Written by MH (07/2015), transcribed and reformatted by JS (03/2020)
Remembering Norm Cassella
Each time I compete, I’m taken back to those days in the Poconos practicing, flying, and joking with my buddy, Norm Cassella. Norm passed away this past year at age 86 and I will forever remember him fondly and remember some of the best times of my life flying and building RC aircraft. Norm was a founding member of IMAC and served as its president and vice president for several years.
In addition to his fantastic flying accomplishments, Norm was a prolific designer and builder. He designed the Pulsar Biplane, one of the first Precision Aerobatics biplane designs, and he scratch-built 33%-scale Lasers for dozens of fliers on the East Coast.
Norm flew in the Unlimited class in IMAC, winning often enough to be one of the few pilots invited to fly in the early Tournament of Champions contests held in Las Vegas.
He also performed air shows with his Laser and was asked to give demos at RC events along the East Coast.
Norm was a man with honesty and integrity as key values. He treated the
The author was inspired by Norm Cassella, founding IMAC member and hobby of RC, and
former IMAC president, shown here with his 1/3-scale Laser 200. especially IMAC Precision Aerobatics,
with reverence. He was a sophisticated man with old-world moral character. His friendship meant a great deal to me and many others. He will be missed. I want to dedicate this article to him. Our chance meeting back in 1997 influenced the rest of my life. —Mike Hurley
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