Mike Langlois loved aviation in all forms. His father cultivated his passion from a young age with trips to local airports to watch the planes and Saturday mornings spent with other modelers at the local hobby shop. They built an RC plane together but their initial flying experiences quickly ended in a crash. Not to be discouraged, Mike’s passion for aviation and modeling grew as he entered his teenage years and became involved in control-line speed competitions with local mentors and teammates in Greensboro, NC. Mike quickly became obsessed with speed and was fortunate to compete in races all over the country with his team, often travelling all night both ways to make the most of limited weekend time. During this time, he made many lifelong friends and had some great mentors to help guide him in his efforts. His natural mechanical abilities also began to emerge as he modified engines in the quest for more performance. Some of his OPS 0.65 engine mods enabled him to be the first to break the 200mph barrier in control-line C-speed as the pinnacle of his CL racing accomplishments.

After graduating high school, Mike set aside his models to focus on a new goal to earn a Mechanical Engineering degree from NC State University. There were plenty instances where he would be dreaming about planes, engines, and airfoils during his classes in Raleigh but he worked hard on his technical course obligations. Thankfully, during his time in college Mike was introduced to Mabel, and they were married by his senior year. Mike earned his degree and moved forward with Mabel to establish a family life and a career as an engineer.

Around this time, he gravitated back to modeling and became enamored with RC Formula I racing. The only problem was that he never really learned to fly RC up to that point! So he set out to make up for lost time and quickly developed from flying a trainer to an F1 in short order. The new goal was to compete in RC pylon racing while raising his two sons. At that time, he really focused on building the best quality planes he could, along with going fast and winning races. His son’s early childhood memories are filled with images in his hobby workshop in their home and time at airports where races where held, since the family was by his side for all of it. He spent countless hours building Formula I planes with the hopes to win best in show. In 1988, his efforts paid off and he won best in show at the 1988 Nationals. After a decade of competitive RC pylon racing, Mike took a break from modeling in 1993.

He was starting to fulfill his next goal and opened his machine shop supporting the aviation industry. With guidance from his long-time modeling friend, Henry Nelson, he taught himself to program and run CNC machines. With the help of his family, employees, and customers, ‘Aero Precision Machine’ grew rapidly. Once the shop became established, Mike set new goals and earned his private pilot’s license around 1996. Achieving the goal of being able to fly and own a plane was a major source of happiness for him for rest of his life.

His interest in RC Pylon racing was reignited by the mid-2000’s with best friend, Jim Katz. This time, he was going “all in”, using the skills and resources he had acquired to date to support RC Pylon Racing on a new level and bring many new racers into the fold in the process. He was able to convert an old farm into a nice pylon course that they named “Old Julian Airport” to honor local full-scale flying history. It was the center of all racing development in NC.

Simultaneously, Mike supported and was entrusted to take over production of the N-40 engine from Henry Nelson and continued racing as he successfully competed in numerous 424, EF-1, 426, and 422 races across the country. He then really raised the race promotion bar by developing what many consider the best pylon course in the world in Liberty, NC, that continued the original moniker of “Old Julian Airport” as the original site was sold to industrial developers. Mike, his family, and fellow local racing enthusiasts have held many first-class races at this site, to include NMPRA Champ Races, USA Team Trials, and very large internationally-attended events.

Mike rekindled old friendships and made many new friends in the later part of his life in the RC pylon community. They respected his competitive spirit, his unselfish desire to promote and subsidize racing, his quality N40 engine program, his pleasant demeanor, and his humility throughout it all. Mike lived a life of family, flying, and speed. It is an honor to see him inducted into the NMPRA Hall of Fame as he rightfully takes his place among fellow titans in model racing. His contributions will live on!

By Steven Langlois and Robert Vess

Mike's Final Race Was The December 2021 Tangerine Event In Apopka, FL, Where He Raced His Venerable Proud Bird In Q40. Mike Passed Away In 2022 From Cancer But His Memory And Racing Legacy Will Live On Through His Many Friends All Over The World That He Made During His Pylon Experiences.

Mike And The Langlois Family Keep The Legacy Of The Nelson N-40 Engine Alive Through Their "Aero Racing Engines" Manufacturing Efforts

Mike Proudly Poses With His New AR-6X Q40 With Teammate And Close Friend Robert Vess

Mike Starting His Supercat Q40 During A Practice Session At His Fantastic OJA Pylon Site As Jim Katz Holds

Mike Was Always Quick To Lend A Hand Both On And Off The Pylon Course. Here He's Assisting Lee Von Der Hey During A Test At OJA

Mike Sure Enjoyed Full-Scale Flying Too In His Beechcraft Debonair

Mike Poses With Fellow Pylon Racers Mike Helsel (L) And Jim Katz (R) In Front Of The Famous Hartness P-51 "Tempus Fugit" At A Triple Tree Fly In

Mike Finished Second In EF-1 Behind Long Time Best Friend Jim Katz At The 2015 NATS

Mike And Teammate Robert Vess Were Both Among 4 Pilots Tied For 3rd In 426 At The 2015 NATS But He Unselfishly Refused To Join The Flyoff So That He Could Call For Robert

Mike Was Very Competitive In All Pylon Classes And Was Often In A Trophy Position As Depicted Here From A Muncie NATS Event

A Teenage, Triumphant Mike Langlois Holding His Self-modified OPS .65 Powered Racer After Being The First To Exceed 200 mph In Control-line C Speed