This sucks but we apparently lost Sparky Imeson on Tuesday. Here's what info there appears to be so far...

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2009/0 ... _plane.txt

This is devastating news. Sparky was such a great guy.

I did not know him well enough to have met this wife yet (this summer, was my hope). If anyone knows of a memorial service open to those of us in the pilot community, I would sure appreciate hearing about it.

Judy

judypilot wrote:This is devastating news. Sparky was such a great guy.

I did not know him well enough to have met this wife yet (this summer, was my hope). If anyone knows of a memorial service open to those of us in the pilot community, I would sure appreciate hearing about it.

Judy

Judy and Flight :
Was sitting here trying to come up with some more to say or read about Sparky and found picture of crash -there was NO snow covering airplane. From What I see the FIRE started in the engine compartment in FLIGHT.Wish I could post it here I've sent it out to quite a few people in the last few min. Crash site appears almost like pasture near lake or other
body of water. I know he made it down in one piece then flipped . I'm still trying to get this "he's gone "out of my head.

I'm really sorry to here the bad news!!

My condolence's to Sparky's family and many great friends he had!!

Blue Skies Sparky!

From mountainflying.com:



[wrapimg=left]http://www.mountainflying.com/Images/author-images/sparky.jpg[/wrapimg]Sparky Imeson was born and raised in Jackson, Wyoming. He grew up in the mountains where his grandfather homesteaded and he learned to appreciate the mountains "from the ground up." He was bitten by the 'flying bug' in July 1966, and began flying his father's Piper J-3 Cub and Cessna 205. Fueled by a love of flying, Sparky and his parents, Paul and Jennie, started Imeson Aviation, Inc. in 1968, at the Jackson Hole Airport.

Located at the base of the Grand Teton mountain range, Imeson Aviation offered on-demand charter, FAA Approved flight training and ground school, air ambulance, aerial application (spraying), mosquito spraying, aerobatic training, corporate flying, airplane sales (Cessna, Bellanca and Maule aircraft) and rentals, fueling, and maintenance.

Sparky became concerned about the number of general aviation accidents that were attributed to mountain flying, and finding no books on the matter, he wrote his own. He received the FAA Northwest Region's Flight Instructor of the Year award in 1974, 1979 and 1995, for providing effective and creative flight and ground instruction. Many of his 20,000+ flight hours have been in small airplanes in the mountains.

Sparky's strength as a writer, teacher and mountain pilot lends to his books a clear, concise style that is not only thorough, but fun to read. Sparky is qualified to teach you the techniques for flying the mountains and is available for mountain flying presentations and seminars.

http://www.mountainflying.com/Pages/the ... author.htm

A tragic loss of such an accomplished author, pilot, instructor and general ambassador for all pilots leaves a huge hole in our ranks. How he will be missed - - - - -

Flyguy wrote:http://www.mountainflying.com/Pages/the-author/the-author.htm

A tragic loss of such an accomplished author, pilot, instructor and general ambassador for all pilots leaves a huge hole in our ranks. How he will be missed - - - - -

Sparky Imeson tragically died on March 17, 2009. The funeral will be held on March 27 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Helena, MT. Reception will follow immediately after at the Helena Regional Airport beginning at 2:45 pm.

The family suggests any memorial donations be made in Sparky's name to the Shriners Hospitals for Children if desired. Sparky's wife, Siew Hwa, will begin filling any outstanding orders as soon as possible, and your patience is appreciated.

To offer condolences to Sparky's family, or to share your memories and thoughts, please visit www.mem.com and search for "Sparky Imeson".

As Sparky told us, "happiness is an airplane on a clear day - and the time to go flying.”