HISTORY OF RC PLANES
The very first model aircraft found was unearthed during an Egyptian excavation in 1898. While excavating the Saqqara burial grounds, historians found a model aircraft that is dated back to around 200 BC. It’s really hard to imagine that people back then were thinking about air travel, but this model airplane measures 6 inches long and has wings and what is considered today to be the fuselage of a plane. The Egyptians are already assumed to be one of the most advanced ancient civilizations in history, and this model airplane confirms they were engineers beyond the pyramids and ancient sculptures.
Archytas II was an ancient Greek philosopher, statesman, strategist, mathematician, and astronomer. The last two skills he had — mathematician and astronomer — that most likely “propelled” his craving for flight and that made him build his first model aircraft. Archytas built “the pigeon,” as he named it, which is recorded to have actually flown approximately 200 meters, or about 219 yards. Archytas’ model airplane was aerodynamically in the shape of a bird and was fueled by steam power.
Leonardo da Vinci was more than a painter and sculptor. Da Vinci was also an established scientist, mathematician, engineer, and inventor. Da Vinci dreamed of air flight, too, and often made notes of those visions into notebooks. Da Vinci designed one of the earliest blueprints of what we today call a helicopter. It was called the “Aerial Screw,” engineer’s today marvel at how much this da Vinci incarnation looks like a modern-day helicopter.
The flight finally came into full view with Orville and Wilbur Wright. This first flight fueled the passion for model aircrafts many have today. Once the Wright brothers took flight, many dreamed of doing the same thing in their backyard — only on a smaller scale. Children put together model aircrafts in droves, flying them and imagining they were flying the craft themselves and fulfilling there dream to fly. The military of the United States had used models of the Wright brothers’ success to engineer aircrafts required in battles. Model aircrafts were also used in war movies recreating the legend of the Red Baron and the Black Thunder.
As discussed above, military engineers discovered the benefits of using model aircrafts when initially designing aircraft for battle was a tedious task. As the United States fought in both World Wars, the need for reconnaissance and air bombers increased. Engineers used models to design advancements to aircraft that included larger planes with multiple propellers and increased speed with a greater payload. The Stealth was born from a model. But you never saw it! Models of the new military aircrafts hit toy and hobby stores and were snatched up by airplane enthusiasts looking to “build” the next great military aircraft.
As air flight became a common form of travel in the United States, commercial airliners used model aircrafts as a marketing tool. Many major airliners gave toy model aircrafts of their jets to children who flew the carriers. This was a classic play on a very well-known marketing strategy: Get the kids to want something and the parents will buy it. Kids wanted those model airplane toys of which they were playing with all these while, so parents flew those carriers.
As countries entered into the space program, models of space craft’s became the next popular craft piece. Who didn't want to add the PSLV rocket ships and space shuttles to their model airplane collection? Models of space stations have also been built and sci-fi enthusiasts have an unlimited selection of models of their favorite spaceships from their favorite science fiction series like Star Trek and Star Wars. Whether assumed or actual, space craft’s took airplane modeling to the very next level.
No model airplane collection is complete without a remote-controlled aircraft. This new way of building model aircrafts allows users to fly the craft more realistically than just tossing it into the air and hoping the wings catch some drag. Remote-controlled model aircrafts come in all shapes and sizes and are even flown in competitions.
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