This is really sad news. Steve was flying quite actively when I picked up a CL handle for the first time in many years, back when I was mostly riding dirt bikes and met Ron Scoones while out "testing the jetting" on a sidewalk in Kirkland, Washington.
While I was never close to Steve, it was always highly entertaining to see him at contests and practice sessions. "Whatta crock, whatta crock," repeated over and over. And, "Gotta have spares, gotta have spares," again over and over, and seeming to justify a rather monstrous investment in CL model aircraft and engines.
Steve loved his "stuff," and one of the few genuinely generous things I ever did was to call on him, at his home, after his retirement from Boeing. I knew he was having some trouble, although he was still on his own, still driving (that was a fairly scary thought, quite frankly), and certainly still enthusiastic about CL models.
Steve was lonely at the time, I got the full-boogie tour. Much of it was lost on me, as I am not much of a historian, even when it comes to CL models. But I had a good time, Steve was in his element, which was the whole point.
He gave me a vid tape of the short segment some local news station did on Steve, his models and his flying. A treasured piece, think I'll watch it again tonight.
I left only when Steve's sharing got to be a bit too much for both of us. I really didn't need to see the huge stack of canned peaches, surely did not need to see the attic stuffed primarily with rolls of toilet paper. "Gotta have spares," indeed.
I saw Steve a few times after this visit, but it was never the same. He quit coming to contests. We weren't flying at Carkeek. His health began to fail him. Now he's gone.
While it might not be fair, Steve once, and only once, got in my head. And I'm convinced he didn't know it at the time, although I related following story several times in his presence.
We were having a Combat contest at Marymoor Park, for reasons I cannot recall my stuff was not ready for prime time, in itself a little unusual. I was making up two sets of lines, had all the stuff, and tools, out there while Steve followed me up and down the line sets just going on and on about...I dunno, something. Whatever the conversation, I had no interest whatsoever.
One end of the lines finished complete, just putting the finishing touches on the other end, Steve was still with me, totally engaged in conversation with someone who was not listening...
...because I was preparing to make the final cuts on my two sets of brand new lines, (expensive, and good, and new) side cutters at hand. I remember thinking, "Watch what you're doing; Steve is going to distract you and you may cut the wrong line."
Which, of course, is exactly what I did. But only on *one* line, so I had 1 1/2 sets, not necessarily a bad thing in Combat. Not as good as two sets, mind you.
I looked at Steve and in the only cross exchange we ever had I told him what I had done and would he please just leave me alone for an hour or so.
He did, as mentioned above he had not intentionally caused any problems, we made up later in the afternoon.
Now, after years and years of "Seen Steve lately," inquiries, these fading to only one or two a year recently, we will see him no more.
He was not a mainstream guy, not even a mainstream CL guy. Sure is sad to think of him as no longer with us.
Steve