C/LStunt
Former FM Editor Bob Hunt knew Allen Brickhaus quite well as a friend and fellow Stunt enthusiast. He asked if he could write the following as a tribute to Allen that showed his depth not only as a Stunt com- petitor, but a wonderful person as well.–Ed.
T
here are no words to express the sorrow the Control Line community is experiencing over the loss of Allen Brickhaus. We have lost not only a great builder, flier, and writer, but also a friend of many, the likes of which passes this way all too seldom. Allen loved everyone, but especially those who flew model airplanes. His brand of dedication to growing the sport and helping everyone along the way was as special as special gets. And, the true magnitude of his accom- plishments in this regard will continue to be discovered and marveled at for years to come. Because, just as an iceberg’s mass is mostly hidden under water, the majority of Allen’s achievements were hidden under the surface by an extremely humble and service- oriented gentle man. Allen was introduced to Control Line fly- ing in 1963, and, like many of us did he learned on 1⁄2A size models; but he soon moved up to larger ships. He kept active in C/L building and flying throughout his col- lege years and on into his early working years as a school teacher. He also continued his modeling when he joined the Army in the early 1970s.
Allen was an accomplished musician and he auditioned for and was accepted as a trombone player in the 399th Army Band that was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. While stationed there, Allen and a few other members of the band started fly- ing on the parade grounds. He later was transferred to the 82nd Army Band that was stationed in Germany. While there he or- ganized the Nelligen Barracks Control Line Club. Upon his return home in 1974, Allen
by allen brickhaus Allen Brickhaus: March 26, 1947 — December 28, 2013
Ever in pursuit of the “perfect” Stunter, Allen became a prolific designer. Here he holds the Brodak ARF prototype of his Legacydesign, just one in so many great legacies he left behind.
began to work towards a Master’s degree in Music Education.
Allen was instrumental in the formation of the Southeast Missouri Modeling Associa- tion. Around that time Allen met and be- came friends with Charlie Reeves and Jim Lynch, and they helped Allen to learn the fine points of model airplane construction and flying. Charlie had built a semi-scale Stunt version of the P-63C King Cobra that
was known in the Thompson Trophy racing world as the “Flying Red Horse”. Allen liked the lines of the ship and decided to “kit bash” the Midwest P-63 into a clipped wing, profile version of Charlie’s ship. That led to Allen’s first published model airplane article, in the June, 1978 issue of Model Airplane News. Allen went on to publish a great many original C/L Stunt and trainer designs. He also collaborated with a number of other
Another series aircraft that Allen created, the Buccaneer(above left). FMwas fortunate to publish a number of the various Buccaneers and this one, the Buccaneer IIended up being kitted by Eric Rule of RSM Distributors. Tireless in
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promoting Stunt to aspiring, younger C/L pilots, Allen developed and ran beginner events at many contests, encouraging the pilots to continue with a plethora of prizes (above right) for just about any competitor, from first to last.
MARCH 2014
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