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Old FHA Photos |
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Contest Photos |
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Mr. Bill W.D. Youmans |
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Bill Youmans second from right imparting information to FHA group mid 70's |
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My good friend Bill W.D. Youmans passed away on July 6, 2001 at the age of 82. He was born on September 29, 1918. |
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Bill was a true modeler in every since of the word. He was a man you had to admire for the knowledge he imparted to his fellow model aviation enthusiasts. |
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I will never forget the first time I met him at a model airplane contest that was held at the TRAC Tampa Radio Controlled Aircraft Club in Tampa, Florida in the early 70's. He was a member of the Imperial R/C Club in Lakeland, Florida and had come to compete at our Fun Fly Contest. I asked my flying buddy Vince Cesario who the OLD GUY was with the golf hat and the plain looking airplane. As it turned out the guy was Bill W.D. Youmans and his plane was a Sea-Land which he had designed. We found out later that it flew just as well of floats which "he designed". Vince and myself were just getting started in competition "Won a couple of trophies" and thought we were the best in the West or East as it may be. Needless to say after the contest was over we found out that this OLD GUY from Lakeland was the BEST. He cleaned our clocks. After that when we went to an Model Airplane event and Bill would show up we would say "We know who is going to take first place and the rest is up to us and the other competitors". He was always well prepared, motor started every time and ran flawlessly. He gained the affectionate title "Old Smoothie" from his fellow R/C Pilots. |
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He enjoyed competition of all types and even raced Formula 1 and other racing events. Vince and myself were callers for a Formula 1 event being held at TRAC. This was second time we experienced Bill in action. He was flying a beautiful Formula 1 airplane. Vince and I overheard him talking to his caller during a race heat saying that one of the competitors kept pulling to the inside of him going into Pylon #1 and blowing him out in the turn. He commented that would be the LAST time that fellow would pull that trick. We were still pretty green and didn't quite understand what he meant. The next lap the same guy tried the same move except that Bill did not change his intended flight path and flew right through the other competitors airplane destroying both aircraft. We took notes on that race and never tried that maneuver when we raced against him. Moral to the story - When Bill said something he kept his word. |
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In 1970 Dieter Schluter had the first successful flight of an R/C Helicopter in the World. Bill and I had become friends and even traveled to airplane contests together but had taken little notice to this history changing event. |
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Walt Schoonard of Orlando, Florida which was also a great modeler and excellent paint and body man had taken an interest in R/C helicopter flight. Unknown to me at the time Walt and other modelers in the Orlando area soon had imported kits from Dieter Schluter in Germany and began flying R/C helicopters. |
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By this time Bill was Semi-Retired and would make an occasional trip to Orlando to talk helicopters. The next thing we knew he showed up at our flying site with a Dubro Hughes 300 kit made in the U.S.A. This was a deluxe kit including but not limited to: Fixed Pitch Pine Blades, O & R gasoline engine that was converted to glow fuel - What a Joke that engine was!, and a four channel AM - Non-Computer radio with no gyro. Talk about fun on the flight line - That motor spit more fuel out of the carburetor than it used. I believe it was a reed valve engine. Needless to say you sure learned to use the left stick - Rudder and Throttle. Even with all that adversity Bill was able to maintain a really smooth hover - Thus the nickname "Old Smoothie". |
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Myself and several members of the TRAC i.e. Don Rothman, Jack Diedrich, Don Haas and others took to helicopter flight. It was a pretty humbling experience when you had successfully flown model airplanes and then found yourself back in the learning curve. It was pretty obvious that most all of us needed help, myself included. Thus the formation of the Florida Helicopter Association. |
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Bill Youmans and Walt Schoonard were the leaders of the organization providing help to all who asked for it. Cliff Bennett (tool and die maker) whom resided in Elkhart, Indiana was a member of our association and worked a great deal with Bill Youmans in developing a lot of the things we take for granted today in helicopter flight i.e. autorotation clutches, header tanks etc. Don Rothman also did a great job in producing fiberglass fuselages for our helicopters. Members of the FHA even enrolled in a local Evening Adult Vocational School classes to learn about machine tools and tried with some success to make custom parts for our helicopters. Bill always maintained that we (the wantabe machinists) sent the culls (defectively machined parts) to Lakeland. |
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During the 70's Bill and I traveled throughout the country going to airplane and helicopter contests, competing on a national level. We really had some great trips and met a lot of wonderful people in the process. I will really miss him as he was a true friend and great modeler and deserves recognition for the many contributions he made to the Model Aviation Sport. |
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Goodbye Bill "Old Smoothie" |
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GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN |
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Old FHA Photos |
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Contest Photos |
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