Who was your biggest influence for getting into pattern?

Mine was this man - Charley Reed from Raytown, MO. Charley flew with KCRC (Kansas City Radio Control Assn) for many years. He encouraged and trained literally hundreds of RC fliers. An engineer by trade, he got into RC very early on. I met him about 1976 when he did service work on World Engines Radios. He and his wife Pat had a basement RC hobby shop that put most commercial shops to shame. If you needed a part for a pattern plane, from 1 screw to an entire plane, chances were about 98% that Charley either had it on hand or could get it in short order. I purchased thousands of dollars worth of parts and engines from them over the years, as well as many kits. Included were two of my all-time favorites - a Tipo 750 and an LA-1, both powered by OS engines.

He had an immeasurable influence on my flying and on me getting into pattern in the early '80s. He encouraged and coached me for many years as I grew through the classes. We travelled and flew together throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma from about 1982 thru 2000. We discussed and argued about almost every possible RC topic. We often knocked heads since we are both Type A personalities, but we remained close friends until his death around 2005. My wife and I still keep in conctact with his wife Pat, who now lives near their daughter in Texas. The picture below was taken at the Wichita contest some time in the late 1990s.

I miss you very much my great friend. The pattern community much poorer for your loss. R.I.P.