Peter Jenkins Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I was amazed to read this article on the Mail on-line on Aeromodelling in the 50s. There is a passing reference to the BMFA https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6678867/amp/Model-airplane-fans-work-1951-day-nostalgic-photos.html. Edited By Peter Jenkins on 08/02/2019 00:33:23 Edited By Peter Jenkins on 08/02/2019 00:35:02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SONNY MONKS Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Models asside,people looked so natural looking back then,the majority of women now,look so fake,too obsessed on vanity,id of thought the people of today,would of looked rather alien,back then,just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Lovely pics, thanks Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokenenglish Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 No Percy, the "passing reference" to the BMFA is valid. It's a comment stating that the sport remains popular in 2019, with strong BMFA membership. At the beginning, there's also mention of the K&MAA, which preceded the SMAE. Shame there's no actual mention of the SMAE though. The Mail on line article is an excellent illustration of why I didn't post earlier. Almost all the posts above judge aeromodelling enjoyment simply based on the trade offer, i.e. what is commercially available... How sad. Edited By brokenenglish on 08/02/2019 07:26:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu knowles Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I'm pretty sure that the SMAE is still alive and kicking and that it simply changed its trading name to BMFA. Slightly less of a mouthful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Great pictures. The same can't unfortunately be said for the captions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 Posted by Percy Verance on 08/02/2019 06:49:15: Surely that would be the SMAE Peter? The BMFA didn't exist in the 50's. Unless of course the reference is to the organisation in today's context....... I still have my SMAE lapel badge. Former SMAE members have BMFA membership numbers beginning with zero........ Edited By Percy Verance on 08/02/2019 06:58:05 Hi Percy, I was referring to the final line in the Mail on line's report which referred to the BMFA. Clearly in today's environment that is the correct reference although as Stu Knowles points out the SMAE is still the official name of the body which trades as the BMFA. As regards former SMAE members having a 0 at the front of their number, I'm not aware that was how it worked but rather when the number of members who join exceeded 100,000 the extra 0 was added, probably for data validation? I might be wrong! Edited By Peter Jenkins on 08/02/2019 09:05:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 Oh, I meant to add that the standard of dress on the flying field was considerably higher than you find today! But that reflects society in 1951 I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Very Nostalgic. Wonderful photographs but cringe worthy journalistic captions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Posted by Piers Bowlan on 08/02/2019 09:06:35: Very Nostalgic. Wonderful photographs but cringe worthy journalistic captions. That was my thought too, very interesting pictures, but dreadful captions, but then it was from the Daily Mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Posted by SONNY MONKS on 08/02/2019 03:54:16: Models asside,people looked so natural looking back then,the majority of women now,look so fake,too obsessed on vanity,id of thought the people of today,would of looked rather alien,back then,just saying. If you think that young women in the 1950s were any different from those now you obviously weren't around then. It was just that they mobbed Johnny (Cry) Ray rather than, I don't now, a Youtube 'star' today. And they were just as fashion conscious - I remember (just) the 'new look' of the late 1940s and the 'scandalous' mini skirts of the late 1950s (which I remember very well. My wife admits to shortening a skirt she used for skating to wear for normal use) Thanks for the link. I could have been one those kids in shorts and braces. It rather looks like the photos were of a competition with a weight limit because of the scales. It certainly wasn't just a club flying day. Certainly dress standards were different then. I always wore a tie (even when competing in motor cycle trials) but never wear one now. The standards were just different though - not better nor worse. Geoff. Edited By Geoff Sleath on 08/02/2019 11:34:52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SONNY MONKS Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Hi Geoff,So did the ladies of the 50s have tattoos,body piercing,pumped up lips,breast implants,whitened teeth,and any other body alterations,i dont think so,thats what i was meaning really,women and society has changed a great deal,although i wasnt around then,i have the information from grandparents,back to the hobby now,i was told there were far more clubs too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokenenglish Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 It rather looks like the photos were of a competition with a weight limit because of the scales. It certainly wasn't just a club flying day. Edited By Geoff Sleath on 08/02/2019 11:34:52 Geoff, it was probably a big rally, at which certain