jaymen

I still fly one of the first production Hawks that was given to me by Chuck Moore. Chuck was one of the tow plane pilots at Orange County Soaring Association, where Hobie used to fly full size sailplanes. Hobie gave Chuck and other OCSA members many prototypes and early versions of the Hawk to try out and get their feedback. The Hawk he gave me was an all orange version that Hobie said had been used for a photo shoot for an add. I still am flying it, but it's on it's 2nd set of wings and tail feathers.

spaceworm

I have a Hobie 16 Beach Cat

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

My flying buddy has a Hobie Hawk.

GREG DOE

I've got a Hawk, but haven't flown it in years.

BelAirBob

Mine is still in the box. Flown many times but pretty good shape. Mine is transparent orange. I bought in Melbourne, Fl. Hobie supposedly had a friend in nearby Indialantic, which could be fact or fiction as that was 40 some years ago. I used high start at Valkaria (sp?) airport. If anyone remembers Stu Richmond, he flew there too with Indian River Kontrol Society (IRKS). The good old days

GREG DOE

Bob, I knew Stu very well, having first met him, and family (Lynn, Bruce, Brian, and Perry) in the 70's. Got to see Brian a couple of weeks ago at the Q-40 Championship race in Calif. My Hawk is white.

BelAirBob

Yep, Bruce and Brian raced Q500 in Florida in the 70's Stu had Mailaway Models or something and brought engines and kits to the club meetings. Your name is sort of familiar. Did you ever live or fly in Florida? I know I have photos of Bruce and Brian with their planes.....somewhere

So not to get away from the thread, another company started selling Hawks a number of years later. There was a Hawk with long wings on the cover of Model Airplane News. Too bad I can't remember why I came down to the basement

tommav

My Feedback: (3)

I owned and flew a Hobie Hawk back in the 1980's. While a good performer, I found it needed a bit more piloting skills than most other gliders - not a trainer for sure.

I knew Stu Richmond when he ran his "Mail-Away-Models" business and always talked to him and his son at the pylon races around Florida. Stu was my source for the Spickler Q500 kits - a really great airplane for racing or just plain fun flying. Once sent him an engine I picked up while working on the other side of the Pacific for his "Engines of the World" column. A really nice guy.

Tom M.

GREG DOE

Bob, and Tom, About 20 or 25 years ago there was an individual who made up a run of Hawk parts. In my mind it wouldn't be appropriate to give out a name, address, and phone number. I could PM anyone who would like to try and reach this gentleman, but it could very well be a dead end. Those who were close to the Richmond family know that Lynn died from pancreatic cancer. Then Bruce died from a rare cancer that probably came from using the catalyzed paints. Then we lost Stu a couple of years ago.
Both Bruce and Brian raced most all of the pylon events. Brian placed second at the world championships in Australia the year the Americans dominated, finishing first second, and third.
Bruce also won a large European race about the same time.
Bob, I never lived in Florida, but I attended a lot of races there in the 70's, 80's, and 90's.

BelAirBob

I went to Florida Tech and was in Indian River Kontrol Society a few years. I did not have the money to race, but I used to sit in a cage and press the button when a plane passed the pylon, so I bet our paths crossed. I was there until 1977. I got my Hobie Hawk at a hobby shop in Melbourne called Johns Thing. You may have raced a father son team....I think their last name was Kerlo and they were in our club too

Regards

GREG DOE

Bob,
I raced in Melbourne, Titusville, and Valkaria. I also raced in De Land, Orlando, and Miami.
A couple of times I flew into Valkaria in My Bellanca Super Viking. At Stu Richmond's invitation I flew into Coco Beach for an Apolo launch. Can't remember whether it was the father, or the son, but one of the Kerlo's was Jeff? Greg

grotto2

My Feedback: (2)

Jeff is the son and moved to the Atlanta area recently. He does glass/composite work.
His father was John Kerlo, who died a few years back of brain cancer.
I've been a member of IRKS since the late '70s, so I don't know if BelAireBob and I have crossed paths, but I also was a race worker back then.
I know Greg by sight, and was pretty close friends with Brian Richmond. I happen to have run into Stu a few years ago out in Phoenix.
-Ron

BelAirBob

I graduated from FIT in 76. Arlene Kerlo, the Mom, worked there. I remember a Ron Bellin (sp?) and a guy named Tiff ? was president? Surprised I can remember this much from 40 years ago. I used to fly RC planes in a field next to FIT, but two science buildings there now.

