Aircraft modeling has undergone significant changes over the decades - both in technology and preferences. Magazines like American Aircraft Modeler, and American Modeler before that, were the best venues for capturing snapshots of the status quo of the day.

I have been scanning and posting excerpts from my collection of AAM and AM, concentrating on model building articles and old advertisements. Whether you are here to wax nostalgic, or are just interested in learning history, hopefully you will find what you are seeking. As time permits, I will be glad to scan articles for you. All copyrights (if any) are hereby acknowledged.

For as much as I desperately wanted a radio control system when I was a kid, I never bought an R/C system until I was around 15 years old, when a used 3-channel OS digital proportional system became available from a man that lived a couple blocks away. Even the "cheap" $100 rudder-only escapement models were out of reach on my paltry income from a paper route. So, it wasn't until a couple years ago, at age 50, that I finally purchased an escapement from someone on eBay, just to see one up close. Some of the airplane kits I had, like the Carl Goldberg 1/2A Skylane, showed an escapement installation on the plans, with the rubber band engine and a rather large receiver constructed of discrete transistors and large tuning coils.

While looking through the July 1957 issue of American Modeler, I happened across an advertisement for the very escapement that I now own. There are no markings on the device - not a manufacturer name or model number. It turns out the escapement is "The Single," from Bonner Specialties. It is a self-neutralizing 4-arm escapement which provides stronger action to operate throttle, other auxiliary controls. Weight: 0.6 ounces. Price: $5.95.

I built a mock-up of an escapement installation for controlling the rudder in a single-channel radio controlled airplane, and then made a video to show how it works (see below photos).

You can use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator to see that $5.95 is $46.23 in year 2010 dollars.

Here is an article from the January 1955 edition of Popular Electronics titled," 3 and 4 Finger R/C Escapements."

Here is a video showing how the Bonner escapement operates