Ken Burdick starts the engine on his B Proto Speed plane at the informal Salem Speed flying session. All photos by Steve Lindstedt.

Northwest Speed fliers get together

Sept. 4, 2021, Bill Riegel Model Airpark, Salem, Ore.

By Mike Hazel


A number of Northwest Speed flying enthusiasts got together for a flying session at the WOLF flying field.  Ken Burdick, the northern half of the infamous Louie-Louie Speed Team, had suggested a practice session since we were missing the Northwest Regionals action due to the cancellation.

Not a lot of flying actually got done.  It seems that after the activity layoff there were several gremlins plaguing fuel systems and other components.  The very warm temperatures of the day also seemed to limit the motivation as well.  However, there was plenty of good conversation (tales of past glories, theories, rules opinions, etc) that were shared. 

John Newton from California also joined us for the day.  The other enthusiasts were:  Ken Burdick, Scott Newkirk, Steve Lindstedt, Bruce Tunberg, Will Naemura,  Loren Howard, Craig Bartlett and Mike Hazel.  Gene Pape also showed up for some vintage Combat plane fun.

Speed get-together photo gallery

Ken Burdick's D Speede plane with a McGee .65 engine had fuel tank problems in the practice session.

Mike Hazel's Kansas Twister, with K&B .65 Sportster power. Previously featured in Favorite Planes.

Ken Burdick's brand-new Tarfu fast Jet Speed plane.

Mike Hazel's Northwest Sport Jet plane, built in 1996 and retired in 2002 after it developed a fuel feed problem.  Mike recently dismantled the plane and found a kinked line in the fuel tank, so it's ready to fly again.

Gene Pape and Ken Burdick also flew some vintage Combat planes, including settling the T-Square challenge. Mike Hazel flew both Ken's T-Square (top in photo) and Gene's (not pictured) and was asked to determine which plane flew best. He picked Gene's. Bottom plane is Gene's Sneeker.

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This page was upated Sept. 8, 2021