"Back Then"

(I encourage you to click on these images, as outlined in the text, to see the complete detail.)

Several issues ago I published three or four articles dealing with "Early RC". I received many comments about that series and was asked if I would write more articles of that type.  This short series of articles (which I suspect will span three or four issues) entitled "Back Then" is intended to fulfill those requests and to try and give you an idea of what it was like to be a modeler back then -- in the early 1950's.

Don't get me wrong ... I would NOT want to go back to the technology of that era. Our present-day aircraft and modern radio equipment is far advanced from what was available in the 1950's. Today, we have radio equipment that allows us to control our models with the same precision and accuracy of full-scale aircraft, and model aircraft that can duplicate, or even exceed, full-scale flight performance. But even more than that ... our present equipment, when properly maintained, is dependable and virtually trouble-free. Yes, we do occasionally suffer equipment and radio failure, but those occasions are seldom and far between, whereas back then having a complete trouble-free flight was "seldom and far between".

Before going any further, I would like to thank Tom Schmitt for providing several issues of "Model Airplane News" and "Flying Models" from back then. Tom also loaned me the 1955 "National Model Airplane Championships" issue of "Model Aviation".  I hope to get permission from the AMA to reproduce every page of that issue (one or two pages at a time) in page order, for upcoming issues of this newsletter because I'm certain you will be very surprised at it's content.  Tom graciously loaned me these valuable issues, along with the August 1955 issue of "Hod Rod" magazine (which asks "How potent is Packard's new V-8?" - Do you remember the Packard line of automobiles?) so I could scan images from them to help illustrate the written text.

While I'm talking about these "scanned" images, let me explain that I scanned them with a high resolution setting in order to get the detail I wanted. Some of the plans and drawings were VERY detailed back then and I wanted you to be able to see that detail. Therefore, if you "click" on the image it will open in a new window that may be expanded to full screen. Further, in most browsers, you can move your mouse pointer over the lower right corner of the image and an "expand" icon will appear. Clicking on that icon will enlarge the image to full, high resolution size. I encourage you to do that on several of the images.

Back then the model magazines did not have the "glossy, slick, color pages" that we see in our model magazines today. The paper was coarse and a slight "tan" color. There were color images, but more often than not, with the exception of the cover and "inside cover" pages it was all black print on tan paper.

The image above, obviously, is an ad for Berkely Models. It is a "full-page" ad from 1954 and shows just a small selection of Berkely's kits. When blown up to full size it give you an idea of the paper quality and print used in those early modeling magazines. Check out the prices of the kits!  I built and flew the P-40 "Warhawk" and the AT-6 "Texan", and you may remember, when I wrote about the glues used back then, that I mentioned offering my almost complete "Custom Privateer" to Bill Stranahan. Well, this is it!