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