REMEMBERING SANDY FRANK
DR. H. SANFORD “SANDY” Frank, Ph.D., a longtime model aviation enthusiast, educator, and honored AMA leader, has passed away.
A dedicated modeler, Sandy once said that he could never remember a time when he wasn’t interested in flight. Born to Murray Frank, an aircraft repair technician and AMA Fellow who served as AMA District VII vice president from 1970 to 1978, Sandy grew up surrounded by aviation. He joined AMA in 1957, beginning a membership that would span nearly seven decades.
Sandy was the founding president of the Weatherford Aero Modeling Society (now known as the Western Area Modeling Society) in Weatherford, Texas, and originated the club’s biannual swap meet and auction, an event that continues to bring modelers together. He served as the contest coordinator for AMA District VIII throughout the 1970s and later as the associate vice president, eventually becoming the district’s vice president in 1998—a position he held with distinction for more than 25 years. He was also a Life Member, Leader Member, contest director, Museum Patron, and Charter Builder Member for AMA.
A passionate competitor and volunteer, Sandy attended his first Nats in 1960. Although he once donated more than 200 trophies to local clubs for recycling, he never lost sight of the joy of flying purely for fun. “If you’ve experienced it,” he wrote, “you know what it is—if you haven’t, I can’t tell you in words the experience and joy that aeromodeling has given me throughout my life.”
To those who knew him, Sandy will be remembered as a tireless advocate for aeromodeling, a generous mentor, and a man whose enthusiasm for the hobby never waned. He described his passion for model aviation as a lifelong case of “Hobby Pox”—a joyful affliction he gladly shared with anyone willing to pick up a transmitter or glue stick.
SOURCES:
AMA History Project Presents:
Biography of Dr. H. Sanford (Sandy) Frank, Ph.D.
modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/
FrankDrHSanfordSandyPhD.pdf
START THE NEW YEAR BY APPLYING FOR SCHOLARSHIPS AND AMA FOUNDATION GRANTS!
By Clarissa Poston, AMA Foundation Chief Communications Officer | clarissap@modelaircraft.org
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a wonderful 2025. In the midst of the year’s closing holidays and celebrations, it’s understandable that submitting applications might have traveled to the back of your mind; however, deadlines are soon approaching, and what better way to start off 2026 than applying to receive bountiful funding for furthering education or growing our hobby?
Flying Site Improvement Grants
Applications for Flying Site Improvement Grants will close on February 1 at 11:59 p.m. EST. These grants are a fantastic opportunity to secure funding for your club, whether you’re in need of reimbursement for an improvement project that was completed within the last 12 months, a new runway, assistance purchasing a new piece of land, purchasing grass seed ... almost any site improvement that you can think of! Apply today—your club could be awarded up to $3,000!
For questions regarding Flying Site Improvement Grants, please contact AMA Foundation Deputy Director Rachelle Haughn at rachelleh@modelaircraft.org.
Scholarships
Applications for all scholarships will close on February 2 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Whether you are pursuing higher education or you know someone who is, we encourage you to explore our various scholarship offerings and see which one you might be eligible for. Maximum funding for awarded individuals is typically close to $15,000—apply today and help your education take off!
For any questions regarding scholarships, please contact AMA Education Development Coordinator Gwen Mathis at gwenm@modelaircraft.org.
Learn More and Apply Today!
To obtain more information about available scholarships and grant opportunities, access applications, and apply, visit our new online platform at modelaircraft.grantplatform.com.
SOURCES:
AMA Foundation Grants and Scholarships Platform
modelaircraft.grantplatform.com
History Preserved
MAGAZINES RECEIVED FOR LIBRARY
By Jackie Shalberg, National Model Aviation Museum Archivist and Historian | jackies@modelaircraft.org
IN THE JULY 2025 “History Preserved” column, I made a callout for certain issues of R/C Report that we needed for the library.
Thanks to a donation from James Daniel “Dan” Arnold [LIB2025.07], we can cross one of these issues off our wish list!
It is possible that this particular issue has been elusive to us because it has a typo. Printed on the cover is “August 2006;” however, “August 2007” is printed throughout the magazine’s inner pages. We were lucky that Dan was aware of the typo and could provide us with the issue we needed.
He also donated three other publications that we did not have yet in the library—the May and July 2005 issues of Backyard Flyer, and a supplement to that magazine, Backyard Flyer Flight Basics—more that we could cross off of our wish list. Thanks, Dan!
