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Bill and his late wife, Renata, enjoyed 55 beautiful years together. He was dearly loved by his four children and four grandchildren. Bill proudly served our country in the Vietnam war. Following in his Dad’s footsteps, he was an active member of the Checkerboard RC Club. Bill had a fascination with building and flying radio-controlled model airplanes. He spent countless hours meticulously constructing these miniature marvels, paying attention to every detail to ensure they flew with grace and precision. He was best known for his interest and expertise in foam aircraft. The link to Bill’s “Foamie” website is on Checkerboard’s website. His contributions to Checkerboard were numerous; his writing skills, website development, photography and beyond.

Bill’s interests outside of RC aircraft were Jeeps, music and art. He loved playing his guitar.
He devoted a significant portion of his career teaching art to students from kindergarten through eighth grade in public schools. His gentle demeanor, coupled with his innate ability to nurture creativity in young minds, made him an exceptional educator. Bill encouraged his students to explore their artistic abilities and embrace their unique artistic voices. His patience and guidance fostered a lifelong love of creativity in many of his students, leaving an enduring impact on their lives.

Bill had a quiet nature about him but his kindness and willingness to share his knowledge and his enthusiasm for life with everyone he met came shining through. He will be truly missed by all who knew him.

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Hal was a designer, competitor, friend, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

Founding member of Checkerboard RC Club in 1972

For as long as he can remember, Hal Parenti had been fascinated with the idea of flying. At the young age of six or seven, he purchased a 10-cent Comet Models kit and pestered his mother to help him build it. By the age of 10, he was able to build a Phantom Flash and fly it in front of his house on the streets of Chicago.

As his skills advanced, he moved up to the 25- and 50-cent models. He spent many days at the Comet factory staring at all the models hanging from the ceiling.

At age 13, Hal purchased his first gas engine, a GHQ kit costing $4.95. He never did get it to run, but eventually purchased a Marvin .19, which he put in a Goldberg Zipper Free Flight model. At age 17, he built a Comet Clipper, but soon after graduating from high school in 1944, he entered the military-in his case, the U.S. Army, as a sergeant in World War II. Modeling was put on hold for a few years. Hal remembers taking target practice against Radio Control drones while in the army, but says that no one was able to hit them.

After his discharge from the Army in 1946, Hal began building and flying Control Line models in addition to Free Flight. He flew Control Line Stunt for a while, then in the early 1950s switched to Control Line Speed. Around 1955, he acquired a single-channel Citizenship radio and moved permanently into Radio Control.

When reed systems were introduced, Hal began flying Radio Control Aerobatics using famous designs like the Smog Hog, Astro Hog, Orion, and Taurus. His quest for a better performing airplane inspired him to design his own aircraft. He created many versions of his Canoli pattern design, which he successfully used in competitions all throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Hal also competed successfully in Radio Control Pylon, but in the 1970s, he discovered the form of competition that best fit his building and flying skills, Radio Control Scale.

Hal started designing and competing in Scale events at a national level in 1975, and won many awards at contests like the Nationals, Top Gun, Scale Masters, Toledo, and the Mint Julep Scale Meet. Hal was a National Champion 18 times. National Championship models designed and flown by Hal included:

• 1975 – Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero

• 1982 – Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat

• 1984 – Bell P-39D Airacobra

• 1986 – Savoia Marchetti SM79 Sparviero

• 1989 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

• 1990 – Cessna 336 Skymaster

• 1993 – Piper PA-39 Twin Comanche (Canadian Nationals)

• 1996 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

• 1997 – Cessna 336 Skymaster

• 1998 – North American B-25J Mitchell

• 2004 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

• 2006 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

• 2007 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

• 2012 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

• 2013 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

• 2015 – North American T-28 Trojan

• 2016 – Ryan FR-1 Fireball

In addition, Hal won the Highest Flight and Best Four-Stroke Performance awards at Top Gun, and the Engineering Achievement award at Scale Masters for his mixed propulsion Ryan Fireball. He won Pilots’ Choice and Best of Show awards at numerous events.

Hal represented the United States four times in F4C FAI World competitions, with a best individual placing of seventh and a best team placing of third. Hal competed in the 1980 (Canada), 2000 (Switzerland), 2002 (Canada) and 2006 (Sweden) World Championships.

Model manufacturers kitted many of his designs:

Top Flite models kits:

• Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat

• Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero

• Holy Smoke

• Elder Biplane

Wing Manufacturing

• Douglas A-26 Invader

• Lockheed P-38 Lightning

• HP 200

• North American B-25J Mitchell

Jack Stafford Models

• HP 300 Electric

In addition to his competition and design achievements, Hal also worked on Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) designs for the U.S. Military. Working with Ralph Andre of Wing Manufacturing, Hal created an experimental stainless steel folding roll-up wing design for the Navy. He also designed two target RPVs for the Navy and a video surveillance RPV for the military. Hal trained Navy personnel in the maintenance and handling of the aircraft and provided flight instruction.

Hal also performed personal research on delta winged model aircraft, designing and flying pusher, ducted fan, electric and even sailplane versions of deltas.

Hal served as an Associate Vice President for AMA District VI from 1995 through 2012. He was inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999, and the NASA R/C Scale Hall of Fame in 2019.

No matter what contest you saw him and his son, Gary, at, he was always glad to see you. And, if you needed help, offered a solution and always encouraged current and future modelers. He will be forever remembered by those who were lucky enough to know him.

Checkerboard is honored and blessed to have been able to learn from THE BEST!

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Nolan was a brother, uncle, great uncle and a friend to many. He served honorably in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was stationed in Panama from 1968 – 1970.

Nolan joined Checkerboard RC Flying Club in the mid-1990s. He flew 40 size fixed-wing aircraft; most memorable was his Piper Cherokee.

Nolan was a dear friend to so many of our club members. He came to the field often to show his support for the club, helped keep the field in tip top shape and to visit with his friends at Miller Meadow. Nolan was a fun guy to talk to, to spend time with and always sought out at the field. He had that ‘quick wit’ about him and everyone enjoyed kidding with him. The twinkle in his eye and bright, sunny smile lit up the field. He was one of a kind and will be missed. Checkerboard won’t be the same without him.

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September 3, 1966 ~ April 7, 2021 

Dan will be remembered for his thoughtfulness and generosity to all. Those who knew him will remember his warmth and kind heart. His contagious smile and willingness to help everyone…veteran pilots and rookie pilots alike…were such assets to our Checkerboard RC Club.  Throughout his life he balanced his family, friends and successful businesses. He was a brilliant man that was so technically savvy and always eager to learn more. His love for electronics and tinkering with high-tech gadgets made him who he was. His greatest passions were his children and the love for flying his remote-control airplanes and drones. The peace and tranquility of Miller Meadow and network of friends there made him so fulfilled.  We will never forget the lives that were touched by Dan, the blessing and privilege those shared just knowing him.

When we lose someone as special as Dan we must learn not to live without them, but to live with the love they left behind.

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