Chapter 1 - HISTORY

The history of aircraft modeling is closely linked with the history of aviation. Early experimenters often tested their ideas with models rather than risking their lives and fortunes with full sized aircraft.

It's interesting to note the cause and effect that the two fields of interest have on one another. In 1871 a young Frenchman, Alphonse Penaud, flew his famous Planophore. This was a rubber-powered pusher model. His best-recorded flight was 131 feet. He also made model helicopters, one of which hovered for 26 seconds.

When United Brethren Bishop Milton Wright bought his sons a small toy flying machine, the boys were intrigued. They tried unsuccessfully to duplicate it with larger models. It was their first thinking, Orville admitted, about anything to do with flying machines. By the way, the toy was one of Penaud's helicopters.

The public perception that all model aircraft are toys has always been a problem. The late head of the Smithsonian Institution, Professor Samuel Pierpont Langley's 1901 gas powered model weighed 58 pounds. He was discouraged from flying it because some small-minded men, whose names are fittingly lost to us, chided the head of so illustrious an institution for fussing with toy airplanes. [1982 Model Airplane News Annual, 42]

In 1908 an enterprising 15-year-old designed a rubber-powered model, patented it, and registered its trademark "Ayrel." It was a huge success, firmly establishing him in the design and manufacturing business. His name was Raymond Loewy, famed industrial designer. In 1915, the Detroit Society of Automotive Engineers asked William B. Stout to speak on aviation at its annual banquet. To enliven his talk, he took four boys with him from the Chicago Model Club. They flew their model airplanes out over the audience. The last model, a flying boat, took off from a big meat platter filled with water that had been placed on the speaker's table, and flew the length of the room. Just twelve years after the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk an established model airplane club had entertained the prestigious Society of Automotive Engineers. [Frank Zaic, Model Airplanes and the American Boy Northridge, CA: Model Aeronautic Publications, 1982, 158].

During the 1920s a model design called a Twin Pusher was popular. It had an A-frame fuselage and rubber bands powered its twin propellers. For more on the Twin Pusher see: home.att.net/~dannysoar/home.htm.

During the formative years of aviation various organizations, and alliances of these organizations with industry, served to educate and represent their members.

The Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) was founded in 1905. Representatives from France, Germany and Belgium proposed a federation to the Olympic Congress of Brussels. The proposal was well received and an international conference was convened in Paris. Representatives of Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States agreed to a package of statutes. The aims of the FAI were, and are, to "methodically catalog the best performances achieved, so that they be known to everybody; to identify their distinguishing features so as to permit comparisons to be made; and to verify evidence and thus ensure that record-holders have undisputed claims to their titles." They also specified that each national member should retain full and autonomous control over its own affairs. www.fai.org/about/ The Aero Club of America was formed in the summer of 1905 by a group of automobile enthusiasts interested in mankind's future in the air. The club was patterned after the Aero-Club de France, with the objective of promoting the"development of aerial navigation." [Tom Crouch, The Bishop's Boys, W. W. Norton, N.Y., 312].

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) traces its roots back to 1905 when the Aero Club of America was founded. The NAA was incorporated in 1922 and was the first to issue pilot licenses. Original members include Wilbur and Orville Wright, Charles Lindbergh, Jimmie Doolittle, and many others of note. www.naa-usa.org/website and click welcome.

In time the NAA was to play an important role in Model Aviation. It was William B. Stout who founded the Airplane Model League of America (AMLA). Stout wrote model building articles in 1916 for the American Boy magazine. Merrill Hamburg, who worked with Stout, became American Boy's model airplane editor in 1927 and the magazine carried a series of model plane construction articles through 1934 as part of the AMLA program. At its peak AMLA had 400,000 members. Frank Zaic has reprinted these articles under the title, Model Airplanes and the American Boy 1927-1934. Zaic also published other important annual books. These yearbooks published from 1934 to 1938 contain drawings and comment about significant models during the year. They are time capsules of a golden age of model aviation. These and other Zaic books are available from the Academy of Model Aeronautics or distributors such as Hannan's Runway. www.hrunway.com. In 1928 the NAA designated the American Boy to conduct the indoor and outdoor national contests at Detroit.

The AMLA phased out in 1934, and NAA took charge of the 1935 national contest for its junior members.

