Saturday, January 6, 2024
I had the pleasure to work with Kevin for a few years at Hammonds Technical Services when Kevin and his young family lived in Houston, Texas. Kevin was so funny, always with a funny joke or story to tell about his kids or model airplanes. I never think of remote control airplanes without thinking of Kevin. I came into Kevin’s office one morning before work, joining an impromptu meeting between Kevin and our machine shop manager, Mazin. They were deep into a discussion of how they were planning on building scale model jet turbines. Kevin had decided he wanted to build a large scale Boeing 747. When I say large, I mean 15’ wingspan large. I asked Kevin how he was going to go about it. He said that part was a surprise.
Several weeks later, as I arrive to work, Kevin yells with excitement I can’t put into words “Jeff…get down here NOW!!”. When I entered his large office, there were huge drawings laying on the floor. Big engineering prints and lots of them. Kevin says “It worked!!…They sent me the plans!” Kevin had called Boeing’s engineering department and told the person on the phone of his plan to build a truly accurate scale model of a 747. The man told him “I should be able to send you something.” Kevin was now in possession of a full set of plans for the 747 and he had already began drawing them on the CAD system so that they could be scaled down for his model. He drew every rib and spar in the wings, right down to each nut, bolt and rivet.
Not long after this, I married my wife and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. I eventually returned to Hammonds three years later where I learned that Kevin had moved on to another job. I have thought about Kevin often over the years with fond thoughts and good memories. My sincerest condolences to Kevin’s children and his family.
Jeff Hammonds
Kingwood, Texas
