Penaud Planophores
Little known and little remembered today, this early French pioneer of flying models opened doors to both modeling and full-size aviation. His story still makes fascinating reading today. THE STORY of Charles Alphonse Penaud (pronounced pay-know), an early pioneer of model airplanes, deserves to be better known. In fact this 19th-century Frenchman may have been the most influential modeler of all time. Born in 1850 in Paris, Penaud expected to carry on the family tradition of career maritime service. However, complications from a severe hip injury rendered him physically unfit for naval service. Obliged to walk with crutches from a young age, he was plagued by discomfort for most of his short life. Mild and modest by nature, Penaud was also something of a wunderkind and as inquisitive as Leonardo da Vinci. His interests included bird flight, balloons, ballistics, mathematics, meteorology, high-speed photography, hydrodynamics, rocketry, aerodynamics, and much more. Unlike many theoreticians, Alphonse had the ability to reduce complex, abstract ideas to simple terms and demonstrate them with practical hardware.
Model Aviation Books: Chapter 3
IT ALL STARTED innocently enough back in August of 1977 with a letter from Model Aviation's then-Editor Bill Winter. It said, in part: "Dear Bill, Would you be interested in tackling a bibliography of model books for delivery by January 1 at the latest?" Having been a model aircraft bookworm for most of my life, this seemed to be a dream assignment! Of course the specified deadline was fairly close, which meant I would have to put aside a few other projects, but the job was eagerly accepted.
Model Books
WHEN THE editor offered me this assignment, back in August of 1977, it sounded like a fascinating and straightforward project. Having long been interested in model aircraft publications, I anticipated no special problems in composing an article on the subject. However, when actual research began, it quickly became apparent that a monumental task had been undertaken! We enlisted the aid of John J. Brown, collector of model books, who supplied us with an extensive list of publications, compiled over a period of many years. To this we added other titles which were encountered during the course of the project. Next, we contacted as many publishers as we could locate who were known to have model aircraft titles among their offerings. Most cooperated helpfully, and enabled us to catch up on the currently in-print books.
Model Books
ALTHOUGH some books stayed on the market for years, sometimes with revisions and updating, many more appeared only briefly, then disappeared. Often these were products of small publishers who lacked finances (or knowledge) for proper promotion and distribution. Some were simply labor-of-love projects which never made a profit for their authors or publishers. Lacking widespread publicity or sales, many vanished over the years. Even those printed in large quantities were discarded, especially during World War II, tossed out by thoughtless parents, who wrongly assumed their servicemen sons would have "outgrown" the hobby by the time of their return home.
Project That Three-view
WHETHER your specialty is Peanuts, control-liners, Jumbos, or "Monster" RC models, you will eventually be faced with the problem of enlarging 3-view drawings or plans. Traditional methods have included the use of grid-lines, proportional dividers, pantographs, and photostats. All are workable, but each has disadvantages. The "grid" system involves drawing squares on the original small plan and proportionately larger ones on the proposed enlargement. By numbering the grid lines, one can transfer the relative locations of the shapes to the desired size. Unfortunately, this system relies heavily upon "eyeball measuring," which is not always so precise.
