By Rachelle Haughn, rachelleh@modelaircraft.org If you visit the National Model Aviation Museum in Muncie, Indiana, this summer, you might notice something dramatically different about one exhibit area. The first change that you could see is the absence of the theater. In 2021, AMA employees demolished the theater area. In the […]
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1894 Twin-Pusher added to National Model Aviation Museum Collection
Between 1910 and 1930, the most popular type of flying model airplanes were twin-pusher A-Frame and T-Frame racers, so named because of the shape of their fuselage or motor sticks. The question is, what was the genesis of that design? Thomas Moy presented a twin-pusher to the Aeronautical Society of […]
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New Addition: Surveryor’s Wheel
Besides model airplanes, the museum also collects artifacts that help tell the modeling story. One such artifact, a surveyor’s measuring wheel, arrived at the museum on 10/20/2017. Watch museum staff open the box and see the surveyor’s wheel for the first time on the museum’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/modelaircraftmuseum. Why a […]
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1939 Inverted CL Flight
Roy Mayes is believed to be the first person to fly a Control Line model inverted. Mayes’ 1939 flight was with a Free Flight model converted to Control Line by the addition of a bell crank and elevator. In 2011, Ron Wittman built a reproduction of Mayes’ model airplane for […]
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Carl Goldberg’s Prototype Zipper
Free Flight was forever changed after the introduction of Carl Goldberg’s Zipper model at the 1938 Nats. The model, with its raised pylon, undercambered airfoil and polyhedral wing is unmistakable and iconic. Want to know why the Zipper is so famous? Watch this Fly-By! The Zipper in the museum’s collection […]
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Winning 1930 Boeing P-12B
The talk of the 1930 Airplane Model Contest is on exhibit in the museum from now until Labor Day 2016. The Boeing P-12B had just begun operations for the United States Military in 1930. That same year that William Chaffee built a scale version for the Airplane Model League of […]
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Step-by-Step: Building a 1931 National Heath Parasol
Late summer 2015: After extensive research into the history of Peanut Scale models, museum volunteer Tom Hallman builds a 12″ Heath Parasol FF model airplane for the museum. Built from National Model Aircraft & Supply Co. plans, the Heath Parasol kit was one of the first produced as part of […]
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5 Fun 1940s Solid Model Kit Ads
During World War II many modelers were only able to build static solid models. There were several companies selling these kits and the ads for them varied widely – presented here are five staff favorites. 1) A Deluxe GIANT SIZE Solid! 2) Build “Eagle” Solids! 3) Every Day is Navy […]
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5 Fun 1930s-1940s Solid Model Kits
“Solids,” or non-flying, carved scale models developed during the 1930s and came into their own during World War II. Here’s 5 solid kits, all dating from 1935-1946, in the museum’s collection. 1) Megow Glen Martin Clipper, 1935 2) Megow Curtiss Helldiver, 1942 3) Burkard Grumman F4F Wildcat, c. 1942-1945 4) […]
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Cover Blast: Model Aviation covers, pt. 8
The last of a week-long blast sharing some of the best Model Aviation covers from the 1930s – 1960s. Want to see all the best of the Model Aviation covers? Cover Blast, pt. 1 Cover Blast, pt. 2 Cover Blast, pt. 3 Cover Blast, pt. 4 Cover Blast, […]
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