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.
This particular page is from page of the February 1967 issue of
Model Airplane News magazine. The
Carl Goldberg 1/2A Skylane was my first for-real radio-controlled airplane. Actually, at the time I did not have the money for an R/C system, so the Skylane was built for free-flight. It never even flew in free-flight mode because instead I would just run the Cox .049 Baby Bee at low RPM and chase it up and down the street, increasing the RPM just a little each time until the Skylane would just get light on its wheels. The first time it ever got airborne was while being towed behind my bicycle. That didn't work out very well, because once it got up off the ground, it would start swinging back and forth and eventually strike a wing before I could ease it down.
Carl Goldberg models are now manufactured by Great Panes. All copyrights (if any) are hereby acknowledged.
Use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics'
inflation calculator to see what items cost in today's dollars. For instance, that $13.95 "Skylark 56" would be $90.50 in 2010 money - about right for that kit.

Webmaster:
Kirt Blattenberger, BSEE, UVM 1989