, an inspiration to do more things for our hobby.  He left a big hole to fill, it will take many to replace his efforts.  Let's honour him by ensuring the columns continue, the Nats is well covered, the designs keep coming out and that we conduct ourselves as if he's watching!  He will be!

Good bye my friend!

Bruce

Couldn't have stated it any better Bruce.

Let's also not forget about his efforts with helping out on Brodaks every year. I looked forward to seeing Allen and talking stunt (and occasionally music) with him every year and looked forward to seeing him again next year.

RIP Allen.

Allen Brickhaus was one of those few people you meet in life where each individual who had the privilege to know him felt that they had a very special relationship, peculiar only to them, no matter how long that association.  That relationship was absolutely genuine and sincere.  He touched many of us in many different ways.  I will miss him more than any words I can express.  Rest in peace my friend.

Keith

    I have to, like many already have, also use the word shocked, and it's not quite adequate. I can't believe I have lost my brother Darryl. It's kind of an inside joke between us, and some of you out there know the joke. There was a family of brothers on the old Bob Newhart Show that all had the name Darryl. I have known Allen I think going back to my first stunt contests back in 1987 and on at least 4 occasions some one has come up to me thinking that I was Allen Brickhaus, but I don't think anyone ever introduced themselves to him thinking he was me!. I told him that was easy to understand because I was much better looking than he was! It even happened one time with someone that was not a modeler. It did happen at a model airplane airshow at Buder Park. I was getting ready for a stunt demo flight, and I heard someone on the other side of the fence yelling "Allen!" I thought to myself that surely it was someone looking for another Allen. I turned around, and this gentleman was right at the fence, looking right at me. I smiled and shook his hand and asked if he thought I was Allen Brickhaus and he smiled and said yes. I informed him that I was not, and he apologized profusely but I told him it was not a problem and that I actually knew Allen. It turned out that it was an old college buddy of his who had not seen Allen for years. I used to remember that guy's name, but not any more. Whenever Allen and I greeted each other, it was "Hey Darryl!" Kind of like we were twin sons of different mothers.
    I also am among the legion of people that had received a lot of help from Allen from the Beginner stage right up to the Expert ranks. I felt I had "arrived" at the Expert level when I won a contest, finally besting Allen by one slim point. I would have hated to have paid Allen's phone bill through the years, if everyone he talked to spent as much time on the phone with him as I have over the years. I also had just talked to him on the phone in the last week or so about some engines my Son wanted from Byron Barker's estate, and we also talked a lot about beginners. He kept me posted on the group of kids he has been working with in his area that he called his Patton Street Pirates. Look for a column about that in the next Flying Models. And I had just written a piece for him for his column in the December issue about the KidVenture program at Oshkosh. I also just got an email from him with his just refinished Olympus. And I will never forget all the kindness, friendship,help and encouragement he has shown my son Sean since he was knee high. This sad news will probably hit Sean very hard.
    And Kieth has made a very valid observation about Allen and his relationships with people. I feel that way also, and I do feel like I have lost another brother. It's going to take a lot of shoulders to take over and carry the load that Allen has been carrying for a long time. His physical presence will be missed, but his spirit will be at control line circles all over the country.
     So long Darryl, I'll see you later sometime.

    Dan McEntee
   

attached are some photos of Allen at VSC. 

I will miss my old pal

Jim Hoffman

Having spoken with Allen just the night before truly breaks my heart to hear this. 
I will definetly miss my Friend & Brother in Christ. My sincerest condolences to Kathy and the rest of Allen's family members.

I got this picture of Allen flying at the St Louis contest this past Sept

(send me a PM if you want the High Resolution version of this picture)

Fred

My thoughts and prayers are for Allen's family but this is a great personal loss for all of us.

Dalton

I am numb!  Allen and I where in contact everyday. Phone or email. When he travelled to Tucson he would call me and I would get the latest weather information for him by looking on  Google earth. As the days and weeks pass I will miss him. Gods speed Allen.

Chuck Feldman

  My thoughts of Allen are at Brodak's Fly-In.
I am just one of hundreds of unknown people
who shown up there each year to compete.
Sometimes I have interrupted Allen as he was
rushing past to ask him a (probably) silly question.
Allen would stop, smile at me and then , patiently
give me the answer as if I was the most important
person at the contest. It made an impression on me.

Allen Brickhaus was a very decent, kind , friendly
industrious and generous person.
We don't have enough people like him.
He will be badly missed.

Services for Allen Brickhaus:
 Visitation 1/1/14 from 5-9 pm
 Funeral 1/2/14 at 10 am. Both at Aly Funeral Home in Eddyville.
 Interment following funeral in Perryville, MO.

What a wonderful tribute these messages are......

I received a text yesterday afternoon from Eric Viglione that Allen had passed away. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I wanted to come on here and say something but I couldn't figure out just what I wanted to say.  I sat in mass yesterday afternoon and couldn't stop thinking about what a terrible loss we all have to overcome.  I also couldn't stop thinking about his family and how difficult this will be for them.  My shock and disbelief quickly turned to sadness, much much sadness.  

