Ted Controls

[Airracer75]

Sad news warbird owner and former race pilot Ted Contri passed away Friday night. RIP Ted Contri!
(I'm using a kindle auto correcting not control Contri)

[Airrace7]

Re: Ted Controls

Sorry to hear the bad news. Ted was a great man and some rare warbirds.
RIP

[Desertdawg]

Re: Ted Controls

Sad news. Ted was a good man and contributed a lot to our community.

Years ago my neighbor and best friend Mel worked for Ted. Mel and Hank maintained Ted's collection of various planes. One day Mel called and said, Hank is going to take one of Ted's P51s up for a test flight, want a ride, hell ya. I was there in 10 minutes. 44-84753 old red, the pictures hang proudly in my office. I still remember that flight, very loud. We're out over Spanish Springs, way before they had houses out there. Hank says, hold on and does a slow roll. As we get upside down a crescent wrench comes out from under my seat and floats by as I grab it LOL.

Ted, thanks for all the memories, blue skies.

Hans

[Lockheed Bob]

Re: Ted Controls

Blue Skies Ted. Mr. Contri always stopped by the "Warlock" T6 pit to talk to Al Goss. He helped a lot of people at Reno over the years. Prayers & thoughts to all involved with Ted.

[N29131]

Re: Ted Contri

Words can't express how much I admired Ted Contri.

I have known him since I was around 8 or so. He gave me my first ride in Sizzlin Liz when I was 10 and then again when I turned 30. He even flew me home to Elko one time in Rosalie after I stopped over at his Reno hangar coming home from college.

To say he was generous is an understatement. He would do anything and everything for folks in need. I watched him grab linemen off the ramp here in Elko and take them to lunch just because. He used to take folks up for a ride in a Mustang just for the shear joy of seeing the excitement spread across their face. Just a couple of years ago, while I was on duty at the firehouse in Elko, Ted stopped over with Sizzlin Liz to get fuel. I jumped on the radio to ask where he was headed. He told me that he had heard about a young boy up near Billings, Montana that wanted desperately to get a ride in a Mustang someday and he was going to go give it to him.

Ted was one of those kind of guys that you would never know he had the assets that he did. He was incredibly humble and down to earth. He was raised on a neighboring ranch to the south of us here in Jiggs, Nevada. He never forgot his roots and the people that shaped him into the amazing man that he became. I know that he will live on in the many hearts that he touched over the years.

I will forever remember the rumble of that sweet Merlin engine as he came screaming up the valley just to say hi to his old friends.

Blue skies and tailwinds my friend!!

[Samuel]

Re: Ted Controls

Nice write up here: http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51.../contri_031414