GREG DOE

Ron, I'm 71 now, and retired in 2007. I still do some fiberglass work for modelers, full scale aviation, and commercial work. Currently I'm working on a project that will take me 8 to 10 weeks. One of my adult son's middle name is Brian, after Brian Richmond. Stu settled in Phoenix because his youngest son, Perry was living there. Greg

spaceworm

BelAirBob

Thanks for finding the cover. I thought I remembered it. What year?

thank you

spaceworm

YVW

August 1974

Sincerely, Richard

jaymen

That's Hobie flying his Hawk up by the water tower on the hill above the Hospital in San Clemente.
Bob and Katie Martin bought the Hobie hawk tooling from Midwest and produced several thousand of them in the mid 1980s. In the early 1990s Dennis Ross obtained the tooling from the Martins and made a run of Hobie Hawks. Since then, a "Carbon Hawk" was produced in Europe, and here, a "Super Hawk" was made in a very limited production run.

The Hawk demanded a lot from the pilot, but in return, it rewarded you with excellent performance.

We estimate that between Hobie, Midwest, Martin, and Ross, around 20,000 Hawks were made.
Novak made a special 2 channel RS Systems radio for the RTF version of the Hawk with a 2-servo brick. Only Hobie offered ARF and RTF versions, along with the kit version. Subsequent releases of the Hawk were kits only.

pittsdriver

My Feedback: (7)

Jay, We probably have run into one another at some time. I lived in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach all through the 70s. I flew sailplanes at the slope north of Estancia, Back bay Newport, Salt Creek, Turtle Rock etc. I flew several of Hobie's prototypes and had a few Hobies of my own. I had an all black Hobie I flew for several years. I have three Hobies and I'm getting one ready to fly. The other two are too nice to fly. One has the RS with the brick servo.

BelAirBob

jaymen

Here are shots of me and my three Hawks I took to the 2019 Katie Martin Tribute at Torrey Pines Gliderport. Note the Kraft radio and brick which I retro-fitted with 2.4GHz Spektrum electronics and HS225 servos in the brick. We wanted one Hawk to be as original as possible.

I did once fly with a guy who had a very well worn and patched up Hobie Hawk that was mostly black. I remember he was very good at doing slow rolls with it right in front of the cliff at eye level. At the time I was living in San Clemente so we flew mostly at Salt Creek and the Dana Strands, but I also would go up to Back Bay and Estancia on occasion.
I worked at Cox Hobbies and lived in Santa Ana, but when they moved the R/C division( Cox/Airtronics) to the K&B factory in Downey, I found a new job and relocated in San Clemente..

Jay Mendoza

pittsdriver

My Feedback: (7)

Jay, If that was in the mid 70's I flew a black Hobie Hawk mostly at Estancia as I lived about three blocks from there and flew it almost every day. I also flew it at Salt Creek and Back Bay a bunch. At Estancia I would set cans on the edge of the slope and knock them off at the bottom of a loop. I built it from a kit and for almost a year it never landed on the ground as I always caught it until the one fateful day it snapped on landing approach. From then on it slowly went downhill and required a few repairs. I flew it for 3 years or so. I got to fly several of Hobie's prototypes and He gave me a hell of a deal on three RTFs from the first production batch. I moved to Idaho in 1981 and haven't flown slope since I moved but I do have a NIB Hobie that has never even had a radio mounted in it.
OOPs just noticed I answered three years ago.