 Outboard motors for model boats have been
available for a long time. Advertisements in modeling magazines from the 1950s (as
far back as my collection goes) has plenty of them.
Ailyn's Sea Fury outboard
motor and the Fuji outboard motors are just a couple examples for which I have
copies of the ads. I don't know if any are still manufactured today, but if you
hang around eBay long enough, you will find them up for auction. As of this writing,
there is a Fuji .15 outboard motor up for bid. It appears to me in remarkably good
condition. These two advertisements were scanned from 1950s vintage American
Modeler magazines, offered by America's Hobby Center (no longer in business)
in New York City. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator
the $29.95 price in 1957 would be $313.59 in 2011 money. These vintage motors usually
sell at about the inflation-adjusted price, so when you see them go for a couple
hundred dollars, it really is not so much in today's money...
 The flying business was big business in the
early days of aviation. From the beginning, specialized training and certification
was needed to be trusted in the air with mail, cargo, and the lives of strangers.
As with today, a flyboy could teach himself to fly and put his own neck on the line
(only with ultralights now, though), but anything more meant graduating from a college
curriculum and/or getting training from the military. The Civil Aeronautics Authority
(CAA, now the Federal Aviation Administration cum FAA), oversaw non-military flights
and its Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) regulated and certified private schools
for teaching aspiring pilots aerodynamics, mechanics, weather phenomena, airframe
and powerplant maintenance, rules and regulations, public relations, and other necessary
skills. This "Youth
Air Movement News" column from the December 1939 issue of Flying Aces
magazine reported on the progress of the program, and mentioned here that women
were being permitted into the flying schools as well...
 "The 2,000 rpm permanent magnet electric
motor has been developed in a partnership with
Hybrid Air Vehicles and the University of Nottingham, where Collins has begun
basic characterization testing of the motor. Collins said it is targeting specific
power density levels of 9kW/kg and 98% efficiency using a novel motor topology and
composite construction. The company is designing the motor at its Electronic Controls
and Motor Systems Centre of Excellence in Solihull where it is also developing its
1 MW electric motor and motor controller for the Pratt & Whitney Canada
(P&WC) regional hybrid-electric flight demonstrator. The two motors are part
of Collins' technology roadmap for the development of a family of electric motors
that can be appropriately scaled to meet the needs of hybrid-electric and all-electric
applications across multiple aircraft segments..."
 It was on March 16, 1926, that
Robert Goddard
made history in Auburn, Massachusetts, by successfully launching the world's first
liquid fueled rocket. The propellant was a mixture of gasoline and liquid oxygen.
That was a mere ten year prior to this article that appeared in Boys' Life
magazine. Author T.E. Mussen comments that as of the writing, "thus far the rocket
has carried neither men nor recording instruments, nothing more than the source
of its own propelling power." Breathtaking speeds of 700 mph had been attained
and altitudes of 7,500 feet staggered the imagination with impossible proposals
- like someday sending human beings to the moon. The oft referenced American Rocket
Society (ARS) was created in 1930, and was the leading professional group for advancing
rocket science. The group was planning for such missions three decades before they
became reality. ARS was merged with the Institute of Aerospace Sciences in 1963
to become the present day American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)...
 Here's what you get when a non-modeler writes
a headline about an e-powered sailplane. Clearly, the photo shows a motor in the
nose, and unless it is hauled aloft by the Ingenuity coaxial helicopter (which it
won't be) or some sort of winch is installed on the surface (which won't be), the
craft needs a motor. It will also need wheels. The story begins begins: "Eight active
spacecraft, including three operated by NASA, orbit Mars, gathering imagery of the
planet's surface at a resolution of about 1 foot per pixel. Three rovers traverse
the ground, mapping small areas of the planet with greater precision. But what lies
in the hundreds of kilometers between the rovers and the orbiters - including atmospheric
climate processes and geological features like volcanoes and canyons - is often
of most interest to planetary scientists. 'You have this really important, critical
piece in this planetary boundary layer, like in the first few kilometers above the
ground..."
 As you can tell from all the vintage modeling
and electronics magazine I own and use to post various article, I am prone to waxing
nostalgic about the days of yore. Being born in 1958, I am part of the last generation
of people brought up at a time when patriotism, courtesy, manners, and civility
was taught in school and in the public square by fellow citizens and even politicians.
