Allen " Stinger"
Wallace
Memorial Speech by Justin Heaton
6 Years ago, I
saw an article in the paper and it had a picture, of a 1/4 scale cub, of all
things, doing an inverted fly by. And of course it was Stinger flying the cub.
Now I didn't know who Stinger was but it did make me want to go and find that
flying field. So I did and some how got introduced to Stinger and the rest is
history. He basically took me under his wing and taught me everything that I
know about flying. ……and crashing.
I guess you could say that
he was an expert at both.
Now I haven't known
Stinger as long as most of you but in that short time we became very close._small.JPG)
He shared many of his experiences with me
and I'd like to relay some today.
Most of you know that
Stinger had many accomplishments and was known worldwide for his flying
abilities. One of the things was back in the good old days, before I came along.
Stinger and Scott (Broughton) told me stories about how they raced model
airplanes. I believe that the fastest plane Stinger flew was a 100-inch, 50
lbs., Mustang that was clocked at 205 MPH. He definitely had plenty of stories
to tell about the races.
Especially the one that I
know you all have herd were he was neck and neck with the guy that was kicking
everybody’s butt all week long. I wish I could tell you that story the way
Stinger always did because he always went into great detail. He was
real SHARP!!!!! Stinger was real good about remembering people's names,
dates and phone numbers. He could tell you some ones phone number from 1980,
but for some reason, he couldn't remember that he was telling me the same old
racing stories over and over again. But I didn't mind because he really
loved to talk about those days.
He once told me, that was
the best time of his life! ……and he'll be remembered for it!!!
Another thing is that he
was on the cover of RC Modeler with his skyrocket. He was also featured in
another magazine were he was photographed, inverted dragging the Rudder of a
SCAT CAT in the grass. He also has written several articles, the most
commonly known is the article that he wrote for the RC PILOTS HANDBOOK,
where he talked about some of the maneuvers that he liked to do. Some say the
Scat CAT was Stingers signature plane simply because he always had one
and was always ringing one out. Scott told me that he probably had a 1000 of
them and that he was going through..........about 1 a week.
But I think, for me, The Skyrocket is what fit
Stinger to a Tee. Unusual!!!!!!! He liked things that were different.
He was always one to stand out in crowd. There could be
500 people at a fly-in and you'd be able to spot Stinger almost immediately
.......Size
15 pink tennis shoes,
a god awful bright multi-colored shirt and a bright
pink hat,
He
was pretty hard to miss. Not mention his trademark, high speed,
low, inverted pass that
he loved to do. That
was a crowd favorite too.
There wasn't any place in
the world that you could go where you wouldn't find someone that didn't some how
know Stinger. Whether it was related to his years of law enforcement or RC or
cars, it just seemed like he knew everybody and everybody knew him, which isn't
really that far fetched because once you meet Stinger he was impossible to
forget. He was one in a million. He had a heart of gold and he
would bend over backwards to help you.
It
didn't matter if you were a poor boy or a hi-roller, he treated you the
same. 
Now you all know that. He
was an awesome pilot. He was one of the best. But his flying skills don't
even compare to how great a friend he was.
He was the most unique person that I have ever met. A real kind-hearted, fun
loving guy that was, most of the time, the life of the party. I can honestly say
that Stinger was definitely one of kind.
He
was a positive influence to many and he deserves to be remembered as the caring
and loving person that he was. 
HE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED!!!!!
Emails and Pictures from Friends:
I have been looking at local club sites to
get ideas for our new club's website here in Waco and came across your site.
I would like to send this pic of Stinger that he had sent to my Dad years ago.
Stinger was a great friend and will be missed.
Todd Blose
Max Blose
Here is
a picture of Stinger and a Bud Nosen
Gere Sport Bipe that these guys
built. The Guys in the picture are
from left to Right: Carl Putnam,
Ronnie Chunn SR. Randy Turner
(behind Stinger) and Mike
Scroggins. This picture was taken
in the early '80 at the Dragstrip.
Regards,
Ronnie
"Junior" Chunn
In
Loving Memory of Jim Russell
December 27, 1945 - July 26, 2004
We Love and Miss you
Yesterday I received the sad news that an old friend had died. For those of us who knew him the manner in which he died is incredibly hard to believe.
Stinger Wallace was a larger than life character. I met him through a local model airplane club where, besides being the club's instructor, he was also know as one of the top "hot dog" pilots in the country. I imagine there are hundreds of r/c pilots in East Texas who learned the difficult task of flying and landing a model airplane under his tutelage.
There are other memories I have of him. In 1994 my wife and I lost everything in an apartment fire. Stinger used his connections as a police officer to find us at the home of a friend and made sure we were not in need of anything.
One thing you could count on, every model airplane event you went to someone would have a good Stinger Wallace story. Once outside of Crockett, Tx Stinger confronted a woman who had stolen a cell phone, we could actually here it ringing in her purse as the owner called it. Stinger got the woman to turn the phone over, and then we all watched in amazement as she cuts across grass fields and streets to leave the scene, leaving her husband and one of his friends behind. Another time he sent us all diving for cover as he tried to actually fly a model airplane with his feet at the controls. When the dust (and the wreckage) cleared we all had a good laugh; only Stinger would try such a thing. I often used to say to him, "Only you, Stinger, would try and (fill in the details, there was ALWAYS something).
When I first moved to Texas I spent many a night in Stinger's shop, talking planes and working on planes. The local r/c club was an instant group of friends for a newcomer, with Stinger as the older brother everyone looked up to.
I'm struggling with the decision to attend a memorial service for him. After all the events that transpired in 2005 I have struggled with depression and anger, and I just don't know if I'm ready to hear the sad details of how he came to pass. Perhaps one day old friends from the flying club will gather to talk of Stinger and tell all the old stories again.
I will strive to remember him for how he lived and not how he died. I hope he is free of whatever demons were haunting him.
Goodbye old friend.
Mike Armand
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