The guy had a potty mouth too! Nothing like a string of epithets roaring throughout the tranquil air of Kibbie dome. He loved to dance. Had a couple girlfriends he didn't want knowing his age. The sweetest gentleman (really).
Bruce
--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, Chris and Josette Borland <candjborland@...> wrote:
>
> Earl Hoffman passed away last month in Santa Rosa, California. The
> following was written by his friend Ed Solenberger.
>
> Earl Hoffman 1912-2009
> Earl Grew up in Detroit and spent much of his younger years in
> several interesting activities. One of which was Ice Boat Racing. He
> had a narrow escape when his boat plunged through the ice. He was
> rescued from what would have been death by freezing. He had many
> other stories to tell.
> During WW2, he served the Government as a meteorologist. He was
> stationed in the area of Devil's Lake in North Dakota until the end
> of the war.
> Earl was very active model flying, both outdoor and later indoor. He
> set several records and is one of less than 100 people, worldwide,
> who flew over 40 minutes. There have been flights of 1 hour, but very
> few! Most of these flights were done in very high ceilings, some in
> foreign countries.
> Earl has four sisters and a son, plus a number of grandchildren, of
> whom he was very proud.
>
> Ed Solenberger - Santa Rosa
>
>
> I have a couple of highlights of Earl's career to share. In 1988, 75
> year old Earl drove by himself to the Nationals at East Tennessee
> State and won both EZB and Intermediate Stick. To top off this feat,
> in September of that year at Santa Ana, he flew to a new Int. Stick
> record of 31:19. This design, which he called the "Symphony" was then
> named indoor model of the year in 1989 and the plans of which are
> featured in all the plans books.
> After Moffett Field was closed to indoor (and everything else),
> Earl's daughter began driving him to Moscow, Idaho for the annual
> Kibbee Dome Meet where on into his 90's he had a wonderful time
> competing. One year, now into his 90"s, Earl's daughter couldn't go
> so he took the train by himself, to Spokane, Washington and then a
> bus to Moscow and then got on the phone to the Dome, "Come and get
> me". His models had been carried up in John Pratt's car. Ed
> Solenberger told me that he was still building up to the end. We can
> only hope that we will be still be around and functioning at that age!
>
> Goodbye Earl - - - Chris Borland - Sacramento
>
Received on Sat Jun 06 2009 - 23:19:11 CEST
This archive was generated by Yannick on Sat Dec 14 2019 - 19:13:45 CET