Written History

Willis Nye » 3-View Drawings

The beautiful 3-view drawings by Willis Nye also premiered in 1933. Later produced by various artists, such 3-view drawings later became the enormously popular "Planes Worth Modeling" column-a staple of Model Airplane News for many years to come.

Gas Lines

One of the earliest specialty columns, "Gas Lines" first appeared in the February 1936 issue of Model Airplane News. Because gasengine technology was still in its infancy, modelers eagerly soaked up every ounce of information that this column provided. "Gas Lines" was a trusted source for gas-engine-operation information until it was discontinued in 1942.

On the Frontiers of Aviation

Written by Robert C. Morrison, "On the Frontiers of Aviation" appeared within the pages of Model Airplane News from January 1934 to November 1941. The long-running series presented new developments in every facet of flight.

William Wylam Drawings

First published in 1933, William Wylam's many outstanding scale drawings were a popular, feature in Model Airplane News for many years and were even rerun in the 1960s. Among his most noteworthy drawings were multi-issue features of such popular aircraft as the Stinsons, the Beechcraft D-17 Staggerwing and Lockheed Vega series.

Elements of Model Plane Radio Control

Information on the budding technology of radio control first appeared in the May 1939 issue of Model Airplane News. Authored by Howard McEntee, the "Elements of Model Plane Radio Control" column was the first to begin to depict a revolution of sorts in the modeling world. It was succeeded in September 1953 by "Radio Control News," when Ed Lorenz took on the task of reporting on the many breakthroughs in this new and fascinating facet of the hobby. In January 1965, "Radio Control News" took on a life all its own and was transformed into an entirely separate section of Model Airplane News that featured articles on everything from plans to new products to breakthrough technologies.

Scrap Box and M.A.N. At Work

Over the years, the Model Airplane News editorial column has appeared under several different titles, and the most memorable of those were "Scrap Box" and "M.A.N. At Work." Written by Bill Winter, the editorial column ran under the title "Scrap Box" from April 1949 through January 1951, but it became the now-legendary "M.A.N. at Work" upon Bill's promotion to editor. The column remained under this heading through the reigns of Walt Schroder and Art Schroeder until it was changed once again in March 1979.

VTO

Authored by Richard Miller, Dick Black and Dave Linstrum, "VTO" ran from March 1962 to February 1979. A series of articles that detailed the many facets of free-flight models, the "VTO" column later became "Free Flight News" and was authored by Linstrum.

Air Ways

Running from 1932 into the 1960s, "Airways" was a popular two-page gallery of readers' projects. Though it was missing from the pages of Model Airplane News for many years, it made a triumphant return not too long ago. Today, it's known as "Pilot Projects."

Simpl-Simul

John Worth's three-part series, "Simpl-Simul," appeared in the july, August and September 1958 issues of Model Airplane News. Considered revolutionary at the time, the Simpl-Simul system allowed simultaneous and proportional elevator and rudder control.

Round and Round

Started by Bill Winter in 1962, "Round and Round" introduced readers to the latest news and developments in the control-line world. The column ran through june 1966 and featured a number of authors over the years, including Peter Soule, Bill Netzeband, Jim Daves and Phil Granderson. In March 1975, Harry Higley's name began to appear at the top, and the title was changed to "Control Line News" in 1979. It ran as such until it was discontinued in April 1981.

Our heartfelt appreciation goes to Bob Aberle, Dave Glerke and Nick Ziroll Sr. for their extensive help in researching and writing this article.

Copyright Air Age Publishing Jan 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved