There were toggle switches for each control surface, and servo operation was all or nothing. In the late 1950s, RC flying became more attainable with the development of the reed radio. The Cirrus lifts off for the first time in 57 years. These were the pioneering days of RC Pattern, and a promising, but undetermined, future lay ahead. In 1963, many important advances in RC were just around the corner. We’ll need to mentally put the present and all of its technological advances aside, then use our combined imaginations to transport ourselves to early 1963, a year before the Beatles came to the US. Let’s go back and explore a brief period of early RC Pattern history. Those of us who fly RC should have some knowledge of RC history-knowing how we got from where we were to where we are now. As the days and weeks pass, euphoria and satisfaction lead to wondering, "Where do I go from here?" Your sleek, winning Perigee design (now in AMA’s National Model Aviation Museum), will be kitted by a top manufacturer, and the construction article that was written for American Modeler magazine will soon be out. You are on top of the RC Aerobatics (Pattern) world. It’s the summer of 1962, and after a dramatic flyoff with Britain’s Harry Brooks, you’ve been declared the second FAI World Champion, with the first having been the US’s Ed Kazmirski two years earlier ("Kaz," Model Aviation, August 2010). The colored ribbon designated the frequency and was also a handy wind direction guide. 1962 World Champion Tom Brett displays his (original wing) state-of-theart Cirrus and firstedition Quadruplex proportional radio before its initial flight.
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