Brian D. Pate 8/11/39 - 4/13/07
04-14-2007, 03:54 PM
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Brian D. Pate 8/11/39 - 4/13/07
It's with heavy heart that I must report my best friend, designing/building/flying & fishing buddy Brian Pate passed away yesterday afternoon.
Most of you here in the forum didn't know him but he was a 1/2A brother of the highest order. He joined the forum very early on as "Spindr" and read most everything but never posted due to consternation over anything to do with computers.
He & I met in September 1980 at the old Memphis Prop Busters field during the early test flights of a home-made twin reedie/push-pull contraption I called the Twin-Potts Special. He was immediately excited about meeting someone else that actually ran Cox engines on purpose and we started a very close friendship that lasted from that day forward.
His modelling career started when he was a young boy in Hickman County, TN with scratch built rubber powered models and progressed through just about anything that flies...always building straight from his own fertile mind using whatever materials were at hand. He had a way of simplifying the most complex of problems, both aerodynamic and structural and had a gift of being able to look at a plane that was giving you fits and in about three seconds would say: "Add a 1/2" strip to the leading edge of the vertical stab and move the CG back a quarter inch." Invariably, the plane would breathe a sigh of relief and smooth right out. He taught me that a rudder/elevator plane was a joy to fly when the dihedral and vert stab areas were properly set up. He passed on many, many other lessons about life, family, cooking, frugality and model aerodynamics as well as how to make a Cox engine behave.
He was an officer in the Memphis Prop Busters "back in the day" and came up with a long list of innovative events to keep us all excited about coming to the field every weekend and having a great time with your buddies. He's the fellow that argued down the naysayers at a club meeting when he brought up the idea of putting on a fly-in with FREE FOOD & DRINKS for anybody from the other local clubs that wanted to show up & fly...and pig out. This was back when most clubs were very closed-minded and doing something like that was ludicrous. The 1st one we put on was a huge success and made money for the club from donations from all the attendees. In fact, it became a tradition and other clubs started doing the same thing and tried to out-do each other!
Then there was his competitive side. HAH! Man you'd better have your event rules looked over by a New York lawyer or he'd find a loophole and whip your butt in a heartbeat. He rarely entered a "normal" airplane and was always quietly ecstatic when he did well (which was often) against .40 sized airplanes with one of his 1/2A creations.
Heart problems and diabetes curtailed his prolific building in the past few years but the creative spark never dwindled. His oldest son Michael and he collaborated on several planes that they took to the annual S.M.A.L.L. event in Little Rock. His twin-rotor autogyro "Spin Doctor" won an award at one of the events and was later published in the August '04 issue of Flying Models magazine.
I've attached a few pictures to show him and a few of his creations. The 1st one shows him a few years ago in my workshop with a Tee Dee .020 powered racer he whipped up in a couple weekends after seeing Jeremy's (Matchless Aero) .020 racer. It was a slippery lil' devil called the "Hot Shot" and was quick as cat. He's holding the obligatory Friday night libation in the other hand. MANY enjoyable Friday nights spent together in my workshop.
2nd pic is a Dornier-like twin exhaust sleeve throttled Tee Dee .049 powered machine. It flew great!
Spin Doctor, powered by a throttle sleeved Tee Dee .049.
A shot in the Pate tent at S.M.A.L.L. one year...upper left is the .25 powered profile P-26 Pea Shooter that made it on the cover of FM back in '03, I think; 2nd one down on left is the autogyro predecessor to the Spin Doctor; 3rd down on left: Tee Dee .020 powered "Baby Bird" on floats (somewhere I have video of that one flying great ON FLOATS no less; center bottom is son Mike's own scratch built .15 powered slow flyer; red flying wing is a reedie powered design called the "Spook." The prototype for this one goes back to 1983'ish (?) when we did kits for club members and held figure 8 races & combat with them. We had GREAT fun.
I just wanted to share a little of Brian's life with you folks. He was one of the truly great ones and will be sorely missed.
Look up and raise a glass in his memory when you can....I know I will.
Milton Dickey
Most of you here in the forum didn't know him but he was a 1/2A brother of the highest order. He joined the forum very early on as "Spindr" and read most everything but never posted due to consternation over anything to do with computers.
He & I met in September 1980 at the old Memphis Prop Busters field during the early test flights of a home-made twin reedie/push-pull contraption I called the Twin-Potts Special. He was immediately excited about meeting someone else that actually ran Cox engines on purpose and we started a very close friendship that lasted from that day forward.
His modelling career started when he was a young boy in Hickman County, TN with scratch built rubber powered models and progressed through just about anything that flies...always building straight from his own fertile mind using whatever materials were at hand. He had a way of simplifying the most complex of problems, both aerodynamic and structural and had a gift of being able to look at a plane that was giving you fits and in about three seconds would say: "Add a 1/2" strip to the leading edge of the vertical stab and move the CG back a quarter inch." Invariably, the plane would breathe a sigh of relief and smooth right out. He taught me that a rudder/elevator plane was a joy to fly when the dihedral and vert stab areas were properly set up. He passed on many, many other lessons about life, family, cooking, frugality and model aerodynamics as well as how to make a Cox engine behave.
He was an officer in the Memphis Prop Busters "back in the day" and came up with a long list of innovative events to keep us all excited about coming to the field every weekend and having a great time with your buddies. He's the fellow that argued down the naysayers at a club meeting when he brought up the idea of putting on a fly-in with FREE FOOD & DRINKS for anybody from the other local clubs that wanted to show up & fly...and pig out. This was back when most clubs were very closed-minded and doing something like that was ludicrous. The 1st one we put on was a huge success and made money for the club from donations from all the attendees. In fact, it became a tradition and other clubs started doing the same thing and tried to out-do each other!
Then there was his competitive side. HAH! Man you'd better have your event rules looked over by a New York lawyer or he'd find a loophole and whip your butt in a heartbeat. He rarely entered a "normal" airplane and was always quietly ecstatic when he did well (which was often) against .40 sized airplanes with one of his 1/2A creations.
Heart problems and diabetes curtailed his prolific building in the past few years but the creative spark never dwindled. His oldest son Michael and he collaborated on several planes that they took to the annual S.M.A.L.L. event in Little Rock. His twin-rotor autogyro "Spin Doctor" won an award at one of the events and was later published in the August '04 issue of Flying Models magazine.
I've attached a few pictures to show him and a few of his creations. The 1st one shows him a few years ago in my workshop with a Tee Dee .020 powered racer he whipped up in a couple weekends after seeing Jeremy's (Matchless Aero) .020 racer. It was a slippery lil' devil called the "Hot Shot" and was quick as cat. He's holding the obligatory Friday night libation in the other hand. MANY enjoyable Friday nights spent together in my workshop.
2nd pic is a Dornier-like twin exhaust sleeve throttled Tee Dee .049 powered machine. It flew great!
Spin Doctor, powered by a throttle sleeved Tee Dee .049.
A shot in the Pate tent at S.M.A.L.L. one year...upper left is the .25 powered profile P-26 Pea Shooter that made it on the cover of FM back in '03, I think; 2nd one down on left is the autogyro predecessor to the Spin Doctor; 3rd down on left: Tee Dee .020 powered "Baby Bird" on floats (somewhere I have video of that one flying great ON FLOATS no less; center bottom is son Mike's own scratch built .15 powered slow flyer; red flying wing is a reedie powered design called the "Spook." The prototype for this one goes back to 1983'ish (?) when we did kits for club members and held figure 8 races & combat with them. We had GREAT fun.
I just wanted to share a little of Brian's life with you folks. He was one of the truly great ones and will be sorely missed.
Look up and raise a glass in his memory when you can....I know I will.
Milton Dickey
04-14-2007, 06:32 PM
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RE: Brian D. Pate 8/11/39 - 4/13/07
DB, I am sorry to hear of your loss. It is plain to see he will be missed by many and not be forgotten. A friend like that is one in a lifetime and cannot be replaced.
Sincerely, Robert
Sincerely, Robert
04-15-2007, 06:26 AM
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RE: Brian D. Pate 8/11/39 - 4/13/07
Thank you all very much for your kind words.
Hopefully, I'll meet up with him again someday in a better place....where it's always a perfect day to fly and our engines always start on the first flip.
Hopefully, I'll meet up with him again someday in a better place....where it's always a perfect day to fly and our engines always start on the first flip.
][
04-16-2007, 11:07 AM
#16
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RE: Brian D. Pate 8/11/39 - 4/13/07
Wonderful post DB.
I think I had much the same want/need to capture what I was feeling thinking this morning, and this is what I wrote. I had to wipe the tears off my keyboard when I was done writing it.........
This past Saturday I received a call from my boyhood best friend- Michael Pate. I had not talked with him for quite a while and when he called it was truly a surprise. Michael called to tell me his father, Brian, had passed away after suffering a severe stroke. Mr. Pate (Brian) had suffered many years with heart problems and diabetes and they had finally taken their toll.
I know few of you knew Mr. Pate (what I always called him), but he had a strong effect on many people's lives within our hobby. Mr. Pate was a member of the Memphis Propbusters, and had been for well over 30 years. As part of the club, he was the 'guru'- the guy you could always count on to figure out the answer to any problem.
He was a model designer and scratch built pretty much everything he (and his son) ever flew. His approach to design was very logical and simple. The ideas he had were brilliant and always showed an ability to think out of the box while achieving goals or solutions that worked well. His specialty was Cox engined, small designs, and his airplanes always outperformed larger more complex designs in nearly every way.
His wit was sharper than anyone I ever met and he pulled no punches. You had to be on your toes around him, or he would zing you with a perfectly worded shot. Trying to respond back to him with something of the same quality was simply not possible, so you rarely had a comeback. Some of my best memories are of listening in as he and his best friend (you know him as Dickeybird on this forum) as they flew into verbal combat and sparred mercilously with carefully chosen words. Laughter was always in order throughout the whole sparring match!
On a more personal note, the effect Mr. Pate had on me was huge. Much of that which I don't owe to my parents, I owe to him. I learned so much from him during the past 20+ years that I don't think I could ever recount it all. He taught me to fly RC and is the reason I fly Mode 1 (what he flew) still to this day. He is the reason I enjoy small simple models so much. He taught me to the fundamentals of good design, and without his guidance early on, I know I could not have ever designed the fun airplanes I've designed through the years. He taught me to bargain and get a good deal. He taught me to reason and use logic to solve problems I encountered - problems that originally hampered the Chinn Yakk (a popular kit I designed) in knife edge and eventually became one of its best features were hammered out in a late night session in the workshop, talking through what I was experiencing with the early prototypes. That same logic has helped me to succeed in many huge projects, jobs and efforts I have had in my life. He helped me get my first job. When my wife and I decided to have kids, he encouraged me and told me I could and would be a good father. His presence in my life helped me to become the person I am and I know many others who could say much the same of him.
I'll miss his valuable advice, I miss his sharp wit, but most of all - I miss my friend.
I think I had much the same want/need to capture what I was feeling thinking this morning, and this is what I wrote. I had to wipe the tears off my keyboard when I was done writing it.........
This past Saturday I received a call from my boyhood best friend- Michael Pate. I had not talked with him for quite a while and when he called it was truly a surprise. Michael called to tell me his father, Brian, had passed away after suffering a severe stroke. Mr. Pate (Brian) had suffered many years with heart problems and diabetes and they had finally taken their toll.
I know few of you knew Mr. Pate (what I always called him), but he had a strong effect on many people's lives within our hobby. Mr. Pate was a member of the Memphis Propbusters, and had been for well over 30 years. As part of the club, he was the 'guru'- the guy you could always count on to figure out the answer to any problem.
He was a model designer and scratch built pretty much everything he (and his son) ever flew. His approach to design was very logical and simple. The ideas he had were brilliant and always showed an ability to think out of the box while achieving goals or solutions that worked well. His specialty was Cox engined, small designs, and his airplanes always outperformed larger more complex designs in nearly every way.
