The Second Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes

In Short

This 1911 practical manual guides young readers through the rapidly advancing craft of constructing and flying model aircraft. Through step-by-step instructions, the text covers essential tools, materials, propeller carving, structural framing, and geared rubber-strand motors. Beyond simple workshop techniques, it surveys competitive meets, international design trends, atmospheric challenges like heat pockets, and official tournament rules. The volume endures as a vivid historical snapshot capturing the early twentieth-century intersection of youth culture, DIY craftsmanship, and the dawn of modern aviation history.

The Story

The work opens by establishing how radically model aviation has evolved within a single year, transforming from a simple pastime into an exact, highly competitive scientific pursuit. Early chapters transport the reader straight into the bustling environment of indoor flight tournaments held in spacious city armories. Young builders gather under the glare of hundreds of critical eyes as official flight announcements are made. The narrative tracks these models as they take off without human assistance, ascend under the whir of twin propellers, achieve equilibrium aloft, and cover vast distances across the floor while judges run behind dragging measuring tapes.

From the excitement of the arena, the focus shifts directly into the workshop. Detailed guidance outlines the ideal tools for the craft, favoring a sturdy penknife, fine gimlet drills, gig saws, and nippers. The text systematically examines building materials, exploring light woods alongside lightweight metals like aluminum, magnalium, and steel bicycle spokes or umbrella ribs. Step-by-step processes detail how to carve efficient one-piece propellers from pine blocks, bend wire wing frames, stretch fabric covers, and construct shock-absorbing bamboo landing gear.

As the technical scope expands, the progression tackles complex mechanical problems. Special attention is given to the design of rubber-strand motors and the integration of gear wheels. By dividing motor strands across multiple geared shafts, builders eliminate motor vibration, reduce noise, and double the available power without sacrificing turn capacity. The text connects these micro-engineering challenges directly to full-scale aviation, analyzing how small flexible wing tips, sliding ailerons, and elevators maintain automatic stability in midair without a human pilot at the controls.

The final phase broadens to encompass atmospheric science and formal competition. The narrative details how invisible air pockets, urban skyscrapers, and subtle temperature shifts alter air density, threatening to destabilize sensitive models during flight. It highlights famous American boy designers, compares lightweight English hand-launched designs against sturdier American ground-rising models, and presents a dedicated question-and-answer section addressing historical origins and flight physics. The volume closes with official YMCA tournament rules and a comprehensive glossary of aeronautical terminology, fully equipping the reader to participate in the growing movement of early aviation.

How It Unfolds

The arena atmosphere Armory floors fill with spectators and young experts watching models launch under their own power. The aircraft ascend swiftly, gain equilibrium aloft, and cross hundreds of feet to spontaneous cheers from the crowd before official measurers rush out with measuring tapes.

Equipping the workshop Practical building advice centers on acquiring a few accessible tools, prioritizing a sharp penknife, nippers, and delicate needle drills. Readers learn to source resilient, lightweight woods alongside specialized metals like magnalium and steel umbrella ribs.

Carving and mechanics Detailed steps explain how to block out pine wood to carve smooth, concave propeller blades less than an eighth of an inch thick. Builders mount these on smooth-spinning bicycle spoke axles fitted with metal washers, rubber-tubing hooks, and geared motor frames.

Navigating the air The narrative explores the physics of flight, demonstrating how flexible wing tips, horizontal elevators, and vertical rudders grant automatic stability. It outlines atmospheric hazards like sudden hot air currents and turbulent urban air pockets created by tall buildings.

Competitive standards The final sections outline official YMCA tournament regulations, requiring self-propelled ground starts and exact distance measurements. A complete aeronautical glossary defines core concepts from skin friction and pitch to dihedral angles and structural spars.

The People

The American Boy Designers A collective group of ambitious young inventors—including referenced figures like Cecil Peoli, Percy Pierce, and Edward Durrant—who seek to advance the science of aviation through model building. Driven by a desire for technical perfection, they face the challenge of designing heavy, stable models capable of rising from the ground unassisted. They emerge as recognized innovators who give their names to standard aircraft designs.

The English Model Builders International rivals who focus on creating ultra-light, hand-launched "one-ouncers" optimized for extreme flight distances. They aim to achieve maximum distance, constrained by designs that lack automatic stability and cannot rise from the ground under their own power. Their efforts produce long-distance record holders that spark a global debate over design philosophy.

The Tournament Judges and Measurers Official referees, such as those from the West Side YMCA, who enforce competition rules and maintain scientific rigors. Seeking fair play and precise measurement, they contend with overcrowded armories and eager spectators swarming the floor. They end up as the ultimate arbiters who validate breakthroughs in flight distance.

In Its Own Voice

"A swift volplane to earth, which would smash any ordinary wooden frame to 'smithereens,' would have little effect on a model plane."

This observation highlights the practical durability and structural advantages of building model aeroplane wings out of flexible wire frames.

"The aeroplanes are no longer launched from the hand or even pushed along the ground."

This passage captures the rapid technological leap in model competitions, where machines were newly required to take off entirely under their own power.

"The unerring flight of birds is, of course, the model for the builders of heavier-than-air machines."

This reflection frames human aviation as an ongoing attempt to analyze and mechanically reproduce natural principles of flight and balance.

What It's Really About

Beneath its instructional guides and workshop diagrams, the work serves as an argument for hands-on empirical experimentation as the primary engine of technological progress. It champions the idea that young amateur builders contribute meaningfully to solving the great engineering mysteries of full-scale human flight. By encouraging readers to test theories through trial and error—adjusting propeller pitch, motor gearing, and wing curvature—it highlights how practical problem-solving demystifies complex scientific concepts. The text celebrates democratic innovation, showing how modest tools and affordable materials allow anyone to participate in shaping the modern industrial era.

Why Read It Today

This text will deeply appeal to aviation enthusiasts, historians of technology, modern makers, and readers fascinated by early twentieth-century youth culture. Reading it feels like stepping directly into a bright, optimistic 1911 workshop filled with the scent of pine shavings, wood glue, and motor oil. The prose is clean, direct, and thoroughly engaging, conveying genuine enthusiasm without relying on artificial exaggeration.

Readers should be prepared for period-specific technical limitations and historical contexts. Because it was written in 1911, the aviation concepts reflect the absolute cutting edge of its time, meaning modern developments like radio control, electronics, or plastic materials are entirely absent. Instead, the focus rests on pure mechanical ingenuity using rubber strands, clock gears, and hand-carved wood. What stays with you is the infectious spirit of curiosity and determination—the image of young builders filling giant armories, watching their handmade creations rise into the air on the threshold of a new age.