Written by FP (c. 2025); reformatted and edited by JS (2025)
I was born in Graham, Texas in October of 1944 to Faust and Francis Parker. Dad was in the U.S. Air Force for 35 years and mom was an executive secretary at General Dynamics. My brother, Stephen, also flew model aircraft, and I have a sister, Laura. I received my undergraduate and master’s degrees from University of Texas at Arlington. I completed my PhD at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (specializing in marine science). My career included seven years as a contract chemist at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and 25 years as the director of an environmental toxicology laboratory in Houston, Texas.
My undergraduate education was funded by an athletic scholarship (football), master’s by a teaching assistantship, and PhD work by a Welder Wildlife Foundation fellowship. I had three years of professional football experience in Texas League, Continental Football League, and NFL as a place kicker.
Interest in model aircraft began when my brother and I met Betty and Bill Bell in Forest Park (Fort Worth, Texas) and started flying Combat, Stunt, Rat Racing, etc. They also introduced us to Free Flight. We were members of the Junior Aero Club (JACS) in Fort Worth in the 1960s through early 1970s. Other AMA clubs included the Tri-City Fliers in San Antonio, 1983 through 2010 (my wife Julie and I were married during this period), and the Texas Cloud Climbers in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), 2011 to present.
Significant Free Flight competition successes include: the Club Team Championship at the 1964 Nats, two-time Nostalgia National Champion (1963 & 1994), National 1/2A Champ 6 times, National F1J Champ 9 times, National F1C Champ 5 times, America’s Cup Champ F1C 9 times, and F1J Champ 16 times. Plus, multiple placings in Nostalgia Gas, AMA Gas, and FAI events through the years all over the U.S.
My international competition experience includes four World Championship F1C teams: Israel 1999 (5th place Individual), Argentina 2011 (5th place Individual, 2nd place Team), Hungary 2017 (23 place Individual), and Lost Hills, California 2019 (8th place Individual, 3rd place Team). This experience resulted in my article for the 53rd Annual Report of the National Free Flight Society, Symposium 2020, “The Road to the World Champs”.
Designs include: “Frosty” Hand Launch Glider (several Senior and Open Nats wins plus the Tulsa Glue Dobbers perpetual trophy), “Alvin” ½ A ROW (3 times Nats Champion and AMA record holder as a Senior), “JTEX” F1J (Nats winner and NFFS co-model of the year 2000), and “CNC Matrix” 1/2A (Nats winner, co-designed with Henry Spence, model of the year 2010). I am a lifetime member of National Free Flight Society (NFFS) and was inducted into the NFFS Hall of Fame in 2010. I’ve been a Contest Director (CD) since 1980 and direct two to three Free Flight contests a year. I was a Nats CD in 2018 and have been an event director and volunteer every year as needed. I am on the FAI Team Selection Committee, NFFS Nostalgia Committee, and was the chair of the NFFS Hall of Fame Committee in 2021.
My other passion is supporting our World Championship teams - both senior and junior - since 1980 (both financial and equipment). I built and donated F1Ps to the junior team for the 2014 Romania World Championships. Those models have been passed down to the next junior team members.
February 2018: Faust (center) launching his Babenko Direct Drive Folder F1C model at the MaxMen contest in Lost Hills, CA. [Photographed by Malcolm Campbell. Photo provided to the AMA History Project by Julie Parker.]
September 2021: Faust (center, in orange) receiving certificate from AMA District VIII Vice President Lawrence Harville (at right of Faust, in blue). [Photographed by Jan Langelius. Photo provided to the AMA History Project by Julie Parker.]
February 2024: Faust (center, in blue) launching his Achterberg 6panel F1J model at the Fab Feb contest in Lost Hills, CA. [Photographed by Merrie Smith. Photo provided to the AMA History Project by Julie Parker.]
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