Academy of Model Aeronautics · National Model Aviation Museum
The people, clubs and companies that built model aviation, in their own words.
Search 1,062 biographies of modelers, designers and contest fliers, plus the histories of 62 clubs and 26 companies, preserved by the AMA History Project.
- Histories
- 1,150
- Pages
- 4,653
- Earliest birth
- 1850
People under C
1–24 of 71 entries ·
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1 page
Walter W. (Walt) Caddell
Biography
Walt served as a retailer for twenty-two years and the Executive Director of the Hobby Industry of America/Hobby Industry Association of America (HIA/HIAA) for seventeen years. He operated modeling shops in the Chicago area and ran the hobby shop at the Glenview Naval Air Station during Nats competitions. In 1945, Walt started a modeling club in…
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7 pages
James B. Jim & Robert J. (Bob) Cahill
Biography · AMA F7
Career: 1935: Bob invented the folding propeller and set a National Record for Senior Outdoor Cabin at the Saint Louis Nationals, which qualified him for the Moffett Team 1935/ 1939: Bob designed and built a convertible stick/cabin, which he and Jim had success with at Nationals 1936: Bob original member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA)…
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2 pages
Edward Daniel (Dan) Calkin
Biography
Edward Daniel Calkin – 2000 Edward Daniel Calkin, deceased, built his first successful model aircraft engine when he was only 17 years old. His first Elf engine was sold in July 1935. [Editor’s note: Edward Daniel generally went by the name “Dan”. - May 30, 2014] Subsequently, he devoted his life to the advancement of model aviation by pioneering…
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9 pages
Emil Caluory
1929–
Model Airplanes Have Been My Whole Life Model airplanes have been my whole life, especially when I discovered how prohibitively expensive full scale aviation would be from a paper route. Therefore, model airplanes became my happy substitute. In my youth, I made models of different types: Free Flight Contest Gases, medium to small A and B Classes…
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2 pages Autobiography
Sal Calvagna
Autobiography
Sal Calvagna I was born and raised in Long island, New York, the eldest of five brothers. I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1975 upon high school graduation and attended the School of Applied Cryptologic Sciences at Goodfellow Air Force Base, San Angelo, Texas. My first assignment was to Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska. It was during my time in…
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1 page
Don Cameron
Biography
Don Cameron Presently Vice President. Active builder and contestant. Building model planes for 33 years. Past year has been working conscientiously with other members of Executive Council revising present By-Laws so Academy will truly be “Of, By, and For the Model Builders.” Sponsor of the proposal that a new event similar to former PAA-Load Gas…
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1 page
Van Camp
1914–2009
Van Camp 1914-2009 Van S. Camp, beloved husband, father, and high-spirited patriarch, passed away August 9, 2009, at the age of 95. Van was a longtime member of the Barnstormers Radio Control Club near Portland, Oregon, where he spent many hours enjoying his love of flying, as well as creating a legacy of fond memories for all who had the…
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3 pages Autobiography
Lee Foster Campbell
1946–2025
Lee Foster Campbell’s Model Airplane Biography Born: July 2, 1946 in Rochester, Pennsylvania Parents: Robert Lyle and Mary Elizabeth Campbell Wife: Kenetta Rae Campbell (b. 1946) Sister: Lynne Campbell (b. 1948) Daughters: Ranay Baffy (b. 1967), Tara Grinspun (b. 1971), Allison Campbell (b.1978) Five grandchildren, one great-grandson Education…
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2 pages
Tonie Campbell
Biography
I Am the AMA Tonie Campbell, Three-time US Olympic track and field athlete, Olympic medalist JS: How did you get involved with model aviation? TC: I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and pilot, but my eyes went bad at the age of nine. My parents supported my dreams although they knew my eyesight would probably halt my pursuit of flying. Every…
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2 pages Autobiography
Sal Cannizzo
1928– · AMA 159
Career: As a young modeler was involved with the growth of the newly formed Richmond Model Flying Club of Staten Island, New York Put on U-Control model shows for his fellow serviceman in the mid-1940s Taught local Boy Scout troops about model aviation Won a place on the 1958 and 1963 Wakefield teams Set a national record during his first…
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7 pages
William M. (Bill) Cannon Jr.