specific contests were run. That was the usual procedure at the time. The scales are because the major FF competitions at the time (Wakefield and A2 glider) both had (and still have!) a minimum weight requirement. I recognise 2 or 3 people on the photos, and there's a photo of a Bob Copland Wake climbing. Edited By brokenenglish on 08/02/2019 11:57:37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I enjoyed reading the article linked in OP , especially the choice of words , were they the original words from the article ?. Very reminiscent of the old Newsreel commentary . Did anyone go to the "Boys and Girls Exhibition " at Olympia in london? They had control line flying in a fenced off ring with diesel engines ! Imagine that now and the H&S police . Our LMS Russ' on Battersea Rise in SW London ( anyone remember them ?) was a hive of actiivity at weekends back in the 1960's and was packed with modelers . The atmosphere with thick with smoke from pipes and cigs mixed with the fumes from the model diesel engines which were being tested in the workshop at the back . I do still enjoy that smell . I spent hours looking at the engines in the window that my pocket money couldn't stretch to. I came back into the hobby in the late 80s and what a change . Radio that was affordable , worked reliably ,heat shrink covering, cyano adhesive etc . Nostalgia is a thing of the past but good to look back and see how lucky we are now . Edited By Engine Doctor on 08/02/2019 12:22:31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Carpenter Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Yes i remember Russ's in Battersea !!! Started boating on Clapham Common late 60's and we would get an old chap with an A40 to run us down there to get Graupner red props . It was a different world then ! A lot of the old chaps would turn up to run ic in sports jacket and tie ! I also remember families turning up at the pondside with picnic baskets and staying all Sunday afternoon watching us idiot's !!!😁 Ah !! Nostalgia !! Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Hi Colin .Was the old chap called Les ? a dapper little guy always wore a cap . He would always be there with a large transistor radio . There was also an old boy who came over from Brixton on the bus usually with a large model boat usually in a suit and wearing a cap. Once i bought a motor bike in 1964 I didn't go there as often . Spent some great weekends there and used my first radio set , a Tri-ang carrier wave Tx with a home made Rx in a boat . The RX plan was in the RCM&E Great days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SONNY MONKS Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 The gentlemen were very smart back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Carpenter Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Blimey ! E D ! That's the first time I've heard Les''s name in nearly 50 years ! Yep ! He's the man ! Never boated but always there on Saturday and Sunday ! I think I can recall the other gent too but not a name ! I used to take my boats from Denmark Hill on the train ! Nobody blinked an eye in those days ! Formed Clapham MBC before I left for Somerset in 74 ! Great days ! Put the Swordsman in the pond edge on Saturday! Go home and repair ! Back for Sunday ! Simples !!!😎 Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Posted by Engine Doctor on 08/02/2019 12:02:48: Did anyone go to the "Boys and Girls Exhibition " at Olympia in london? They had control line flying in a fenced off ring with diesel engines ! Imagine that now and the H&S police . Was that the same as the Daily (Mail, Express?) Schoolboys' Exhibition? I have hazy memories of going to one as a young boy (in the early sixties) with my dad and clambering around the cockpit of a Vulcan bomber. I don't recall any mention (or presence - which at the time seemed to be a good thing!) of girls or any exhibits catering to their alien tastes... I was a bit miffed that I was too young (or my dad wouldn't allow me) to have a go on the parachute training descender that was set up. We came home with some newly developed orangey brown sticky gunge that was supposed to be blown up into a balloon - seemed revolutionary at the time but on reflection, totally useless! Edited By Martin Harris on 08/02/2019 14:18:28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Posted by Martin Harris on 08/02/2019 14:17:07 Was that the same as the Daily (Mail, Express?) Schoolboys' Exhibition? That could have been the title . Time plays funny tricks Colin the other gent was called John " the postman" . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I note that these photos are worth looking at because of the skill of the photographer - he caught the vital moment or an unobtrusive candid shot which perfectly captures the atmosphere. No auto focus then and all done on film too expensive to waste. Pure skill. Far better than so many of todays photos which look like 'mugshots' and are only slightly better than the awful 'selfies' people take. ( selfie sticks should be classed as carrying an offensive weapon! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SONNY MONKS Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Yes i agree kc,its too much of a vanity obsessed culture now,they even filter photos out now so they look perfect,did they do that in the 50s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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