Don McClave of Portland, Ore., a longtime stunt flier, judge, coach and mentor, died July 4, according to Paul Walker, whom Don had coached on his way to national and world championships in control-line precision aerobatics. Paul had visited Don on Thursday, June 30. Don had been battling the affects of Alzheimer's disease for the past several years.

Don had been a speed flier in his early years and returned to the sport in the late 1970s, focusing on aerobatics. He flew Precision Aerobatics, Classic Stunt and Old-Time Stunt, but he also was known as a tremendous supporter of the control-line hobby. In later years, Don built one new plane each winter and handed on the previous year's plane to some other Northwest flier. In non-modeling life, he was a banker, the director of the Portland Chamber of Commerce and then a fundraiser for Portland State University.

Don is survived by his wife, Chris, and son, Andrew.

The memorial service for Don will be on Saturday, Aug. 27, at 4 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 4033 S.E. Woodstock, Portland.

See a detailed obituary for Don McClave.

One of Don McClave's many fine airplanes was this Blackbird, a Gene Schaffer design that Don built in 2012. Chris McClave photo.