modelers to successfully revive many old and nearly forgotten designs. For a complete listing of these designs, a listing of the many other C/L related articles by Allen, and many more interesting facts about Allen’s life, type the following into your browser and hit enter:
http://stunthangar.com/smf/index. php?topic=3380=1.0. There you will find a post on the Stunt Hangar forum that in- cludes the nomination letter that John Bro- dak prepared in an effort to have Allen elect- ed to the Model Aviation Hall of Fame (often referred to as the AMA Hall of Fame). Many of the facts about Allen’s life in modeling used here were gleaned from John’s most eloquent nomination letter.
My first remembrance of Allen was at the 1982 Nats in Lincoln, Nebraska, where I was serving as the Assistant Director of the C/L Stunt event. Lanny Shorts was the Di- rector that year, and Allen was serving as one of our volunteer judges. Right from the beginning Allen was a friend. He had a way of becoming your friend the very instant that you met him. And, Allen was by far the most courteous and conscientious man I’ve ever known.
When he was preparing to start on a new design series and wanted to use the “num- bers” from my Genesis series of models, he called and asked permission to do so! That’s character… Obviously I gave him the okay; hey, I borrowed those very same “numbers” from Bill Simons! The two models that Allen produced using those numbers went on to become perhaps his most well-known ships. The Buccaneer and Legacy series of models have become legendary in our event. I’m cer- tain that Bill Simons would be proud and happy to know this as well. Needless to say, Allen’s designs have started hundreds of hopeful new C/L Stunt fliers on the path to success.
When I retired as the Editor of FLYING
MODELS in 1996, I continued on as the C/L Stunt columnist for about a year. The time requirements and pressures of a new voca- tion (video editing) made it impossible for me to continue writing this column. The new Editor of FM, Frank Fanelli, called and asked if I had any recommendations for a re- placement columnist. Without hesitation I suggested that he hire Allen Brickhaus, and in April of 1997 Allen came on board. He’s been producing a monthly column ever since.
After he retired from teaching Allen sponsored local neighborhood groups, the most recent the Patton Street Pirates seen above. With Allen’s coaching, they started their endeavor with paper airplane gliders.
Now there is a void here that will be diffi- cult to fill. Allen not only wrote about what was happening at the top levels of the event, he also spent a lot of time highlighting new products, introducing others who have served the C/L Stunt community, and espe- cially spent a great deal of ink on how to help newcomers get started in modeling. It is that last category on which I’d like to focus the remainder of this column.
Allen’s awesome stewardship of the C/L
Stunt event is well documented. Each year at the Nats, Allen headed up a group of very dedicated individuals who staffed and ran the Beginner Stunt event. Not only did Allen recruit all this talent to run a first class event, he also solicited merchandise to be given out to the entrants. Sure, there were trophies, nice trophies for the top ten placers in both the Junior and Open divi- sions of the Beginner event. But trophies do not help a budding Stunt flier to move up. New models, new engines, fuel, batteries and all the other required staples do. And each year there were piles of merchandise for the entrants to pick from in descending order of their placings.
This past year (2013) there were 54 piles of merchandise arranged neatly in rows. The Junior class winner and placers were al- lowed first choice and then the Open class winner and placers. Each of the contestants had the chance to go through the rows of merchandise and pick two or three times! A typical pile contained a model kit, an engine or motor, fuel, lines and a handle. Neat. Remember what I wrote earlier about the iceberg? It hit me while watching the con- testants gleefully choosing their piles of “stuff” that all this merchandise had to not only be solicited and organized, but also transported from Allen’s home to the Nats! Imagine how much room 54 piles of stuff takes up in a van. Truly Allen was a miracle worker. I’m hopeful that the Nats Beginner Stunt event will be renamed the “Allen Brickhaus Beginner Stunt Event.” Allen loved a lot of things in this world; model airplanes and model airplane people, music and musicians, hot rods and hot rod- ders; but above all he loved his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and his devoted and beautiful wife, Kathy. I will miss him. So will you. –BOB HUNT
Besides his own designs, Allen (at left) sought and put together articles that allowed iconic Stunters like the Olympushe’s holding, to see publication for the first time. Another Legacy, the Legacy 40(above).
FLYING MODELS 25
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