Leading the Way

OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE TO THE DEVELOPMENT and growth of Model Airplane News over the years have been the various peuple who have served as its editor. Many famous modelers and model aviation insiders have held this position at one'time or another, und their tremendous skills molded Model Airplane News into the fine publication that it is today. On this, our 75th anniversary, we'd like to pay tribute to a few of these important and-talented individuals.

George Campbell Johnson

As owner, publisher and founding editor of Model Airplane News, George Johnson (grandfather of present day publisher, Louis V. DeFrancesco Jr.) is arguably the most important figure in its illustrious 75-year history. Keep in mind that in 1929, the entire world of full-scale aviation had been in existence for less than 30 years. In the beginning, model aircraft consisted primarily of gliders and rubber-band-powered (twisting strands of strip rubber!) models. Model designs were generally scale, or at least influenced by, full-scale aircraft. This was a humble beginning for the model aircraft hobby, but still an important start. As long as full-scale aviation continued to grow, so did the desire to build and fly model airplanes. That was the dream Johnson pursued.

Charles Hampson Grant

In 1932, Johnson hired Charles Hampson Grant to direct the editorial content and policies of Model Airplane News, and he remained in that position until 1943. Charles Grant manned the helm through some very important growth years for the magazine. During that period, modelers were introduced to their first gasoline-fueled, miniature aircraft engine (the Brown Jr.). As a result of this new power source, new types of model aircraft were developed, including free-flight models and U-control (also known as control line). Later in that same decade, we saw the very beginning of modern-day, radio-control models. At this point, the broadcast radio industry was only in its infancy!

Mr. Grant has been referred to publicly on numerous occasions as "the father of model aeronautics in America." During his tenure as editor of Model Airplane News, he was responsible for a tremendous increase in magazine circulation. His first article (February 1932) began a long-running series entitled "The Aerodynamic Design of the Model Plane." Ultimately, he published more than 300 articles on the design of model aircraft, including his most famous "The Grant Law of Spiral Stability"-a concept whose implementation eventually made pilotless aircraft stable in all conditions of flight.

Howard McEntee

From 1945 through 1950, a popular modeler from New Jersey, Howard McEntee, held the reins at Model Airplane News. In this postwar period, Howard helped influence the rapid growth of practical radio-control aircraft for the average modeler. he set the stage by publishing a variety of radio-equipment construction articles and how-to's that detailed general radio techniques.

In addition to the major advances in radio control, this same period brought us Ray Arden's wonderful invention: the glow plug. This tiny component essentially replaced gasoline-ignition engines with a simple, easy and lightweight form of model aircraft power. Tiny engines such as the K&B Infant .020 soon followed, and just as quickly, the pages of Model Airplane News became flooded with design and construction articles for models using ½A power. Howard McEntee made a name for himself in this new class of power with several designs for micro-size RC models.

After his death in 1972, members of Westchester Radio Aero Modelers, Inc. (WRAM) in Westchester County, NY, established a technical achievement memorial award in Howard's name. It's presented every year at their East Coast hobby trade show.

Bill Winter

From 1951 until 1960, another famous modeler took on the role of editor of Model Airplane News-Bill Winter. Bill was a true model designer, builder and flyer. he created the monthly editorial column known as "M.A.N. At Work," which became a staple of the magazine for many years. During Bill's tenure, the FCC authorized the use of 27.255MHz as a radio-control channel on the then-new citizens band. That's when we saw RC really take off. This was the first time a modeler could build and fly RC with only a permit, instead of a ham radio license. Model Airplane News quickly took the lead in this area by publishing articles on how to construct much of the initial 27.255 RC equipment. The famous Lorenz Two-Tube receiver appeared in the February 1953 issue. This was a landmark RC accomplishment that took the average RC pilot of that time out of the dark ages and into the world of simple and reliable radio control.

The biography of Bill Winter that's on file in the AMA Library clearly details his lifelong involvement with and devotion to model aviation. During his career, he served as editor of just about every model aircraft magazine in existence. During his 10 years at Model Airplane News, he directed editorial and policy and contributed heavily to the growth of the magazine and the hobby as a whole.