Sad news out of the Cleveland Squadron late last night: Mike Zand passed away. Here is a note from Rich Weber.
“It is my sad duty to inform the club of the passing of our old friend
Mike Zand. I received this message from Irene earlier today:
> To our friends, brothers, sisters, and classmates,
>
> Michael entered into hospice care on Fri. and I am deeply saddened to announce his passing at 5:30 PM on Aug. 27th. Michael may now rest in peace.
>
> Further details will be announced on Cleveland.com and buschcares.com. Please feel free to share.
>
> Peace be with you, Irene
Mike was a member of the Cleveland Free Flight Society since the early days, and served in every capacity as a club officer over the years. He was the club’s secretary/treasurer for as long as I’ve been associated with the organization, ably keeping our club records and finances on track. I never knew him to miss a meeting in all those years, until health issues prevented him from participating recently. He was also a top notch modeler in every respect, with 125 kanones to his credit over his modeling career. As a side note, Mike was the first CFFS fellow I met, and he introduced me to the joys of FAC style building and flying.
He will be missed…
Wingnut”
I knew Mike as part of the influential (to me) Cleveland Free Flight Society – the Stork Squadron. He was one of the friendly and supportive members that got me started down this Free Flight path. He was always made a point of saying “hi” and asking about my family. He would ask about Costa Rica and talk about his international travels and his music. Here is a photo I took of Mike at one of his last visits to Muncie.

Mike Zand launching a Jimmie Allen Parasol at Muncie in 2014.
Here is a link to his obituary and visitation times: http://buschfuneral.tributes.com/obituary/show/Michael-C.-Zand-106377122