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
Merry Christmas, everyone. December marks the end of my seventh year serving as your District X Vice President. It has been a great privilege to serve the district.
My favorite benefit in serving District X is meeting all of the wonderful people. We truly have a great modeling family here. There have been many high points, and a few surprising disappointments, in this position, but I want you to know that you all make it worthwhile.
Continuing my review of District X members who were inducted into the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame, I’ll cover Gary Hover.
Gary first joined the AMA in 1956 and was competing in Free Flight (FF) with his father by the age of 10. Gary learned how to build models from his father, a skill that would serve him well in the future. In 1963, he won first place in Senior FF at the Nats. He still has the trophy on his desk to this day.
That year, Gary decided to design his own FF model that he named the Blitz. He built it with the goal of maximizing altitude reached during the 15-second motor run, providing a better chance to hit a thermal and reach his maximum time. The Blitz competed well against the Ramrod and Texan, which were popular models at that time.
Gary took a break from modeling to attend college, receiving a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, California. When he returned to modeling in 1973 he took up RC Slope Soaring and flew with the SLO Flyers of San Luis Obispo, becoming the club’s president. With a belief that competition makes us all better fliers, Gary greatly expanded the contests that SLO held and involved many members in the fun.
Gary’s RC mentor, Leonard Ledson, always wanted to race in the Bakersfield Airplane Radio Control Society’s (BARKS) Formula 1 race, so he bought a Stafford Minnow kit and two K&B F1 engines and enlisted Gary to build the airplane. As the race got closer, Lenny had second thoughts and talked Gary into accepting the Minnow and engines in trade for a Ridge Runner Slope Racer. Gary entered the BARKS race in standard class, receiving first place in static judging because of his craftsmanship, and finished 19th out of 70. This started Gary’s passion for Pylon Racing.
Gary and Lenny had a natural partnership with Lenny providing the funding and Gary building airplanes for them both. 1977 was a banner year for Gary when he placed third at the BARKS race, fourth at the AMA Nats held in Riverside, California, and third at the National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA) championship race in Valkaria, Florida. That third-place finish was the result of a loss in a very rainy flyoff for second place with fellow AMA Hall of Fame member Bob Smith.
A partial list of Gary’s accomplishments includes 1981 NMPRA National Points Champion and 1983 Formula 1 Nats Champion (20 years after his first place at the Nats in FF). He designed the Samurai Kaze in 1984, which won every major Formula 1 race for many pilots from 1985 through 1998.
In 1986, he designed the Stiletto, a highly modified P-51 for FAI F3D competition. Stilettos won the 1989, 1993, 1995, and 1998 World Championships in F3D. The 1989 and 1995 US World Championship teams all flew Stilettos. The 1989 World Champion Dave Shadel and the US team of Dub Jett, Bruce Richmond, and Gary Hover took four of the five top positions as well as the Team World Championship. He was the 1987, 1991, 1993, and 1998 NMPRA Formula 1 National Championship race winner and NMPRA president in 1988 and 1989.
Gary was instrumental in the planning and construction of our facility in Muncie, Indiana, and in 1993, received the AMA Distinguished Service Award. In 1995, he was awarded a lifetime membership in recognition of his service to the AMA.
Gary has the accomplishments of three lifetimes and is a well-deserving member of the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame class of 2017. Congratulations.
The 2018 AMA Expo West will be January 5-7. Please plan to attend. There will be a lot of new equipment to see and the AMA will have some great speakers. We will hold our annual District X and XI membership meeting on Saturday, with some important information for you and a great raffle. Raffle tickets are free with admission to the meeting. I hope to see you there.
Until next month, I wish you all happy landings.
Associate Vice Presidents: Tim Attaway, Chula Vista CA; (619) 427-6392; trattaway@cox.net; Forrest Barton, Woodland CA; (530) 383-9019; cbarton328@aol.com; Richard Bonnardel, Kailua HI; (808) 261-7046; rebbfbf@hawaii.rr.com; Kurtis Chandler, Phoenix AZ; (602) 647-8342; azpm@cox.net; Alan Friedman, Eloy AZ; (520) 876-0232; pooralan@aol.com. Dan Johnson, St. George UT; (435) 619-3112; dkj5ajohnson@gmail.com; Kevin Houser, Oro Valley AZ; (520) 490-7657; khous@rocketfarmers.com; Tim Johnson, Rancho Santa Margarita CA; (562) 965-4288; timothy@johnson.us.com; Mike Lee, Redlands CA; (909) 792-8424; mlee8249@msn.com; Scott Malta, Merced CA; (209) 723-4202; scottmalta@comcast.net; Jim Mohan, Phoenix AZ; (623) 434-1351; jmohan351@cox.net; Todd Sheridan, Pleasant Grove UT; (801) 358-8345; sheridan.todd@gmail.com; Greg Stone, Laguna Niguel, CA; (949) 413-0920; gstone4@cox.net; Gil Terzo, Las Vegas NV; (702) 523-9897; gterzo@aol.com. Peter Vogel, Santa Clara CA; (408) 569-7067; vogel.peter@gmail.com; Roger Willis, Murrieta CA; (951) 249-9688; willis@socal. Event Sanction Coordinators: Tim Attaway, Chula Vista CA; (619) 427-6392; trattaway@cox.net; Forrest Barton, Woodland CA; (530) 383-9019; cbarton328@aol.com; Kurtis Chandler (Arizona and Utah), Peoria AZ; (602) 647-3842; azpm@cox.net; Christopher Sullivan, Waipahu HI; (808) 953-8863; rccombat808@yahoo.com.
