158
JOHN BRODBECK SR., often known as
“Mr. B,” passed away at his home in Lake
Havasu City, Arizona. The “B” in K&B
Manufacturing, John was inducted into the
Model Aviation Hall of Fame in 1977 and
the North American Model Boat
Association (NAMBA) International Hall of
Fame in 1982.
John began aeromodeling in 1936, using
a Brown Junior engine. Unhappy with the
performance of the engine, he made some
modifications to it, as did many early
modelers. He thought of making his own
engine, but World War II began and he went
to work at California Machining, eventually
working his way up to general manager.
John met Lud Kading, the “K” in K&B,
during a car trade and eventually the two
began flying models together. Lud was
John’s first choice to run the tool shop at
California Machining and both worked
there for the duration of the war.
John still dreamed of building his own
engine, and as World War II was winding
down, they decided to start their own
business, doing whatever machining work
came their way.
K&B Manufacturing built cannon yokes
for Lockheed and made precision-machined
parts for a government project—12 hollow
balls, two inches in diameter, of the purest
aluminum available. The balls had
extremely close tolerances and no other
company had been able to reproduce them.
After the war they were informed that
the precision-machined parts were the cores
of the Manhattan Project.
John and Lud saved and finally had
enough working capital to begin making
their engines. K&B based the .29 engine on
the old Torpedo design.
An old friend, Bill Atwood, purchased
the rights to the old Torpedo and Bullet
engines but was no longer interested in
producing them. John purchased the name
and some old inventory from Bill.
“It’s had a lot of ups and downs,” John
once told John Worth, former AMA
president and executive director, in an
interview, “but I was thrifty and we always
had working capital.”
In 1946, they built their first engine—the
Torpedo—that hit the hobby shops the
following year. They began experimenting
with a tiny .10 engine but had little luck.
They doubled the displacement to .20, but
the existing glow plugs were still too large
for the size of the cylinder.
John came up with the idea for his
“capsule plug” which was a one-piece
combustion chamber and plug, and they got
it to work. There were no kits or propellers
available for an engine that small, so they
had to design their own. John and Lud
developed a 4.75-inch bent-aluminum
propeller and manufactured it themselves to
maintain the secrecy of the project.
They decided to make a run of 10,000
Infant Torpedo engines and announced the
product after they had produced the first
3,500. One week later, they had orders for
280,000 engines!
John and Lud spent the next year trying
to meet the demand for the small engine.
Roughly 400,000 were produced in all.
K&B introduced .035 and .049 engines
that became more popular than the .20. John
and Lud were fortunate to be involved in the
industry during a period of growth and
innovation, and they had the skills and
talent to take advantage of it.
Lud Kading left the company but John
never removed the “K” from K&B. The
two remained lifelong friends. John ran the
company himself before finally turning the
leadership over to his son, John Brodbeck
Jr.
K&B was eventually sold but the
engines continued to be sold under the
K&B name, making the company the
longest continuous manufacturer of model
engines in the United States. K&B Model
Products Inc. continues to be one of the
premier American model engine
manufacturers.
John credited the success of K&B to
keeping up with technology. The company
was in the forefront of CNC innovations,
enabling it to turn out engines faster while
still maintaining the quality.
“The industry’s been good to me,” he
told John Worth. “If I had it to do over
again, I’d do the same thing.”
John is survived by a daughter and sonin-
law.
AMA News
Academy of Model Aeronautics 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
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See page 184
Nominations Due for
Model Aviation Hall of Fame
Established in 1969, the Model Aviation Hall of Fame honors those men
and women who have made significant contributions to the hobby/sport of
model aviation. The list of members is long and distinguished, and there are
others not yet in the Hall who are worthy of induction.
Anyone can submit a Hall of Fame nomination. Consider nominating a
person who has had a positive impact on some facet of aeromodeling.
For a nomination form, call or write Michael Smith at AMA Headquarters
or see the AMA Web page at www.modelaircraft.org. Deadline for
nominations is March 31, 2005.
John Brodbeck Sr.
September 14, 1913-November 2, 2004
General Membership
Meeting
AMA’s annual General Membership
Meeting will be at the 2005 Joe Nall
Fly-In. The event will be held at the
Triple Tree Aerodrome in South
Carolina May 14-16.
Watch for further information on the
Joe Nall Web site: www.joenall.com or
AMA’s Web site: www.modelaircraft.org.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/02
Page Numbers: 158