During this period aviator Roscoe Turner joined with William R. Hearst and his newspapers to create the Junior Birdmen of America, which became the official NAA committee on model aviation. The magazine Model Airplane News published NAA Junior Membership news along with that of the International Gas Model Airplane Association (IGMAA). The IGMAA was formed to unify opposition to an effort being made by states to outlaw the use of gas model engines.

In 1938 IGMAA membership was turned over to the newly formed Academy of Model Aeronautics and the current organizational structure was in place.

About this time an established organization called Air Youth of America published a book that provided guidance to those who wished to conduct model aircraft competitions. [Model Airplane Contests, An Air Youth Guide with Official Rules, New York: D. Appelton-Century Company, 1940]. The book had descriptions of "informal contests" featuring five models of Air Youth's own design. This was followed by "rules for formal or sanctioned contests." These were rules for "the sport of flying model aircraft" and, it stated further about the formal rules, "rules governing it for the United States have been established by the National Aeronautic Association through the Academy of Model Aeronautics". This Air Youth book credits many sources and individuals for "help in the preparation of this guide." Individuals mentioned reads like a who's who of early model aviation. Charles Grant, editor of Model Airplane News, Walter M. Hall, Boys' Club of America, Al Lewis. Secretary of Academy of Model Aeronautics, Irwin Polk, vice-president, Academy of Model Aeronautics, and many other notables.

The Air Youth of America published another book [Building and Flying Model Airplanes, An Air Youth Handbook, New York: D. Appleton-Century company, 1943] that described, in great detail, the process of constructing a model airplane. Much of the material presented is still applicable today. Although the AMA was incorporated in 1938, its current monthly publication, Model Aviation, was first published as "the official publication of the American Academy for Model Aeronautics" in New York City in June, 1936". It was "devoted to news reports and papers on experimental, theoretical, and applied science as employed in model aeronautics." Impressive goals. More on the role of AMA and its special interest groups in Chapter 3.

An event occurred in the 1930s that underscores the importance of model building to national defense. In 1915 the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was established. Its charter was "to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution, and to direct and conduct experiments in aerodynamics."

The course of world events leading up to World War 2 resulted in a major expansion of NACA's facilities, including those at Langley Field in Virginia.

Dr. Edward R. Sharp of NACA took a special interest in model builders. He saw them as a "pool" of employees for NACA. He established a program, and had it placed on the U. S. Civil Service Register, as Under Aircraft Modelmaker around 1939. Leading up to the war NACA was rushing completion of better and faster wind tunnels. They required huge laminated wooden propellers. Pattern making was the closest trade applicable to this project. NACA found that not one patternmaking application was on file with the Civil Service Commission. For the first time in the history of the Civil Service Commission Doctor Sharp convinced them to set up a civil service job classification for any person who had successfully built and flown model airplanes and entered them in formal competition with others. NACA was flooded with applications. The man in charge of the wind tunnel propeller project was told he would have no grown men, only those young boy modelers to work for him. They got the job done, and when NACA management saw the propeller problem solved they immediately started placing these boys in just about every important job underway at the laboratory. This led to starting the NACA Apprentice Administration.

The AMA cooperated in recruiting the Under Aircraft Modelmakers. NACA noted that "the vast importance of AMA's program of fostering and encouraging model building is clearly demonstrated in the performance of these modelmakers in our defense effort." [Model Aviation magazine, March, 1999, 5]

Many of those AMLA and AMA members went on to serve their country in the Air Forces during World War 2.

The scenario has been repeated in the 1990s when hobbyists experienced in building and guiding radio controlled models contributed to the training of ground based pilots of radio controlled reconnaissance drones found so effective in Operation Desert Storm.

See www.aerovironment.com/area-aircraft/unmanned.html for recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicles. Page 2 of this site contains a link to "a paper on the Black Widow's development." This outlines dramatic miniaturization of electronic components that benefit radio controlled model aviation.

It is interesting to note that astronaut John Glenn built model airplanes as a boy, as have many others prominent in the field of aviation. Aircraft designer Burt Rutan, creator of many innovative designs including the first aircraft to fly around the world non-stop, was an active modeler. See his corporate Web site for photos of his latest creations. www.scaled.com/