His wit was sharper than anyone I ever met and he pulled no punches. You had to be on your toes around him, or he would zing you with a perfectly worded shot. Trying to respond back to him with something of the same quality was simply not possible, so you rarely had a comeback. Some of my best memories are of listening in as he and his best friend (you know him as Dickeybird on this forum) as they flew into verbal combat and sparred mercilously with carefully chosen words. Laughter was always in order throughout the whole sparring match!
On a more personal note, the effect Mr. Pate had on me was huge. Much of that which I don't owe to my parents, I owe to him. I learned so much from him during the past 20+ years that I don't think I could ever recount it all. He taught me to fly RC and is the reason I fly Mode 1 (what he flew) still to this day. He is the reason I enjoy small simple models so much. He taught me to the fundamentals of good design, and without his guidance early on, I know I could not have ever designed the fun airplanes I've designed through the years. He taught me to bargain and get a good deal. He taught me to reason and use logic to solve problems I encountered - problems that originally hampered the Chinn Yakk (a popular kit I designed) in knife edge and eventually became one of its best features were hammered out in a late night session in the workshop, talking through what I was experiencing with the early prototypes. That same logic has helped me to succeed in many huge projects, jobs and efforts I have had in my life. He helped me get my first job. When my wife and I decided to have kids, he encouraged me and told me I could and would be a good father. His presence in my life helped me to become the person I am and I know many others who could say much the same of him.
I'll miss his valuable advice, I miss his sharp wit, but most of all - I miss my friend.
04-16-2007, 12:10 PM
#17
RE: Brian D. Pate 8/11/39 - 4/13/07
DB, MA -
Sorry to hear of your losses - I know exactly how you feel. Last Thursday, the person who got me started in model airplanes and mentored me in my early years of building/flying passed on (his son is my best friend). Art Biehl was 80 and had been in modeling for over 70 years. Art was involved in all aspects FF, CL and RC. He was involved in RC in the early days of the reed systems and continuted through out the rest of his life. While he didn't fly much in the past few years he was still as active as possible in building. His building quality was such that many wish they attain his level of quality, but few could match his skills. I don't think I ever saw a plane he built that didn't fly great right off the board. Like both of you from your friends/mentors, I learned a tremendous amount from him.
It's really a shame there are so many ARF assemblers out there today who can't be bothered to build. These types of modelers who where involved in the early days of the hobby had such a wealth of information that we'll probably never bet able to recapture. A lot of knowledge will be lost in the future as these modelers pass on.
Just be thankful you where blessed to spend time with such a master of modeling who cared enough to share knowledge and experiences with you.
Hogflyer
Sorry to hear of your losses - I know exactly how you feel. Last Thursday, the person who got me started in model airplanes and mentored me in my early years of building/flying passed on (his son is my best friend). Art Biehl was 80 and had been in modeling for over 70 years. Art was involved in all aspects FF, CL and RC. He was involved in RC in the early days of the reed systems and continuted through out the rest of his life. While he didn't fly much in the past few years he was still as active as possible in building. His building quality was such that many wish they attain his level of quality, but few could match his skills. I don't think I ever saw a plane he built that didn't fly great right off the board. Like both of you from your friends/mentors, I learned a tremendous amount from him.
It's really a shame there are so many ARF assemblers out there today who can't be bothered to build. These types of modelers who where involved in the early days of the hobby had such a wealth of information that we'll probably never bet able to recapture. A lot of knowledge will be lost in the future as these modelers pass on.
Just be thankful you where blessed to spend time with such a master of modeling who cared enough to share knowledge and experiences with you.
Hogflyer
04-16-2007, 01:49 PM
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RE: Brian D. Pate 8/11/39 - 4/13/07
ORIGINAL: DICKEYBIRD
Thank you all very much for your kind words.
Hopefully, I'll meet up with him again someday in a better place....where it's always a perfect day to fly and our engines always start on the first flip.
Thank you all very much for your kind words.
Hopefully, I'll meet up with him again someday in a better place....where it's always a perfect day to fly and our engines always start on the first flip.
MJD
