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Member Spotlight: Will Riley Hinton |
Will Riley Hinton, born Feb. 14th, 1940, in the foothills of the Appalations in southeastern Ohio near Marietta. (The home of Steve Wooley.) Raised on a small farm with the love of horses and airplanes occupying his childhood. He served four years in the Navy as an aviation electronics technician in VS 39 out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island on the USS Essex. After discharge in 1962 he worked at a couple of airports until meeting his future wife, Donna, while near Toledo, Ohio. Donna was an elementary teacher. They married in 1964 and raised two children, Doug and Beth, in Liberty Center, Ohio where Will changed careers and entered the industrial electrical field. In 1967 Will was born again. During his 36 years as an industrial electrician Will also obtained his commercial pilots license with instrument, flight instructor, and multi-engine ratings. He started a flight school and ag service at the local airport on a part time basis. During this time he felt God's call to establish Missionary Shuttle Service, a nonprofit organization transporting missionaries, etc., throughout the eastern half of the US. Minor health problems with his heart caused the FAA to revoke his medical certificate in 1978 thus grounding him. MSS operated until 1983 when God released the call and MSS was disorganized. Will has built and flown model airplanes since around 1950, although he took an 18 year absence while raising his children and flying the full scale stuff. His first love in modeling is control line stunt, followed closely by scale and combat, although he hasn't actively flown combat since the late 1960's. His love of designing plus writing enabled him to publish a stunt design, the semi-scale Grumman F9F Panther, in the August, 1990 issue of flying Models. The love of writing also caused him to write a personalities column for Stunt News, the official publication of PAMPA, (Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots' Association) for five years. It was during this time he felt, again, God's call to establish yet another faith based organization. Along with several others he and close friend, Allen Goff, established the Fellowship of Christian Modelers, in 1995. Will serves as president while Allen is the national director. Will has since retired from his first career and is now a full time builder of custom electric guitars having been an avid guitarist since 1954. He and Donna reside in Napoleon, Ohio, where He still flies "more stunt than ever" and attends several contests each summer. Will attributes any and all success and enjoyment in life to the blessings of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior |
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