I was first exposed to Allen's work in 1994 when I won a Buccaneer 740 at the Lubbock Nats.  This was the plane that really got me going.  From there I moved to the Buccaneer 746 on an OPS 40, pipe.  It was the cat's meow!  In 1996 I took that plane to Muncie and I am pretty certain it was there that I met Allen for the first time. What a gentleman and truly genuine guy.  Every year after that at the Nats he was always ready to greet me with a smile and a handshake and something positive to say.  Always with a plane or camera in hand he was either documenting something or flying something or helping someone with something, and no matter what there as always a smile.

As has been said by many and very well put by Bruce P and Bob H Allen and his commitment to our community is going to be missed and rightfully so.  When I woke up this morning it really hit me as to why he will be so missed. Yes he was a great friend, yes he was a genuine person, yes he was positive ALL OF THE TIME! But more than all of these things he was truly a man of service.  It is a constant theme among the posts about Allen here and all over facebook he truly served his fellow man and he found Joy in doing so.  This is a rare quality among men today and all across history.  He was one of the rare ones!  It his service towards others that really reaches out touches everyone who comes in contact with him.  The story of him stopping during a rush to get somewhere  to help someone with a question is all too familiar when talking about Allen.  He was a servant to us and Control Line, a servant to his students, a servant to his family, and servant to his wife Kathy.  It has been said on here he was a true believer in Jesus Christ.  Well, he really did live it....

Thank you Allen for all of your work and dedication to CL and your fellow man. I am saddened to think my son wont get to experience one of your Beginner Nats contests.

Thank you again and rest in peace.

 

Allen attended the VSC many times, usually with his friends Charlie Reeves and/or Wes Eakin.  We enjoyed many laughs, including bets (coffee) on who'd-score-what or who'd-crash-during-which-maneuver.  (He usually won.)

I never saw him without a big smile and welcoming word to anyone who approached him.  It won't be the same without him.

 I came across this news very late last night and was completely shocked. Losses like this hit hard, and take a while to sink in.

 It's difficult to think of things to say, but first are my condolences to Allen's family and close friends.

 Like most of us here I started building and flying C/L models in my teens and then gradually got away from it as "life" started to take priority. Back then in my area I only ever had a couple of close buddies that even knew about the existence of the C/L hobby. There were no clubs or "real" hobby shops in my area either, we just figured out what we could on our own. It was a period in my life I will always remember fondly, we had a lot of fun.
 
 Looking back, I guess at the time I lived a big part of the hobby vicariously through the model publications. Because of that I had many "idols" and/or "icons" of the hobby in my own mind from constantly reading and re-reading every good flying model publication I could get my hands on. I don't recall exactly where I first noticed his name, but Allen Brickhaus was one of them that I always paid attention to. I considered him to be one of the "Big Dog's" of the hobby. Allen's "Flying Red Horse" P-63 Kingcobra is still one of my favorite models of all time.

 Again like many here, today I could be classified as a C/L "retread". I'm one of those who has returned to the hobby after a long time away from it. I got back into C/L about 2001 or 2002 when I had moved to Minneapolis and found out about the Piston Poppers C/L club. I discovered quickly that I really enjoyed the relaxed company of C/L folks and the genuine friendships that just came naturally and seemed to be as much a part of the hobby as anything.          
 Shortly after getting involved with the Piston Poppers club I started attending some upper Midwest contests. It would have been at either Polk City Iowa or the Sig contest in Montezuma where I first met Allen, probably in '03 or '04.
 
 The first time we met it was just like we'd been old friends all along. That feeling was instant. I've been very fortunate to see Allen at many contests ever since, the last being in St. Louis this past September. Allen was always quick to greet, extremely polite, and genuinely interested in whatever it was I had going on in my modeling, which isn't really anything other than building and flying for fun. It was also immediately apparent that Allen was there to offer help in any way he could. I especially enjoyed his historical knowledge of our hobby. Many times he would request a photo or two of my models and ask about their details. I've never looked for that kind of attention, but I did find it quite gratifying to be acknowledged by a man in the hobby who I'd always considered an icon.

 From my earlier years when I'd first noticed Allen's work and then finally meeting him years later and becoming friends, I have always considered Allen a significant pillar of our C/L community. With Allen's sudden and unexpected passing, my hope is that we haven't lost a bit of the foundation.

 Thank you Allen, you will be missed.

  It appears most of you are in shock as am I. I looked over some pictures Allen sent me of the Dutch planes from the '60s just yesterday I had planned  for the 2 of us getting our picture taken in Muncie together with both of us holding our Olympus's . This as you all know will leave a huge void in the hobby.   If you want to say hello to a friend don't hesitate , you might not have tomorrow do say it,, at least some people say this.
    John Leidle                 

I was a control line retread 13 years ago trying to get into stunt competition and Allen was always there with advice and a helping hand. We flew and competed in numerous Midwest contests together. He was always gracious whether he won or lost. I received emails from him just a few days ago. His sudden passing is such a shock. My condolences to his grieving family.
DennisV

Count myself lucky to have known the man: Allen was one of the good guys.

