Old Timers: Model Sailplanes (I Quaderni di Modellismo) Paperback – December 28, 2023

Since the birth of aeromodeling in the late 1800s, sailplanes have been one of the most important and successful categories. From chuck gliders up to the big italian "3 and 50s", the aeromodellers all over the world have been busy designing sailplanes of all kinds: from original and experimental designs to semi-scale models of the most successful gliders. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the Italians particularly distinguished themselves by the elegance and often also the complexity of their sailplanes. Also very prolific were the Czechoslovaks, British, Germans, Dutch, and French. The sailplane made it possible to free oneself from the motor (whether rubber or internal combustion engine) and to "fly with the air" at a very moderate cost and with respectable performance. This volume brings together the history and characteristics of more than 130 sailplanes from various countries and, in the case of the most important and prolific designers, also extensive historical and biographical notes. Full-size drawings of most of the models presented can be downloaded free online from a dedicated folder that also contains three italian manuals of the 40’s in pdf. Read more