However, there are limits to my desire to enjoy the environment of the good 'ole
days, and one of them is the need to build (often), tune, and repair nearly all
the electronic equipment used in model aviation and model boating activities. This
"Radio
Controlled Model Sailboat" article from a 1948 issue of Radio News
magazine is a prime example of what I mean. While knowing how to do all the work
involved in the system created by these two Raytheon engineers is a great achievement,
the work involved is extremely time consuming and takes away significantly from
the time actually spent enjoying sailing the boat. Modern compact, powerful, reliable,
relatively inexpensive, fully proportional, feature-packed radio systems are much
preferred over the former. Here is a short tale of my own venture into R/C sailboating
with a Thunder Tiger Victoria sloop, circa 2000...
 "Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force have
successfully conducted a
hypersonic-boosted flight test of the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon
(ARRW) from the service's B-52H Stratofortress. The successful flight demonstrated
the weapon’s ability to reach and withstand operational hypersonic speeds, collect
data for use in further flight tests, and validate safe separation from the aircraft
to deliver the glide body and warhead to designated targets from significant standoff
distances. Dave Berganini, vice president of Hypersonic and Strike Systems at Lockheed
Martin Missiles and Fire Control said that the need for hypersonic strike capabilities
is critical to the USA, with the successful test helping to maintain 'an accelerated
and rigorous timeline.' Additional booster and all-up-round test flights will continue
throughout 2022, before reaching Early Operational Capability (EOC) in 2023..."
 Bill Hannan was a prolific designer of and
author of magazine articles and books about free flight models. His contributions
spanned more than fifty years. Many of his designs, like the
Flyangle,
targeted beginners. It appeared in the March 1970 issue of American Aircraft
Modeler magazine His goal was to present models that were easy to build and
that were constructed in such a manner as to virtually guaranty success. Based on
the inherently rigid, warp resistant triangular features of the AMA's Delta Dart,
Hannan's Flyangle introduces a built-up fuselage with a triangular cross-section.
It is the next logical step up from the Delta Dart. Airplanes and Rockets website
visitor Ray M. wrote to request this article. It's nice to know there are still
purists out there building these models...
 This
website exists entirely on the support of its visitors by way of a small percentage
earned with your
Amazon.com purchases. It typically works out to less than $10
per month. That barley covers the domain registration and secure server fees. If
you plan to buy items via
Amazon.com, please begin your shopping session from the AirplanesAndRockets.com
website so that I get credit for it. Doing so does not cost you anything extra.
Thank you for your support.
 Radio controlled (R/C) model boating has
been around since the 1940s, but prior to about when this "Starting R/C Model Boating"
article appeared in the 1960 Annual issue of Air Trails magazine, the electronic
gear required for operation was primarily in the realm of those who were adept enough
at electronics to design and/or build their own equipment. Commercial rigs were
available on the open market, but they were expensive. Most craft built in the early
days of R/C model boating were scale models of leisure craft or of military ships.
High speed racing boats, although they could be found, came later as equipment got
smaller in size and weight. Unlike today where ready-to-run radio controlled boats
can be purchased for a relatively low price, in 1960 the boating enthusiast had
to build most of the running hardware himself using tubing, wire, and sheet metal.
Producing something like this electric motor powered cabin cruiser was a monumental
project that took a lot of time. Of course most people had more time and will to
devote to constructive hobbies before the era of 500 television channels to zombie
out on, or Internet access from computers or cellphones...
 Here is a unique concept called the "Gravity Plane" that theoretically can take
off, climb to altitude, cruise, descend, and land using only stored helium and built-in
air compressors. Conceived of by Robert D. Hunt of Hunt Aviation†, it purports to
be entirely self-powered, but in reality we know that conservation of energy requires
that 100% efficiency be realized in order for that to be so. Still, it is an interesting
idea. There are currently automated, unmanned submarines that employ a similar principle
for bobbing up and down through the oceans to collect research data. While there
are lots of technical hurdles to overcome, it is an approach to "clean" flight that
should be explored further, if for no other reason than to rule it out as a possibility.
Maybe this would make a good radio controlled modeling project for someone. I'd
do it, but just don't have the time. Come to think of it, there might be some stimulus
money out there for funding such a green concept...
 Flying model helicopter development understandably
took a lot longer than airplanes because of the complex aerodynamic and mechanical
issues that needed to be conquered for successful operation. A few direct drive
rotor systems appeared early on, with the engine mounted in the fuselage, but a
counter-torque force needed to be dealt with as the fuselage wanted to rotate in
the opposite direction as the rotors. Ken Norris' implementation as shown in this
1961 issue of American Modeler magazine, solved that problem by mounting
a pair of engines on a boom that was part of the rotor head assembly. Doing so meant
the only torque transferred to the fuselage was due to any friction between the
free-wheeling rotor shaft and the bearings, and due to accelerations during rotor
speed changes. The physical size...
