Model Aviation Books: Chapter 3
By Bill Hannan
More-than-usual correspondence ensued from the two-parter on model books that appeared in the April and May issues, including some important additions to the listing. How the project developed is an interesting story in itself.
It all started innocently enough back in August of 1977 with a letter from Model Aviation's then-Editor Bill Winter. It said, in part: "Dear Bill, Would you be interested in tackling a bibliography of model books for delivery by January 1 at the latest?"
Having been a model aircraft bookworm for most of my life, this seemed to be a dream assignment! Of course the specified deadline was fairly close, which meant I would have to put aside a few other projects, but the job was eagerly accepted.
The starting point was a remarkable list which had been laboriously compiled by long-time book collector John J. Brown of Santa Ana, CA. John warned me, however, that the list was subject to almost constant revision as new titles were published and obscure older volumes were discovered. "No problem," said I, little knowing what was in store for us.
Step two was writing letters to many publishers in search of information relating to model-building publications currently in print. While awaiting replies and review copies, the task of rereading the books in my personal "archives" was commenced. This closet-full had been accumulating for 25 years or so, and while some had been carefully digested, others had been paid only scant attention before being assigned to a shelf.
Lacking any better idea, the decision was made to read them in more-or-less chronological order. My object was to review the history of such publications while compiling notes for the proposed book article. The more I read, the more I became aware of the rich heritage of our hobby/sport. The man-hours devoted over the years in writing and illustrating these volumes boggles the mind, and it is doubtful if many of the authors ever gained adequate financial reward for their efforts. Yet they recorded priceless information and helped to inspire generations of new modelers — certainly a measure of immortality.
After some weeks spent perusing my formidable array of books, review copies of newer examples began arriving. All very exciting, but each volume put me a bit further behind in my schedule, as the Model Aviation deadline rapidly drew nearer! By now, my own model-building activities had totally ceased. I was too busy reading about them to even find time for flying them. And the stack of article notes had reached monumental proportions, while additional books continued to arrive. Somehow it was reminiscent of Walt Disney's "Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence.
My appreciation of the hobby grew along with my manuscript until it became obvious that some arbitrary cutoff date was needed. During early 1978, after much soul-searching and article condensing, my story and photographs were mailed to Model Aviation, only slightly behind schedule.
The editorial reaction was predictable: the article was much longer than anticipated and too cumbersome to be accommodated in a single issue. Maybe not even in two issues. To complicate matters, new books were still being published, suggesting at the very least revisions to our master list. One thing led to another as the months dragged by, and we wondered if our efforts would ever see print.
During the first part of 1982, Carl Wheeley, now occupying the editor's chair, must have tired of tripping over the lumpy manuscript from California (or needed the storage space for something else!) and wrote to me about it. He felt it had merit, but it needed abridging and updating.
My own reactions were somewhat mixed. On the one hand it was delightful news that the article might be published at long last, but conversely I wasn't really sure I wanted to work on it again! Eventually, though, the article was reworked; the giant paper stack was slightly reduced and resubmitted. Carl next suggested new photographs of John Brown and me to go with the other illustrations. True, we had both aged a bit since getting involved in this production.
When the April 1982 edition of Model Aviation appeared, we could hardly believe our eyes. What a relief! What satisfaction! But would anyone else really care?
One of the fringe benefits which helps make a writer's life more interesting is feedback from readers. Some articles draw very little response (except perhaps from the author's patient mother). Others elicit a remarkable amount of audience reaction. "Model Books" was definitely in this latter category, and our mail was most gratifying.
Typical were the kind words written by Bill Kee of Twin Falls, ID: "Enjoyed reading 'Model Books' and was surprised at the quantity published in the past.... (some people) miss a lot in life by not knowing the history behind their interests...." And this, from aircraft engineer Daniel Walton of Liberal, KS: "Am looking forward to Part 2. Just goes to prove that history can be interesting if put in the proper perspective, and not just a lot of dates and places. People make the hobby, and people make it interesting."
Charlie Sotich of Chicago, IL, had this reaction: "Your article on books dealing with model planes in Model Aviation was a good one. It brought back memories of about 40 years ago (when) almost every Saturday I would walk a mile to the public library to see what books they had under 629.13.... I was very happy to see you include some nice comments about Model Aeronautics Made Painless, by Paul J. Hoffman. I got to know him slightly during my high school and college years. I think I studied a little harder because of my engineering courses because of his influence on me."
