Fred Harris was a member of SEFSD in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “50 Watt Fred ” as we called him was the first member to really see and demonstrate the usefulness and versatility of the ubiquitous ‘Speed 400’ motor. The “50 Watt” refers to the electrical output from the motor and full tilt. Input was ~100 Watts but the motor was only 50% efficient. As most of us scoffed at the idea of using the cheap little motor, Fred was applying it to several of his home made planes. The performance was better than most of us thought possible. Thus the age of the Speed 400 was upon us thanks to Fred. There were more firsts courtesy of Fred. Long before any of us were doing anything with aerial video, Fred had a complete air to ground video downlink system with a monitor and VHS recording. I remember putting his camera in my first “Big Red” Sig Kadet Senior. The camera went inside just behind the windshield giving the illusion you were actually flying in the plane. Fred was a fundamental component of our club’s growth and edification in the early years. Thanks Fred!
Please click Fred’s picture for his obituary
Steve Belknap