1917–2008 · AMA 505291
Career: First to develop and market a micro four-channel proportional Radio Controlled system with a total airborne weight of less than four ounces By 1995, he reduced the airborne weight to less than three ounces 1995: Cannon Radio Control Systems was the sole true remaining manufacturer of Radio Control equipment in the U.S. He has been an…
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1 page
Mark Cantarella
Biography
Mark Cantarella of West Chester, Pennsylvania, received $2,000 for his freshman studies in Economics and Political Science at George Washington University in Washington, DC. An avid Radio Control sport flier, Mark participates in many fun flys. He also uses his Telemaster 66 to give flight demonstrations and lessons to scout and community groups.…
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4 pages
Carl V. Carlson
1912–2009 · AMA 74890
Career: Set a record in class E gas at the 1934 Nationals (Nats) competing in the senior division Joined the Illinois Model Aero Club in 1923 Started designing his large bi-plane model, the Big Crate, in 1930 or 1931; flew it as the only gas model at the 1931 Nats In 1932 worked with Gilbert Nelson to develop a small, lightweight model airplane…
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2 pages
Richard D. Carlton
Biography
Richard D. Carlton of Grass Valley, CA, received $2,000 to assist in his education at the University of California at Davis. A freshman enrolled in the aeronautical engineering program, he plans to become a fighter pilot in the military after graduation. His college activities include membership in the Army ROTC program and the Aggie marching…
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2 pages
C.E. Carmichael
Biography
Career: Organized one large model airplane club combing all of the clubs in Saint Louis, Missouri; convinced his company to sponsor the club which was called the Stix, Bear and Fuller club Organized the 1935 Nationals Worked to get grand prizes for winners of the meets he organized The following biography on C.E. Carmichael came from “The History…
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4 pages Autobiography
Richard W. Carson
1925– · AMA 174
Honors: 1979: AMA Fellows Career: 1938: Joined the AMA # 174 Contest Director of many (AAA) meets Radio Control Flight Judge Associate Vice President for 8 years Taught Contest Management to future contest directors 1969: Instrumental in formation of first AMA Hall of Fame Hobby Industry: Radio Control Equipment Repair Station, since 1971 I joined…
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2 pages
Harold (Hal) Carstens
1925–2009
Harold Carstens: 1925-2009 Modeling enthusiast, author, and publisher Harold “Hal” Carstens passed away June 23, 2009. He was a lifelong resident of New Jersey. As president and former publisher of Carstens Publications, Inc., the firm publishes three internationally distributed monthly magazines: Railroad Model Craftsman, Flying Models, and…
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2 pages
Phil Cartier
Biography
During my association with Phil Cartier, I find him to be a person of outstanding quality. We are both active members of the Harrisburg Aeromodeling Society, an AMA chartered club, and I have been friends with Phil and his family for close to forty years. Among his numerous outstanding attributes are his keen interested and enthusiasm to…
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3 pages
Jim Casale
Biography
Career: Competed for 15 years in precision aerobatics Won four Walker Cups Member of the World Championship Precision Aerobatics Team in 1984; placed fourth individually Member of four U.S. World Teams Won two first places in the U.S. FAI Team Trials Won two fourth places in World Championships competition Designed and was successful competing…
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3 pages
Rob Caso
Biography
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TREE LINE: Rachelle Haughn interviews Rob Caso If this is not your first issue of Park Pilot, chances are that you’ve read Rob Caso’s name. His “Scale” column dives into a side of modeling that new pilots might not have explored: building. He fell in love with scale models as a boy and has been building them ever since. Rob…
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2 pages
Norm Cassella
Biography
Remembering Norm Cassella Each time I compete, I’m taken back to those days in the Poconos practicing, flying, and joking with my buddy, Norm Cassella. Norm passed away this past year at age 86 and I will forever remember him fondly and remember some of the best times of my life flying and building RC aircraft. Norm was a founding member of IMAC…
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3 pages Autobiography
William (Bill) Bernard Cavanaugh
1924–2013
Bill Cavanaugh wrote the following article on July 24, 2004. Modeling Biography By Bill Cavanaugh, AMA 5315 I consider myself a genuine “Old Timer” in the hobby, having been born in 1924 and having begun my modeling life in my early teens, during the Great Depression. I got interested in indoor rubber-powered stick and tissue flying through the…
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10 pages
Sir George Cayley
1773–1857
Sir George Cayley’s Work in Aeronautics Early Pioneer Originated Airplane Flight Theory and Anticipated Metal-Hull Airship Among the world’s great aeronautical pioneers, Sir George Cayley holds a place the importance of which is not generally realized, if it is not totally overlooked by the contemporary flying world. His principal claim to lasting…
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5 pages
William Henry (Bill) Chaffee
1912–1994
Bill Chaffee was 11 when he took his first flight on May 30, 1924, and a photograph of the smile on his face in that cockpit forecasts the rest of his life. Born in Rochester, Vermont in1912, he moved with his widowed mother Emilie and older brother John to Detroit in 1918. In 1927, at the age of 15, he won the world’s indoor model airplane flight…