My Friends

[Mark Hunt]

Mike,

I must add a bit about Larry Mercer to that summation.  Larry called for me at my first contest even though we had never met before....  He continued to call EVERY round for me and coach me as the meet progressed.  With every round my scores improved and so did my confidence.  Thanks to Larry I took home 1st place with a 12yr. old Kaos.

I just bought (more like stole) a complete pattern plane (Summit/YS120/radio etc.) from a friend because he said, "you need this plane, so go fly and don't worry about the (low) price".

I think Pattern has these kind of guys everywhere...if not, Ya'all need to move down here.

I feel as lucky as you Mike.


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike East 
  To: discussion at nsrca.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 8:48 PM
  Subject: My Friends


  I have a habit of being wordy but I will try to keep it to less than 5000 words.

  Thought I would share something positive about the sport and the people in it. 
  I dont know how it goes everywhere in pattern but I am really fortunate where I come from here in Nederland, Texas. When I 1st learned about pattern I heard words like "clannish" and "eliteists". Not where I come from.

   Where I come from that  couldnt be farther from the truth. Especially when it comes to 3, not 1 but 3 guys. Buddy Brammer, Ray Rhodes and Larry Mercer. How lucky we are. These guys are really something else. They have shared their time and resources with me and many MANY people without asking for anything in return. 

  Ray taught me and the rest of Jefferson County how to fly and cheerfully continues to coach me on a daily basis and tolerates endless phone calls and unscheduled visits with a kind and welcoming spirit even though I know he has to get tired of hearing from me sometimes.  haha.  Ask anyone who knows Ray and they will agree that he is worth 100x his weight in gold.

  Larry is just the same as Ray and is always quick to share his "stuff" so I can fly when I have forgotten something I shouldnt have, break a prop or forget to charge my glow heater. He regularly assures me that I am welcome to call on him anytime and believe you me I do. Whatever flight skill I have comes directly from these two fellas, they have nursed me along through my flight training and although I am just a young punk at 36 they treat me like a friend. They have both even gone as far as letting me fly their planes, their  new planes just to give me a feel of what a well trimmed pattern plane feels like and Im barely a sportsman. What a rush.

  Buddy,,, what can I say about Buddy. BudCo pro shop has practically become a 2nd home for me since I started flying. His door is always open and hes always ready to drop what hes doing and get me out of a bind on a moments notice, hes never told me he was too busy even though I know sometimes he has to be. Hes had me there at 7am and at 7pm,,, repainting, rebuilding, resetting. He has shared more nuts, bolts, props, motor parts, paint and most of all,, time, than I could ever repay him for. About the only thing he will take in payment for his time and TLC is a "brown bag special" and even then he insists on picking up the tab more times than not. And Im not the only one, there are plenty of other guys like me that Buddy has taken under his wing. I dont know how many times I have heard the phone ring followed by a smile and that quote I hear all too often, "my public calls."  

  These guys are great pilots and great guys. 
  Even if they are full of.... well. you know :)And even if we never flew another plane together again I will always consider them MY friends.

  Mike East
  Mid County RC
  AMA793948
  NSRCA3662
  Nederland, Texas
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