Meet the pilots of District 8

What I need is input from all the pilots. I would like to get a picture of each pilot and a short bio plus a second picture of you and your airplane or whatever you like. You don't have to be a NSRCA member or a D8 pilot to be listed here. Please email me your input at gaa@owt.com. Please take a look at the D7 pilot bio page, this is an excellent example of what I would like to do on our site.

During the 2005 contest season I was recruited by a fellow club member to give Pattern flying a try. After attending one and then flying Sportsman class in a second D8 contest with a 60 sized ARF I decided to build a "real" pattern plane this Winter and compete in Sportsman for the 2006 season. I purchased and assembled a KMP Arrest III, which with a YS 140 and few heavy parts exchanged for CF weighs just at 10 1/2 pounds. At age 65 with waning vision and slowing hand/eye coordination I have no delusions, or even desire, to win major contests or gain notoriety as a contest pilot, but I do want to fly better and compete at whatever level possible, even if I'm stuck in Sportsman class forever. So, if anyone tells you all pattern flyers are cut-throat guys who will do anything to win, it's not true. I for one just want to fly better and have fun competing - mostly against my own best performance. Come on out and give it try.

I started flying model airplanes back in the early 1970’s and after a couple of years of burning holes in the sky, took several years off to spend time with my kids. When they were pretty much grown I got started again and took up pattern back in the early 90’s. My first pattern planes were sport planes and I used them right through intermediate when I built my first pattern plane. I highly recommend this approach to starting pattern. It gives you time to comprehend what is happening. I am currently the president of Tri-City Radio Control Modelers for the fourth term, three of them in a row. I am a CD and put on the annual club pattern contest called, Tri-City Fun In The Sun Pattern Contest. I have been doing this for about 10 years and even when we did not have our own field capable of a pattern contest I held it at another club field in another town. I am a died in the wool 2 stroker and want to try gas next. Never owned a 4 stroke and never had a hemi. Just a stump-pulling, earth shaking diesel. I love this sport and love the people who fly pattern. You will never find a nicer bunch of folks. I want to be buried with my transmitter. (Oh ya, and a picture of my Harley).

I grew up in a small farming community in southeastern Washington and trained for a career as a machinist here in Spokane. I entered the working world in Seattle the early 60’s moving to Spokane before induction into the armed forces in 1964. Upon discharge I returned to Spokane and the working world where I met my wife Lee. I retired from a long career with EZ Loader boat trailers here in Spokane in 2007.

I began flying RC in the early 1970’s and pattern aircraft shortly after. I started competing in pattern about 1980 advancing through all classes of AMA pattern except Masters. I competed in the initial Expert Turnaround and Masters class before dropping out of pattern competition to devote more time to Scale Masters competition. Through the 1980’s I also competed in IMAC and Scale Masters events. I returned to pattern competition in 2005 to renew old friendships. I currently fly Advanced and plan to move up to Masters with the new schedule in 2009.

I enjoy designing and building traditional wood airplanes and the Option-120 I currently compete with was published as a construction article in The July issue Flying Models. It was scaled up from a 60 size airplane I flue in the late 80’s and 90’s. I thoroughly enjoy the challenges involved in designing, trimming and flying pattern airplanes.

My brother and I started flying R/C with our dad in the 1970's. We both raced pylon a bit (Scott was a lot better than I was) and I tried to fly Pattern for a brief period. After graduating from college, Scott started working for the Bureau of Mines in Spokane (he now has his own business) and I started working for Boeing in Seattle. Scott graduated from models to building and flying full size aircraft and my time was spent raising a family. My kids are pretty much grown now and I got the "modeling" bug back a couple of years ago and started building again. I built a Kaos 40 and then one of Jim
Hiller's Option 3's (with a lot of help from Jim via e-mail). I joined NSRCA last year, but was still in the building mode. We finally got some flying in last fall and we both really liked the way the Option 3 handled. So I built Scott an Option 3 this past winter and we are now both ready to see if we can learn to fly pattern. We will both be starting in Sportman this year and look forward to entering several contests, meeting and learning from the experienced pilots already in D8 and just having some fun.

Tim is the one holding the plane with the AMA 800176 number and Scott is holding the green and white plane. Both planes are 60 size Option 3's designed by Jim Hiller

Tim Stebbins