District X—Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Lawrence Tougas
Vice President
ama.district10@gmail.com
Box 276, Fairfield CA 94533
Tel.: (707) 480-2053; www.ama10.org
Happy Thanksgiving. Luckily for us, most of District X still has good flying weather. Enjoy it while it lasts.
This year, District X was fortunate to have three members inducted into the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame (HOF). The HOF was formed in 1969, with the first induction ceremony held May 31, 1969. There are currently more than 330 members in the HOF.
District X has a long history of its residents making significant contributions to our sport. We have the distinction of having more HOF members than any other district—89 in all. The next closest has 50.
I was very happy to see three great modelers, Richard Verano, Gary Hover, and Jim Shinohara, recognized for their hard work and dedication to modeling. Let’s get to know them better.
Richard Verano was born in the Philippines. His father was serving in the U.S. Army at the time. Upon his father’s retirement, the family moved to the US, settling in Carson, California. Richard came upon the Birds R/C Club. He became a fixture there, watching the members fly and helping where he could. Several club members took him under their wings, providing him with material to build his own airplane. Joe Zingali, of Zinger Propeller fame, along with Bert Ayers, taught him how to fly.
Richard has repeatedly said how lucky he is to make his living in our sport doing things he loved. In 1975, he started working for fellow HOF member Joe Bridi. When Bridi Hobby Enterprises was bought by Great Planes, he moved on to Craft Air and Airtronics. In 1986, he was hired by the Futaba Corporation of America in its RC equipment quality control department.
When Futaba became the US importer of YS engines, Richard moved to that product line. In 2000, Great Planes became the importer for Futaba in North America. The company wanted the YS engine line too, but since Richard was a longtime friend to the Yamada family, Richard became the North American Importer of YS engines and service provider, which he does to this day.
At his heart, Richard is a competitor. He started Pylon Racing in 1987. He won his first national event two years later. From 1989 through 1998, he won at least one national event in nine out of those 10 years. In 1997, he had a remarkable string of victories winning all four Pylon events at the Nats. He has 16 national titles in RC Pylon Racing.
From 1993 to 2009, Richard represented the US in the FAI F3D World Championships. During this time, he placed first individually and was a member of three first-place teams. He set four world records including the first sub-minute time with a 59.3 second finish in 1999 in Sweden.
During his time in competition, Richard was generous in his advice to others and raised the quality of racing as a result. Dennis O’Brien, National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA) Hall of Fame Member and national champion, said of Richard, “I was always impressed with Richard’s flying skills. I always stopped to watch him perform in a race. Only a few have his skill in Pylon Racing. In addition to this, he remains cordial, friendly, and willing to give advice and help when asked.”
Dub Jett, AMA and NMPRA Hall of Fame member and world and national champion said, “At the team trials in 1991, Richard had some bad luck. He crashed a plane and folded a wing. He was definitely the #1 seed. Had he qualified, I would not have been world champion, I am sure. He was that good.
The next year, he was not to be denied. No one was even close.”
Dan Kane Jr., former NMPRA president, said, “I have seen some of the best pilots compete, and Richard is by far one of the very best in the short list that stands above all others. His accomplishments in Pylon Racing speak for themselves. It doesn’t matter that he is a world or national champion, he is available for everyone. He shares everything he knows and is always willing to help.”
The late Steve Helms, modeler and industry notable, said, “Richard is an incredible modeler and competitor. It was evident even at a young age.” Finally, Bob Brown former AMA president and AMA Model Aviation HOF member said, “His competition record illustrates his skills. More important, he is also an extremely fine gentleman who has globally represented aeromodeling in an extremely positive manner.”
That is some great praise from important people in our sport. Richard Verano clearly earned it. I wish him congratulations on his entry to the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
Next month we will continue our retrospective of District X’s AMA Hall of Fame Class of 2017. Until then, I wish you all happy landings.
