HAROLD “HAL” PARENTI, 1925-2022: A LIFE WELL LIVED
By Stan Alexander | Photos by the author
HAL, AS HE WAS known, was a designer, competitor, friend, and father. He had a love for flight from an early age, when he would buy nickel and dime Comet Models in Chicago. As did many many from the Greatest Generation, he served in the military—in his case, the U.S. Army, as a sergeant in World War II.
After his discharge in 1946, Hal returned to modeling and building Free Flight (FF) and Control Line (CL) models. He flew CL Stunt (Precision Aerobatics) and CL Speed as well. Later, he flew RC Pattern with a Smog Hog, Astro Hog, and the famous Orion and Taurus. During this time, Hal started designing his own aircraft for Pattern (RC Aerobatics), such as the Canoli Pattern design, which he used in the 1960s and ’70s.
In the mid-1970s, Hal discovered RC Scale competition. During this time, some of his most prolific work was kitted by Top Flite, including his Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, the Holy Smoke, and the Elder biplane. He later designed the Wing Manufacturing A-26 Invader, P-38 Lightning, the HP 200, and the NA B-25J Mitchell. These are just a few of his many designs.
The list of scratch-built models for competition included the Bearcat, Zero, SM-79 Italian bomber, Cessna 336 Skymaster, PA-39 twin Comanche, and T-28 Trojan, as well as several versions of his famous Ryan Fireball. The Fireball model was fitted with both a piston engine and a turbine. I believe this was an aeromodeling first. Hal loved that Fireball and built several versions of it. The last Nats in which he flew it was in 2019 at the age of 93.
Along with winning 18 AMA Nats titles throughout the years, Hal was a team member on four USA FAI Scale teams at the world championships for F4 Scale competition. His highest place there was seventh individual and third in Team competition.
Hal also worked with the military on target and video-surveillance RPVs along with Ralph Andre of Wing Manufacturing. Hal worked on target and video-surveillance RPVs. He also designed a stainless-steel, folding, roll-up wing for the U.S. Navy.
Hal served for many years as an associate vice president in AMA District VI. No matter what contest you saw Hal and his son, Gary, at, he was always glad to see you, and if you needed help, he and Gary were always there, offering a solution and encouraging current and future Scale modelers. He trained future pilots in the military and civilians, as well as modelers. He touched many people during his prolific life.
Blue skies and sunshine, Hal!
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members Kyle Hurlbut, Los Altos CA; Robert D. Eye, Llano CA; Susan M. Johnson, Avon Lake OH; Craig A. Lampe, M.D., Lubbock TX; Thane A. Snider, Joplin MO; Radek Lech, Long Beach CA; Robert Carbajal, Upland CA; Mark R. Weiland, Highlands Ranch CO; Boris D. Braylyan, Leesville SC; James Paul Atkinson, Crestview FL; Charles A. Russell, Bowie MD; Matthew Rodgers, Hilton NY; and Matthew J. Frederick, Baton Rouge LA.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (765) 287-1256.
—AMA Membership Department
CONSIDER SERVING YOUR AMA DISTRICT
HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED the rewards of volunteering your time to help the AMA move forward? Do you know someone with strong leadership abilities and a desire to serve so that the next generation of aeromodelers can continue to enjoy this great hobby?
If so, consider nominating that person or asking someone to nominate you to fill an open seat as a district vice president on the AMA Executive Council. This year, the position of AMA president and vice presidents in Districts I, V, and IX are open for nominations. All that is required is that the person currently serves as an AMA Leader Member and lives in the district with an open seat.
District vice presidents serve three-year terms and can serve for up to three consecutive terms. To find out more about the process, visit www.modelaircraft.org/about-ama/executive-council/candidate-guidelines.
To see a list of current districts and find out who is currently serving on the AMA Executive Council, visit www.modelaircraft.org/contact-executive-council. For more information about the nomination procedure, contact Joyce Hager at jhager@modelaircraft.org.
Set a Personal Record With the Record Hound
AMA PLANS SERVICE houses all plans formerly sold through Model Builder magazine, Bill Northrop’s Plan Service, and the Scratch Builder’s Almanac. There are more than 18,000 plans in the collection.
This month’s featured design is the Record Hound from Model Builder magazine. Plans for the 72-inch wingspan aircraft were drawn by Hank Struck. It first appeared in the 1939 issue of Air Trails magazine and set an NAA record in 1939 with a three-flight average of 5 minutes, 41 seconds.
Plans for the Record Hound, plans number 876 OT, are available for $15 at www.modelaircraft.org/plans or by calling (765) 287-1256, ext. 507.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAZEL!
AMA WANTS TO WISH Life Member and AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame inductee Hazel Sig-Hester a happy birthday! Hazel turned 100 years old on March 3, 2022.
Hazel founded Sig Manufacturing in 1951 with her husband, Glen Sig afoose. He passed away while performing in a full-scale air show in 1980. Hazel later married Maxey Hester, who died in 2009. The company was sold in 1999.
Thank you for all that you’ve done for the hobby, Hazel! AMA hopes your birthday was wonderful!
By Michael Smith, National Model Aviation Museum Director
AS YOU READ THIS article, we will be making final preparations to open the National Model Aviation Museum for 2022.
Last year, when we opened the doors, visitors were welcomed to a new and greatly enlarged Miniature Aircraft at Work gallery. The space for the gallery had previously been used for our theater but, since it was first installed in 2002, its use had noticeably diminished. Visitors today “consume” media differently, looking more toward short, 2- to 5-minute videos that they can select, rather than a single 24-minute movie. As a result, the space sat vacant for most of the time, so a
repurposing was in order. The enlarged space allows us to put more aircraft from the collection on display.
Removing the theater and relocating the Miniature Aircraft at Work aircraft gave us the opportunity to likewise relocate and enlarge three more exhibits: Scale Aerobatics, Scale, and Multirotors.
In the space that the Miniature Aircraft at Work aircraft previously occupied, we are creating a new Scale exhibit. The previous exhibit had been in the museum’s main gallery, surrounded by RC aircraft. This created some confusion for visitors unfamiliar with aeromodeling, which, in
a given year, can account for approximately 2/3 of our visitors.
Because Scale models can be Free Flight, Control Line, and RC, it created a slightly disjointed experience during tours as we discussed RC models. The new exhibit will be separate, allowing visitors to just look at Scale aircraft. We are excited to announce that as part of the exhibit, we will soon be acquiring Bret Becker’s Lockheed U-2, the aircraft that he flew to first place in the last two Top Gun invitationals.
The museum’s Scale Aerobatics exhibit will be nearly tripled and starts with the Knight Twister, the model that Bill Heger
flew to first place at the inaugural International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) Nats in 1973. The most current aircraft is a recent acquisition, the Laser 200, flown by Mark Radcliff in the 1982 Tournament of Champions. Soon, we hope to share additional acquisitions for this collection!
Finally, multirotors will have an enlarged space. This exhibit currently starts with the Keyence Gyro Saucer, the first mass-produced multirotor, circa 1989, and ends with the multirotor flown by Chad Nowak when he won the first US National Drone Racing Championships in 2015.
