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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Kulczyk’s Ducted Fan Motors
Wallace A. “Mike” Kulczyk enjoyed the challenges of building and flying scale model jets. In the mid-to-late 1960s the biggest challenge involved was simulating the jet engine with ducted fan systems. Before these systems were commercially available many modelers, including Mike, pioneered “fans in a can.” Ducted fan systems placed […]
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Coming Soon: Artifact Photos That Spin
The National Model Aviation Museum has recently acquired a new piece of equipment that allows us to take high-resolution 360 degree spherical photographs of objects. With the rig, we have the ability to not only take spherical 360 photographs of an object, but also hemi-spherical (180 degrees), single angle 360 […]
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Chaffee’s 1930 Boeing P-12B
Bill Chaffee spent 500 hours building his static scale P-12B. All his hard work shows, as the incorporated details are amazing! (And, Bill won 1st place in the contest, earning him a silver trophy, $200.00, and a trip to Europe.) Visit the museum before Labor Day 2016 to see this […]
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How do Control Line Speed models go so fast?
Just as there are certain components that help a model airplane to fly, there are certain other designs that help it to fly fast. Everything on the outside of a Control Line model is designed to reduce drag: smaller size, smaller tails, no vertical stabilizer, engine casing, smooth fuselage, etc. […]
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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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The Nut Family of FF Scale Models
Its not quite finished, but the museum’s Peanut Scale exhibit is coming along – check it out! While generally referred to as the “Peanut Scale” exhibit, the exhibit also features other related classes of Free Flight that are small, scale, and rubber-powered. The centerpiece of the exhibit are the models […]
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NMPRA’s 50th Anniversary & A Common Question
Happy 50th Anniversary National Miniature Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA)! Founded in 1965 to help deepen and develop the country’s interest in RC Pylon Racing, for the last 50 years, NMPRA has been an active part in developing pylon racing competition around the world. In honor of this anniversary, museum staff […]
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The adventure begins for the RC SCA and Space Shuttle test models
Last year, the museum announced that the 1/40-scale RC Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and Space Shuttle test models were going on loan to Space Center Houston to be exhibited in one of the original Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. There have been a few delays in the project, but we’re pleased […]
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New Addition: Control Line T-Bolt model
Sam Niebel was the first person to win 1st in Senior Precision Aerobatics flying an electric-powered model. Sam continued flying his model, the T-Bolt, in competition, winning 3rd place in 2011. Now in 2015, Sam has retired the T-Bolt and donated it to the museum’s permanent collection. Thank you Sam […]
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