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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1297.PDF
JULY 4TH, 1946 FLIGHT MODELS IN BRITAIN Model Aeronautical Engineers are to be found in the early nineteen-hundreds when flying was a vast adventure and- the Wright Brothers, Bleriot, Latham, Farman, A. V. Roe and others were pioneering human flight. At this period the old Kite and Model Aeroplane Association was founded. The war of 1914-18 brought the Association's activities to a standstill but a small group of its pre-war members living in the London area was enthusiastic enough to revive the -London Aeromodellers Association. They built it into a body which became sufficiently well established to take over the old K. and M.A.A. and virtually to become its legal successor, renaming itself the Society of Model Aeronautical Engineers and embracing the whole country in its scope. The spirit of the old Kite and Model Aero- plane Association, whose activities were regularly detaile'd in Flight up to the outbreak of the 1914 war, is perpetuated to-day in an annual contest for the K. and M.A.A. Cup, devoted to the development of biplane models. Premier Trophy The K. and M.A.A. Cup is only one of thirty trophies which the S.M.A.E. offers yearly; including th-ee inter- national trophies, one of which, the Wakefield Cup, has become the premier international model aircraft trophy of the world. Presented by the late Viscount Wakefield in -4927, this trophy has been won by Great Britain five times, America five times, and France once. It is at present held by America by virtue of a fine 43-minute flight by Dick Korda at New Jersey in 1939. The S.M.A.E. has been delegated by the Royal Aero Club to control all national and international contests in Great Britain and to ratify official model aircraft records. It has also been authorized by the Royal Aero Club to issue F.A.I. Model Aircraft Competitors' licences, which are essential if world records are to be claimed, and F.A.I. The enthusiasm ofthe true model maker is only equalled byhis enterprise. An ex- perimental tail-firstglider is displayed. Mr. A. F. Houlberg's Flying Minutes, a beautifully designedand constructed model worthy of the S.M.A.E. badge it bears. Model Aircraft Certificates, granted for an observed flight of at least three minutes with a rubber-driven model or one of at least five minutes' duration with a model glider. Amongst its international achievements, the Society won the first contest for the fine trophy presented for inter- national competition by King Peter of Jugoslavia in 1938. On this occasion the team sent by the S.M.A.E. to repre- sent Great Britain almost swept the board, Bob Copland making.a world record flight of 33 min 7 sec. The membership of the Society consists mainly of affili- ated clubs, of which there are some 130 at the moment, though this number is increasing rapidly month by month as fresh clubs are formed and old clubs resurrected. For those out of reach of a local club. Country Membership is offered at a guinea a year. » Affiliated clubs are grouped into '' Areas'' with their own administrative councils and officers organizing flying meetings and contests. A younger body which has got well into its stride within two years is the Association of British Aeromodellers, which advises on all modelling problems and watches legislation. The association maintains a unique reference library cover- ing all aspects of aeromodelling. The illustrious name of Dr. H. Roxbee Cox is connected with the Low Speed Aerodynamics Research Association which studies problems peculiar to low-speed flight. 'The Director of Research is Mr. N. K. Walker. Backed by such helpful and enterprising bodies, the aero- modeller has only to find himself a suitable flying site. The big clubs have their own venues in suitable country, and there is a " Model Sportdrome " at Eaton Bray. Air- craft manufacturers—in particular Handley-Page, Hawker and Fairey—generously loan their airfields for special events. Only last week-end the Hawker airfield at Langley was the scene of the Northern Heights Model Flying Club Gala, a short account of which appears below. Members of 80 Clubs attended this highly successful meeting which attracted over 900 entries in eight varied items. Speciali-ts in every branch of aeromodelling had the opportunity to win useful prizes. The current rubber shortage did not. seem to trouble the many competitors who entered designs for the open duration rubber con- test, won by D. Lees, of Bradford, with a flight of just over eight minutes. The smaller number of petrol-engined types attracted much interest among the spectators, who had to scatter on more than one occasion when models dived into the centre of a crowd. Perhaps the most keenly contested event was the Flight Cup, awarded for the longest duration by a glider. Despite unfavourable gliding weather there were over 270 entries for this contest, which was won by P. Brown, of St. Albans, with 32i.4sec. During the lunch interval Hawkers provided full-size entertainment display by the Tempest II and Sea Fury.
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