John Mininger Posted December 2, 2022 Report Share Posted December 2, 2022 I just received the December issue of The Mooney Flyer and read the Ron Blum died. I was floored! I first met Ron at Oshkosh. I don’t remember the year, but it was when the Mooney M10 project was still ongoing. He wasn’t there in any official capacity; he was there just sort of “hanging-out”. We spoke for a while about Mooneys, and I remembered being very impressed with his knowledge of aerodynamics, and of Mooneys in general. After that, I attended pretty much all the forums that he presented at Oshkosh through the years. I remember one time he gave two forums back-to-back in different locations, and he left the mouse for his laptop on the podium of his last presentation. I had the privilege of retrieving it for him. The last time that I saw him was at Sun n Fun this past April. He gave a presentation, and we talked in the hall afterwards for what must have been a half hour. I was shocked when I heard of his passing. Ron will be greatly missed in the general aviation world. Anyone know the cause of death? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSMooniac Posted December 2, 2022 Report Share Posted December 2, 2022 His wife reported a series of strokes and he was under hospice care for a day or two before he passed. His funeral is tomorrow and I plan to attend, so long as my current head cold doesn't get any worse.I will miss him! We got together regularly and were always tossing around various ideas to improve Mooneys or GA in general.Sent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mininger Posted December 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2022 1 hour ago, KSMooniac said: His wife reported a series of strokes and he was under hospice care for a day or two before he passed. His funeral is tomorrow and I plan to attend, so long as my current head cold doesn't get any worse. I will miss him! We got together regularly and were always tossing around various ideas to improve Mooneys or GA in general. Sent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk Thanks Scott. I'm in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend his funeral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PT20J Posted December 3, 2022 Report Share Posted December 3, 2022 I have a small group of aeronautical engineer friends that are kind enough to answer my questions and beat around ideas from time to time. I try not to bug them too often. But Ron always seemed happy to hear from me and answer whatever question I had and gently point out the flaws in my understanding. I will truly miss our interactions which were always so informative and pleasurable. Skip 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N201MKTurbo Posted December 3, 2022 Report Share Posted December 3, 2022 I never met Ron, but I PMed him a few times. He always gave me detailed responses. I was so sad to hear about his passing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mininger Posted December 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2022 The last time I remember talking to Ron, we were standing in the hallway outside of a room where he had just presented a forum. He was explaining to me the aerodynamics of a golf ball. Apparently, those little dimples are beneficial to its flight. Way over my pay grade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSMooniac Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 I attended his memorial service on Saturday and it was a great tribute to him. There were at least two other Mooney owners there that I know of. Here is the obit in case anyone missed it, or wants to write a tribute: Ronald Blum Obituary (1964 - 2022) - Wichita, KS - Wichita Eagle (legacy.com) Donations for his memorial can be sent to the EAA as well...that would make him very happy! I'm going to miss him greatly! 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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