 The Douglas DC−3 (C−47 was the military
version designation) has always been my favorite twin engined commercial airplane.
Its nickname of "Gooney Bird" amongst troops is undeserved IMHO. The DC−3 is credited
with launching the commercial airline industry, and its C−47 version was listed
by Dwight D. Eisenhower as being on the most important tools for winning World War II.
Edward F. Burton, Chief Engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company, runs through the evolution
of the DC−3 and it predecessors and descendants in this December 1945 issue of
Flying Age magazine. December of 1935 marked the maiden flight of the DC−2,
was was a direct follow-on the the DC−2. A single DC−4 (4 engines) was built and
delivered to Japan. Then a DC−5 was built (high-wing version of the DC−3) but never
went into production. The 4-engine DC−6 entered commercial service in 1946, followed
by the very popular DC−7. A coaxial, counter-rotating pusher prop model DC−8 (not
to be confused with the 4-engine commercial DC−8 jet) never made it off the drawing
board. The next iteration was the C−54, which...
 In 1955, Ford introduced the Thunderbird
convertible as its first true "modern" personal luxury car. It was not promoted
as a sports car, although its 2-seat configuration certainly provided the requisite
look. As with all new model years, the
1955 Ford Thunderbird
was introduced to the public in the fall of 1954, in time for the December edition
of Air Trails to publish a series of scale pencil drawings by Jefferies. The artist
much have had access to at least some level of factory drawings because of the detail
in the x-ray views; either that or he had an exceptional ability to visualize such
things based only on external observations. If you are a Thunderbird fan, then you
will appreciate these drawings...
 "Eviation’s sleek,
all-electric airplane demonstrator–dubbed Alice–reportedly completed a
low speed taxi testing program this month at Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO),
in Washington, north of Seattle, and is “gearing up” for its first flight “this
summer.” The FlightGlobal report, from the European Business Aviation Conference
and Exhibition (EBACE 2022) in Geneva, quotes interim CEO Gregory Davis, who said
low-speed ground testing finished on May 2, with Alice achieving a maximum speed
of 86 kts. High-speed taxi testing won’t be attempted until Alice has received an
experimental permit to fly, Davis told FlightGlobal Tuesday. In April, Eviation
told FLYING it was conducting a parallel process of ground testing and safety board
reviews. Based on the ground test results—Davis told FlightGlobal that Eviation
has slowed down its timeline..."
 Here is a list of
model airplane, helicopter, rocket, and boat
videos put together around 2008. As you might expect, by now many of the websites
and/or the original content are gone. Where possible, I located missing material
on the Archive.org website (the Wayback Machine). Links I couldn't find anywhere
have been deleted. Many of the videos are ones I created for the Airplanes and Rockets
website...
 This is
incredible, and the best is yet to come. "We're less than one week away from the
July 12, 2022, release of the first science-quality images from NASA's
James Webb Space Telescope, but how does the observatory find and lock onto
its targets? Webb's Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS), developed by the Canadian Space
Agency, was designed with this particular question in mind. Recently it captured
a view of stars and galaxies that provides a tantalizing glimpse at what the telescope's
science instruments will reveal in the coming weeks, months, and years. FGS has
always been capable of capturing imagery, but its primary purpose is to enable accurate
science measurements and imaging with precision pointing. When it does capture imagery,
it is typically not kept: given the limited communications bandwidth between L2
and Earth, Webb only sends data from up to two science instruments at a time. But
during the week-long stability test in May, it occurred to the team that they could
keep the imagery that was being captured because there was available data transfer
bandwidth. The engineering test image - produced during a thermal stability test
in mid-May..."
 As was the case with many magazines up through
about the 1970's, comics reflecting the theme of the publication was often found
within the pages of each issue. This 1960 edition of American Modeler magazine
is a good example. It contained no fewer than six
model
aviation themed comics, one related to a particular advertisement for the Fox
Glo−Master Battery and Plug, and five stand-alone comics. The Table of Contents
(TOC) page often had a "silent" comic with no dialog or caption. In fact the comic
that spanned both pages 42 and 43 is like typical TOC comic. The control line combat
scenario on page 49 reminds me of something you'd see on the old BattleBots show
(which I haven't seen in many years, but is evidently still running). Anyway, enjoy
them all!
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Academy of Model Aeronautics
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