More Magazines Needed
Since that callout was so successful, we have another request for two more publications. The first has been on our wish list for quite a while, and the second was just added.
The Model Aeroplane Constructor: We have the first issue of this magazine, which was published in May 1936 across the pond in England. Starting in that year, the cover page boasted the publication as “The Premier Journal in Model Aeronautics in England,” or “... in U.K.,” or “... in Great Britain.” The description varies on the issues that we own.
Most of the early issues we have are 32 pages long, with content including construction articles with model plans, tips and tricks for building models, contest stories, modeling club news stories, and Society of Model Aeronautical Engineers (S.M.A.E.) information.
That first May 1936 issue includes a list of past Wakefield trophy winners from 1928 to 1935, an article on building Wakefield trophy-winning models,
model-building tip excerpts from Model Aircraft Supplies Ltd.’s Green Book, construction articles with plans for a paper glider and Scale Percival Vega Gull, and much more.
Pictured with this article are several issues received in memory of Dr. Dee B. “Doc” Matthews (LIB2014.14), as well as an issue received from Robert Klipp (LIB2010.19). As of writing this, we have 22 total copies of this publication, representing 18 separate issues.
Issues we still need (if indeed published) include the following:
- 1936: June, November, December
- 1937: January, March, April, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
- 1938: March, April, May, June, August, September, October, November, December
- 1939 and 1940: All issues are needed
- 1941: January, February, March, April, May, June
We do have some of the 1937 and 1938 issues listed above, but they are missing their covers. Our callout list ends mid-1941 because our records indicate that The Model Aeroplane Constructor was incorporated into Aeromodeller magazine in July 1941.
Model Aircraft Builder: This magazine was published by National Scientific Publications, Inc. of New York. Irwin S. Polk, an AMA Fellow and Model Aviation Hall of Fame inductee, was on the editorial staff of this magazine. (You can read Irwin’s biography in the AMA History Project by following the link listed in “Sources.”) We have the first four issues of Model Aircraft Builder magazine that were published—including some incomplete duplicates—dated April, May/June, July, and August 1936, but that is all. If you have any issues published after August 1936, we would like to hear from you.
A lot of good content is packed into a little less than 50 pages. In the premier April 1936 issue, there are several construction articles with plans, including a flying Vultee V-11, a solid Scale model of a Curtiss-Wright Sparrow, a world record-winning tractor model, and a National Aeronautic Association record-winning glider.
Prolific writer Frank Zaic, author of the Zaic Yearbooks, is noted as writing two of these articles “with associates.” Also included are tips for aspiring Indoor Free Flight contestants, recent model industry developments, plenty of ads by modeling companies such as Polk’s, Cleveland, and Comet, and Lawrence Shaw’s article, “News of Junior Birdmen Activities.”
Shaw’s article includes a surprising tidbit about the Junior Birdmen of America’s extensive restrictions on pages 21-22, under the section “Outlaws Gas Models:”
“The Junior Birdmen does not recognize flying scale models, nor will it permit any of its leaders to conduct the following types of competition: speed contest, altitude, distance or events in which other than rubber power is used. It especially outlaws gasoline model contests.”
Curiously, the price of the magazine printed on the cover of the first two issues—April and May/June—is just 10¢, but the price of the next issue—July 1936—jumps 50% to 15¢, and then another big jump to 20¢ for the August 1936 issue. Notably, all of these issues are the same length of 48 pages. Even today, that seems like quite a rapid inflation rate!
Do you have any of these magazines that we are missing? Please reach out to us at museumarchives@modelaircraft.org or (765) 287-1256, ext. 511, to start a donation.
Do you want to know what else is on our wish list? We keep a running list on our website at modelaircraft.org/museum/donate/museum-wish-list. It includes model aircraft, engines, radio equipment, books, and more. For magazines, scroll to the “Magazines” section on that page and click on the link. We can mail a paper copy of our wish list upon request.
Are there topics that you would like us to delve into more in the “History Preserved” column? Contact us and let us know. Your idea could be featured in an upcoming issue.
SOURCES:
Model Aircraft Builder
April 1936, Vol. 1, No. 1, National Scientific Publications, Inc., including “News of Junior Birdmen Activities” by Lawrence Shaw, pp. 20-22, 36, 43
The Model Aeroplane Constructor
May 1936, Vol. 1, No. 1
AMA History Project Presents
Biography of Irwin S. Polk
modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/files/PolkIrwinS.pdf
