Facebook Henry Haffke, RIP

With sadness, we learned that our very good friend and longtime contributor Henry “Mr. Gee Bee” Haffke passed away at the age of 90 on October 12, 2017, at the Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs, New York. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Henry was an expert on all things Gee Bee, having designed and built many RC Granville Gee Bee racers. Henry mentioned several times that the Granville family kindly referred to him as the “fifth Granville brother.” He was also recognized by the full-scale aviation community as the world’s foremost authority on Gee Bee Aircraft. A member of the AMA Model Aviation

Hall of Fame and a recipient of the National Aeronautic Association Award of Merit, Henry was a noted RC model designer, product developer, competitor, and magazine author. Henry also wrote the definitive Gee Bee book, highlighting the Granville brothers and their remarkable aircraft. The staff of Model Airplane News and many who knew him in the RC community will sorely miss him.

JQ: That’s sad news. I have a half-scale Haffke Gee Bee to be built. They are great-flying models.

FV: That is really sad news. I have corresponded a lot with Henry and built his models. The book he wrote about the Gee Bees is very informative and fulfilling. RIP.

LH: I didn’t know Mr. Haffke, but it sounds like we lost a true modeler who led a great life and contributed much to our hobby.

EW: Henry helped many people get started. In his later years, near his former home in Malta, New York, he noticed some people trying to fly. Henry stopped by, offered help, and became a great friend and mentor to the novice pilots. He was just that kind of guy.

AG: Oh, no. He's one of the people that taught me to fly gliders in the early ’80s.

EB: I built two of his Gee Bee designs 35 years ago. They are great designs by a guy that our hobby will miss very much.