Submitted by WP (08/2002); Transcribed & Edited by SS (09/2002), Reformatted by JS (02/2010)
Career
- 2002: Won the Nationals open division and Walker Cup nine times total by this date; five of these wins were consecutive; also won three second places and one third place
- 1977: Flew in his first Nationals
- 1990: First used the tuned pipe set-up starting
- 1995: Dominated the FAI Team Trails starting
- 1992: Competed in many World Championships; won the World Championship
- Designed a series of planes known as Bad News, Discovery, Impact and Total Impact
- Developed the Trimming Flow Chart
- 1985-1995: Precision Aerobatics Model Pilot Association (PAMPA) director
Honors
- 1994: AMA Distinguished Service Award
- 1996: PAMPA Hall of Fame
Wynn Paul, historian of the Precision Aerobatics Model Pilot Association (PAMPA) submitted this biography that PAMPA had on file about Paul Walker.
Paul Walker has had one of the most outstanding competitive careers in U.S. precision aerobatics in history, winning the Nationals (Nats) open division and the Jim Walker Cup a total of nine times as of the year 2002. Flying out of Kent, Washington, most of his stunt career, he first flew in the Nats in 1977 and finished 14th.
He won in 1984, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, and 2002. Other high places won are three second places (1983, 1985, and 1988) and one third place in 1989. It is quite significant that he won five consecutive National titles from 1990 to 1994, dominating the stunt scene as no one had ever done before. It is also significant that he first used the tuned pipe set-up starting in 1990 as one of only four people at the Nats with this new type of equipment.
In 1995, he chose to campaign a four-engine semi-scale B-17, which was obviously not as competitive as his Impact series of stunt planes. He went on after the 1995 Nats to dominate the 1995 FAI Team Trials to the extent that he did not have to fly the last round of finals. During this reign of victories, there were several times when he won every round of every day from qualifications, semi-finals, and finals in both Nats and FAI Team Trials.
He won the World Championship in 1992 and was a member of the World Championship team that year. He also has a second place finish (1996), two third places (1986 and 1990), a fourth, and a fifth in World Championship flying. In the FAI Team Trials, he has had two firsts and three seconds since his first appearance in 1985.
Paul is noted for his very scientific and engineer’s approach to the art of design, construction, flying, trimming and power train techniques. He is a graduate aerospace engineer and works for Boeing as a structural engineer working on the following successful programs: F-18, 757, B-2, C-17, and F-22. With this background, he has approached the technical side of precision aerobatics in a precise and perceptive way, which leaves no item overlooked and leaves no concept to chance.
If his competitive success is not enough, he has designed a series of planes known variously as Bad News, Discovery, Impact, and Total Impact. These have been documented in one of the true Landmark stunt airplane articles, “A Champ Has to Have Impact,” which ran in the May 1991 issue of Flying Models magazine. This lengthy article explores design, building, alignment in building, flying and trimming and includes Paul’s own Trimming Flow Chart, a guide that is invaluable to stunt flyers. Paul has also served as a director for the Precision Aerobatics Model Pilot Association (PAMPA) from 1985 to 1995 – one of the longest terms in the organization’s history. He has been instrumental in reviving stunt in the Kent, Washington area through his assistance, advice, and energies.
At this time the statement can be made that Paul Walker is arguably the greatest stunt flyer in the history of the U.S., if not the world.
2002: Paul with the plane he flew at that year’s Nats. He won first place in his event and was also the concours winner.
This page is a text transcription of the original document, made automatically and may contain errors. .