And from highly respected author/modeler Frank Zaic: "Appreciate mention of the Year Books, but especially of Hoffman's book. He was one of the few who really cared to let us know or tried to explain what makes them fly."
Complimentary phone calls were also received from editorial staff members of two other model magazines, making our satisfaction complete. But while we were basking in the warm glow of all this praise, a burst of flak arrived by air mail from Great Britain: Ron Moulton, prolific author of model books and Aero Modeller magazine executive, was understandably upset not to see his name in our April alphabetical list, since it theoretically extended from "A" through "O." John Brown and I were equally perplexed, and we rushed apology letters off to England.
The next "blast" was fired by author/artist Bob Lopshire: "Bill Hannan's article about modeling books in the April 1982 issue skipped right over my Beginner's Guide to Building and Flying Model Airplanes. Next time I find a Peanut event and find him competing, I think I might just accidentally step on a plane ..." Editor Carl Wheeley received that letter, but all three of us sent our regrets to Bob.
By now, we were becoming somewhat squeamish about the entire presentation, particularly when we discovered other authors missing from the Part 1 book list.
The arrival of "Model Books," Part 2, in the May Model Aviation cleared up a few of the mysteries. One of the first to read it was John Worth, at AMA HQ, who caught the fact that the "M" authors, missing from Part 1, had resurfaced in Part 2, but were still out of alphabetical sequence.
Soon we received soothing letters from Bob Lopshire, who mentioned having had similar experiences himself. And from Ron Moulton: "Model Aviation for May arrives as I depart for Calgary. Honour is satisfied, but the list is short a few titles." Here we go again. Ron was one of several to point out important omissions.
For instance, Cliff McBaine of La Habra, CA noted these additions and suggestions:
- Aerodynamik des Flugmodells, by F. W. Schmitz, is available in English translation from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Technical Information Services, Springfield, VA 22161. It should be ordered by Accession Number N70-39001: Aerodynamics of the Model Airplane, Part 1, Airfoil Measurements (about $13.00). This work was awarded the Ludwig Prandtl Prize for 1941, and is perhaps the single classic work in the field of model aerodynamics.
- Model Aircraft Aerodynamics, by Martin Simons of Australia. This book is available from Zenith Aviation Books, Rt. 2, North Branch, MN 55056 ($26.95). In my opinion, this is the most important practical and definitive work in the area of model aerodynamics yet published.
- Include the National Free Flight Society Annual Symposiums from 1968 to the present as definite important works.
Cliff also congratulated us on the article and suggested that the listing be an ongoing project to be kept up to date and readily available to modelers, perhaps by the AMA or some other clearing house. In point of fact, John Brown is working upon a computerized version of the list which will permit easy updates and corrections. He intends to make printouts available, but considering the magnitude of the task, it may require another year in preparation.
Charlie Sotich also suggested additions to the book list: the National Free Flight Society Plans Book from the 1979 Taft World Championships and Bill Hartill's World Free Flight Review. The latter was one of the most expensive books I ever bought, but I'm glad I have it because it is so well done.
To the list of model magazines may be added the exceptional publication from "down under": Airborne, 11 Cornwall Close, Gladstone Park, 3043 Australia.
Finally, there were a couple of typographical errors that managed to sneak by the "eagle readers." In Part 2, page 37, column 2, it should read: "Hence pre-1940 model publications are now genuine collector's items ... rather than pre-1900," although certainly items of that era would be even more valuable! On page 40: the photo caption should say "Fokker F-2," or in Roman numerals, "F-II," rather than "D-2."
The model design is by Walt Mooney, incidentally.
And there you have it, folks. We thank Bill Winter for inspiring this endeavor, Carl Wheeley for seeing it through to publication, and all of you readers for your letters and comments.
What next? John Brown was in Japan when this was being written, scouring the countryside for inscrutable modeling publications. Already we have one in the form of Mr. Tatebayashi's charming catapult glider book, which is supplied complete with construction materials and launching rubber! An English translation version is expected to follow soon.
Yours truly? Well, another book is under consideration, but meanwhile it's great to be actually building models again!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
