Interesting Article from Air Trails......

Check out this article in Air Trails in 1951 about how the pre-fab Fireball is taking over model building....


http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1158365

Did you notice that bellcrank location?

George

Actually, that's a Testors "Junior", not a Fireball. But yes, there was quite a stink about prefabs even then.

Mike Keville

...and, remember Mike,

"pre-fab" included die-cut ribs and formers, and the occasional notched, formed LE and TE pieces. (I don't think the Scientific logs were really considered pre-fab...)

Seen as the end of civilization, by some...

Seen as the end of civilization, by some...

You mean it wasn't. My Grandfather a second generation, oldschool
tool&die maker, thought when die cut ribs etc came about, that the end
of mankind wasn't far off.

Walter

Ron B.
F4Fguy

That was Testors' way of getting around the Walker patent on "U-Control". It actually worked, after a fashion.

Ron B.

Ron B.
F4Fguy

Be careful what you wish for.

Ron B.

i remember those old log planes(age 10)...but serious modelers didnt fly em'...they flew like logs...beginner stuff...jim

Don't forget this one...probably a cut above the RTF's of the time.

[photo not recovered: 22007.jpg]

SK

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

I remember the first TD-1 I saw at my LHS. It was a beautiful plane, but WAY out of my price range @ $19.95. Anyone here ever actually fly one, or even see one fly?

I remember buying a few rubber powered planes that had the printed sheets of balsa where you had to cut out your own parts.

George.

I have some flying Aces magazines from the late 30's-early 40's. There were ads for ready to fly competition freeflight airplanes. It is interesting to read through those old magazines. On the one hand there is fantastic detailed do-it-yourself craftsmanship. On the other hand there are numerous ads of the "assembles in 30-minutes and flies a mile" genra.

I've seen various 50's articles about prefabrication ruining model aviation. I like using lazer-cut ribs. It makes me feel sinful; comparable to how I felt when I snuck off to smoke one of my buddy's cigs between Sunday School and church.

Just like the writings of a philosopher complaining about how the young people were loosing their work ethic, how they had no responsibility, how things were going to h**l in a bushel basket - - found in one of the Egyption burial grounds, about the time of the pyrqamids, something like 1500 or 2000 BC. Nothing new under the sun.