Written by AMA staff (01/2004); Formatted by JS (12/2005), Reformatted by JS (06/2009); Update by JS (08/2023)
Edward Keck
A member of AMA since he was nine years old, Ed Keck flew in his first meet that same year, taking third place with his Class C Rubber stick model.
Ed set the first of many AMA records when he was 13, flying Class A Junior Gas. New York State held a contest for high school students, which he won three times. Sponsored to attend the first Plymouth meet in 1947, Ed placed first in Class C Gas. He also won the same event in the New York Mirror Meet in the spring of 1948.
Ed received a scholarship from the General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan, and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. A partner and lead engineer in a number of machine automation companies, Ed retired at age 54 but continued to work part-time as a consultant.
Ed and his wife Sue produced the first steer-able nose gear for RC, assembling them in their apartment when they were first married. A partner in Proline, he sold his share in 1972.
He became a partner in a company called Southern RC that produced kits and accessories. Ed later sold the accessories division to Dave Brown, which marked the beginning of Dave Brown Products. Ed was also a partner in Radio South and sold the business to Tony Stillman. Both businesses are still going strong.
Ed was responsible for a number of designs including the Alley Cat for beginners, Starfire, Jet Storm and Simplex, all kitted by MACO. More recently, Ed had done the gear work on Doug Galbreath’s GK Hummer based on the Nelson engine. He placed first in the 2003 Max Men contest using a GK Hummer.
Interested in RC since its inception, Ed became a Pattern flier, attending the first few Tournament of Champion meets sponsored by Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and numerous other prestigious events. He was approached to build a large-scale aerobatic model to try the full Aresti Stunt pattern. His Spinks Akro Master was the start of large-scale models at Circus Circus.
The Spinks Akro Master became a construction article in Model Airplane News. Ed wrote a number of articles for Model Airplane News and MA, covering FAI RC World Championships in Switzerland, Holland, and Mexico.
Ed returned to FF in the mid-1980s, telling friends that it offered an objective way to measure performance. He built several original-design models in his first year back in FF and his Prime Time set records in C and D Gas Category III. Winning many meets and Nats with his designs, Ed held the FAI F1C record on three occasions. Ed was a five-time member of the US FAI FF Team, competing in F1C Power. Individually, he has placed second, sixth two times, and seventh in various World Championships and has had two second-place and one first-place team finishes. Ed had been a Leader Member for 25 years. He passed away July 28, 2004.
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