Dean P.

I am from Western Kentucky just 25 miles south of Paducah.  Every time I went home for a visit, I would get with Allen and Charlie Reeves at Paducah and do some flying and mostly visit with them.  One time I took my Rayette with me because Allen had talked me into building one (glad he did) and I asked Allen to fly it and see if it need any more tweaking for trim.  The engine quit while Allen had it inverted and he eased her down for a soft landing on the grass circle and there was not a scratch on it, however the sharpend dowel that sat atop the vertical fin had come off and buried itself like an arrow in the grass.  Allen, Charlie and I took a few minutes walking around the circle to see if we could find it to no avail.  I said forget it I can put another one one when I get back to New Orleans, but Allen would not give it up.  He searched and searched for that little piece of dowel for what must have been an hour.  Finally I told him I was going to pee in his fuel if he didnt quit it... this was the kind of person Allen was.  He felt bad because he was flying my plane when it happened and i  could have cared less about that little piece of wood but Allen was determined to find it.  We never did find it but we had a great day just catching up on everything.... just the three of us...Allen Brickhaus, Charlie Reeves and me.  Allen called me on average about twice a week just to talk and he would always start off the conversation by saying "Mr. Griffin.....I am calling to give you your daily dose of harassment."  I cannot believe I will never hear that voice again.  I was blessed to have been a good personal friend of Allen Brickhaus and I cannot tell you what a gaping hole this has left inside of me.  I feel llike a part of me has been ripped away and thrown in some dark void and the rest of me is paralyzed with numbness.

I will miss my friend very very much.

Mike

We seem to be punching-out at a rather rapid rate lately.

Here in Tucson, I maintain e-mail and/or phone contact with two others who - if I fail to 'check-in' each morning - will phone the apartment manager (520-293-8635) and ask them to look into apartment #1321....with the provision that they may not like what they find.

Morbid thought, yes....but at the rate we're disappearing it's probably not a bad idea.

I might suggest that others arrange for similar contacts....just in case.

An old proverb states that it takes a village to raise a child.  I had a really big village, and Allen was one of them.  I knew Allen before I knew his name.  My 4-year old brain could only remember so many names.  But he was one of the people that I knew I could hang out with and talk to  while Dad was flying or doing something else and didnt feel like I was bothering him.  He was always very nice, and he was one of the folks I looked forward to at every contest.

He helped me like he did so many others once I got older and started flying compeditively.  He talked Dad into taking me to the Nat's to fly beginner when I was 14.  That was one of the biggest thrills and greatest adventures that I've had on the contest trail. 

Once I joined the Army,  I saw him a whole lot less, like the rest of the Midwesterners.  That just made it a bigger treat when I did to see them at places like VSC, or when I got the odd chance to go home for a contest there.

The last time I saw Allen was a couple VSCs ago.  I was at Huachuca for MQ1C school, and I flew nights so I was able to make it up to Tucson to fly the contest.  He was in the Army back in the 70s, and we traded a few stories throughout the week.  He especially liked the kilt I wore to the banquet for St Patrick's Day!  I talked to him last a couple weeks ago, as Dad mentioned, about a couple engines that I was interested in out of Byron Barker's estate.

I was nursing myself back to life via a few cups of coffee in preperation for a flight when I read the news about his passing on facebook.  I had to read the memorials posted on his page over and over to get it to sink in.  By the time it did, I was so beside myself that I had to down myself off the flight for safety reasons.

I dont know what else to say.  Allen was one of the most genuinely kind, helpful, friendly people I know.  He is a shining example of why we drive halfway across the country to engage in this trite pastime.  Meeting and visiting with people like him is what keeps me going to contests.  Its going to take a long time before going to a Midwest contest and not seeing him on the field will feel normal.

I pulled a couple pictures off of his facebook page.  For those who didn't know, he was an 02E Trombone Player and Repair Technitian in the Army.  Spent, from what I've heard, most of his time with the 82nd Army Band at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany.  Made it to the rank of Sergeant. 

At ease, SGT Brickhaus!

Yes, it has been a couple of days seen I seen that E-Mail and reading all the posts, I wonder if Allen realized how many friends he had.  Especially a furry friend that I would get  onto him about letting her get in  his face.  I call her lightning tongue every so often when people pick her up.  Every contest we attended when Allen was also there, he would grab her first and let her slobber all over his face.   Still tearing up when I think how she probably doesn't know what I am saying when I tell her Allen is gone to a better place.

Allen was a great fellow. I had met Allen at Brodak's Fly-In about 4 years ago. Always pleasant to talk to and ready to give a helping hand or encouragement when you needed it. He always seemed to enjoy the models that I had with me, for example a Stunt Machine and a Hallmark. This year I had some trouble with an engine and he was there with helpful advice. I can still see him zooming around on a golf cart or holding the microphone at the CD table. Also enjoyed his writings in Flying Models. Such a surprise to hear of his passing. The world is a better place for having had him in it.

-Chris