Ah the good old days

[Mike Griffin]

Click on link for video

[john e. holliday]

Before my time in modeling.   No crowd control and if some one got hurt they were patched up and sent home.   Also notice the lack of mufflers  and the number of jets.   Bet they were not any quieter back then.  As some would say the good old days.  Can you imagine dressing like that for todays contest.

[John Rist]

What! no safety fence?  I miss the good old days.

[FLOYD CARTER]

I have attended model contests at Old Warden Airdrome and other events in England.  I observed that some of the flyers were dressed in a suit and tie.  To me, this appeared quite civilized!

One person over here I admired was Col. Bob Thacker.  Bob often arrived at the flying field in a suit.

Whenever I attempted to imitate this type of dress at a flying venue, I was ridiculed.  Now, I am not a fan of the all-white, tennis-style outfit at the flying field.  That is totally impractical.   I see nothing wrong with trying to look halfway decent instead of old oil-stained jeans and a ragged t-shirt.

Floyd (old fashioned) Carter

[Will Hinton]

Sorry guys, but with the equipment we now have and the means of having more opportunities and the affluency to fly together, as far as I am concerned, THESE are the good old days.

[Brett Buck]

What! no safety fence?  I miss the good old days.

   Joe Armistead misses the bones in his leg.

    Brett

[Larry Fernandez]

   Joe Armistead misses the bones in his leg.

    Brett

Who is Joe Armistead, and what happened to the bones in his leg?

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Carl Cisneros]

Floyd;

I too attended many a fly in at Old Warden when we were stationed at RAF Alconbury back in the early 90's.
always had a great time there.



Carl

[Mike Keville]

Who is Joe Armistead, and what happened to the bones in his leg?

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

======================================================
Joe Armistead, a former airline pilot, was a bystander (or participant?) at a CL Speed contest at Whittier Narrows, CA in the '70s or '80s, when a D-Speed ship pancaked into the blacktop, broke the line(s) and slammed into his leg, shattering the bones.

At the time, I was judging a Stunt flight, with my back to the action.  I didn't see it happen, but certainly heard about it later.

Word is, the insurance payout was the largest ever from the Academy of Multirotors and ARFs.

[Larry Fernandez]

======================================================
Joe Armistead, a former airline pilot, was a bystander (or participant?) at a CL Speed contest at Whittier Narrows, CA in the '70s or '80s, when a D-Speed ship pancaked into the blacktop, broke the line(s) and slammed into his leg, shattering the bones.

At the time, I was judging a Stunt flight, with my back to the action.  I didn't see it happen, but certainly heard about it later.

Word is, the insurance payout was the largest ever from the Academy of Multirotors and ARFs.

I'm guessing the speed cage went up shortly afterwards.

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Brett Buck]

======================================================
Joe Armistead, a former airline pilot, was a bystander (or participant?) at a CL Speed contest at Whittier Narrows, CA in the '70s or '80s, when a D-Speed ship pancaked into the blacktop, broke the line(s) and slammed into his leg, shattering the bones.

At the time, I was judging a Stunt flight, with my back to the action.  I didn't see it happen, but certainly heard about it later.

Word is, the insurance payout was the largest ever from the Academy of Multirotors and ARFs.

    Also, the reason that the AMA requires a net/cage to fly speed. It is all well and good to look at a 40's airplane contest and see how quaint it all looks, and people attempting FF ROGs into a crowd, "hah, hah, slap a bandaid on that and go on with your business!". But you really can get hurt, and its serious business in that regard.

     Brett

[Larry Fernandez]

    Also, the reason that the AMA requires a net/cage to fly speed. It is all well and good to look at a 40's airplane contest and see how quaint it all looks, and people attempting FF ROGs into a crowd, "hah, hah, slap a bandaid on that and go on with your business!". But you really can get hurt, and its serious business in that regard.

     Brett

Next time I see you, remind me to show you the huge scar on my left arm.
The last day of school in the third grade, dad comes home from work early, thinking he'll put up a few flights with his new combat plane, prepping for a contest the next day in Castro Valley.
A Flite Line Sneeker (A Rilley Wooten design as I recall) with a nasty Johnson Combat Special that George Aldrich had reworked for my dad.

Long story short, when I launched the plane,  the lines were slack and the plane came around and impacted into my left forearm. Huge chunk of meat tore out all the way to the bone.
Dad left the plane, lines and flight box right there in the General Motors parking lot and hauled my ass to Washington Township hospital, where they repaired and sewed up tendons, inner meat and outer skin. Left the hospital around midnight and went back to GM to retrieve all of dads stuff.
When we finally got home there was a huge pissing contest between mom and dad. Mom was livid that dad had put her sons life in danger.
In the heat of the arguememt, dad busted up his Sneeker and his Hemstrought PT-19, threw the remains in the fireplace and burned them. Boy that showed her.
Afterwards, mom felt so bad that she went to Hobbies Unlimited in Fremont and bought dad a new Sneeker and Midwest PT-19

Boy did I have a great childhood

Most of my childhood memories center around model airplanes and baseball.

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Randy Cuberly]

Next time I see you, remind me to show you the huge scar on my left arm.
The last day of school in the third grade, dad comes home from work early, thinking he'll put up a few flights with his new combat plane, prepping for a contest the next day in Castro Valley.
A Flite Line Sneeker (A Rilley Wooten design as I recall) with a nasty Johnson Combat Special that George Aldrich had reworked for my dad.

Long story short, when I launched the plane,  the lines were slack and the plane came around and impacted into my left forearm. Huge chunk of meat tore out all the way to the bone.
Dad left the plane, lines and flight box right there in the General Motors parking lot and hauled my ass to Washington Township hospital, where they repaired and sewed up tendons, inner meat and outer skin. Left the hospital around midnight and went back to GM to retrieve all of dads stuff.
When we finally got home there was a huge pissing contest between mom and dad. Mom was livid that dad had put her sons life in danger.
In the heat of the arguememt, dad busted up his Sneeker and his Hemstrought PT-19, threw the remains in the fireplace and burned them. Boy that showed her.
Afterwards, mom felt so bad that she went to Hobbies Unlimited in Fremont and bought dad a new Sneeker and Midwest PT-19

Boy did I have a great childhood

Most of my childhood memories center around model airplanes and baseball.

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

Wow Larry!  What a great story!

No wonder you grew up such an avid modeler.

What really shines through is that both of your parents cared a great deal for you!

Randy Cuberly

[john e. holliday]

That is so true Randy that Larry had such great parents.  Mine were very supportive of my modeling activities.  I remember the Christmas the Nobler came to be,  I got a Christmas card saying the kit was on its way, signed Mom and Dad.