Sad news
Just learned today of the passing of a dear friend, Steve Helms "Mr. Futaba", a great friend and iconic pattern flyer from the 1970's through the early 1990's, as well as AMA Nationals Heli Champion in, I think, 1998. Have known Steve for 47 years, starting in 1969 when he was a technician for EK Logictrol in Fort Worth, TX. I was a student at SMU in Dallas at the time, and remember many great times traveling to Benbrook Lake to fly with Steve and the Fort Worth Thunderbirds. Steve went on to work for Pro Line and Kraft, Southern R/C, and ultimately to Futaba, where he stayed until his retirement in 2013. He also started Radio South which has remained in the very capable hands of Tony Stillman for many years. Steve was known for his "Bootlegger" design and later beautiful Aurora pattern planes. Through Steve, I had the enjoyable task of editing instruction manuals for several of the early Futaba "pro" level radios, including the 9-VAP and VAPH. Also, did the Field and Bench review on the Bootlegger for Model Airplane News. Although geography always seemed to separate us, I kept in touch with Steve from time to time via phone and E-mail over the years, especially as we both fought our own battles with cancer. Steve was a great modeler and flyer, but more importantly, a genuinely great guy. We should all keep his family in our thoughts and prayers. God Speed, Steve! Forever flying!
Dewey Newbold