Alan Whitmore- Fond memories of a Giant of a man.

[jimzcatz]

I met Alan some 20 odd years ago at what is now called Carolina Tiger Rescue. I heard a NPR interview of this place that had Tigers,Leopards, Jaguars and various other Feline carnivores, and they accepted Volunteers!!! My first day I got to get in the habitat with 3 six month tiger cubs. It was an incredible experience. I volunteered there for 2 years. I met alan there and we quickly became friends. I brought my Cluster R 7.5" Standard Arm one day and Alan was immediately hooked. He learned the hobby,did his proper certifications and within a few years had his L3 followed by appointments to both the TAP and L3CC boards. his guidance and recommendations lead to myself being added to those lists also. He was a great teacher,mentor and scientist. He was responsible for many a fliers journey through the hobby,always to council in learning and not rushing. He was against the merit badgers. Once he and Jim Livingston took over TMT,we got to test a bunch of really kool new motors! C'mon Gary,lets get that M1955 Dark Matter reworked and certified! His closest friends,my self included are still shocked at his sudden and unexpected passing. Details are still very sketchy,all I know from Talking to his wife Sallie is she heard him fall and by the time she got to him he wasn't breathing and had no pulse. She thinks he was gone before he hit the floor or soon after. He will be cremated and i'm sure there will be memorial flights at future launches, I know I have a spot reserved for some of his ashes. Alan was a very special friend to me and I will miss him terribly. We have lost one of the giants of this hobby of ours. I will copy this post to both the Tripoli and NAR Facebook pages. Join me in saying Good-bye to a dear friend. Godspeed Alan!!

Jim Scarpine

 

[manixFan]

Thanks for sharing that, gives a lot more dimension to someone I knew purely as a rocket guy.


Tony

 

[Rocket86]

RIP Alan. I didn't know him but have benefitted from his testing efforts.

 

[cwbullet]

RIP Alan. I think he has touched so many. He and a few others are who inspired me to become Prefect. I, too, will miss his whit, humor, and candor at our launches. He was a great man that will truly be missed. Our launches will never be the same.

 

[kjhambrick]

Thanks for your thoughts, Jim.

Alan was a great man.

-- kjh

 

[Sterling Edmunds]

Thanks Jim for Sharing -

 

[bobby_hamill]

Alan would definitely be missed he is the one that gave me my test for level one and level two if you had any questions he would be gladly able to help you with them he was a great guy and he will be sorely missed may he fly among the Stars

 

[3stoogesrocketry]

I met Alan some 20 odd years ago at what is now called Carolina Tiger Rescue. I heard a NPR interview of this place that had Tigers,Leopards, Jaguars and various other Feline carnivores, and they accepted Volunteers!!! My first day I got to get in the habitat with 3 six month tiger cubs. It was an incredible experience. I volunteered there for 2 years. I met alan there and we quickly became friends. I brought my Cluster R 7.5" Standard Arm one day and Alan was immediately hooked. He learned the hobby,did his proper certifications and within a few years had his L3 followed by appointments to both the TAP and L3CC boards. his guidance and recommendations lead to myself being added to those lists also. He was a great teacher,mentor and scientist. He was responsible for many a fliers journey through the hobby,always to council in learning and not rushing. He was against the merit badgers. Once he and Jim Livingston took over TMT,we got to test a bunch of really kool new motors! C'mon Gary,lets get that M1955 Dark Matter reworked and certified! His closest friends,my self included are still shocked at his sudden and unexpected passing. Details are still very sketchy,all I know from Talking to his wife Sallie is she heard him fall and by the time she got to him he wasn't breathing and had no pulse. She thinks he was gone before he hit the floor or soon after. He will be cremated and i'm sure there will be memorial flights at future launches, I know I have a spot reserved for some of his ashes. Alan was a very special friend to me and I will miss him terribly. We have lost one of the giants of this hobby of ours. I will copy this post to both the Tripoli and NAR Facebook pages. Join me in saying Good-bye to a dear friend. Godspeed Alan!!

Jim Scarpine

I remember Alan from his Ferric Fudge motors. I flew one of his J1000 ish 54mm 4 grain motors. Such a good man.

 

[Worsaer]

From a TMT testing day before the pandemic. Alan was very generous with his time and talents in support of our hobby.

 

[AeroTech]

Alan was a great guy and a blessing to Tripoli, AeroTech and the hobby in general. We will miss him greatly!!

 

[Mustang67]

Thought I would share this here as well. Alan's family asked instead of sending flowers to donate to Tripoli or to a animal shelter of your choice. I found a shelter in Alan's town. Scroll down to post #30 to view.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...ransitioned-to-the-stars.188109/#post-2627777

Ty

-Jerry