I met Jim West at Arlington Washington  last year and knew he was working
on a rotary powered coot. He was not on the list however.
Apparently he had an in-flight fire either on his first flight
or one soon after his first flight as I had not heard that he flew.
He apparently tried to make it back to the runway and apparently
stalled and spun in. The wreck burned. Stall spins are all too common
and unnecessary in a lot of cases as Jim crashed in an empty field.

I am awaiting more info from Ken Welter as Ken apparently knew
him well.

Paul Lamar
 
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