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 N
1–21 of 21 entries ·
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5 pages
Addie Mae & Tony Jr. Naccarato
Biography · AMA 11093
Career: In 1944, Addie Mae and Tony, Sr. began working together full time on inventing products for model airplanes Addie Mae and Tony, Sr. made the first four-way wrenches Addie Mae hand-carved propellers for herself and her husband The entire family helped teach Control Line flying at Griffith Park in Los Angeles In 1951 Addie Mae and Tony, Sr.…
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2 pages
Ryan Naccarato
Biography
Although a full-time student, Ryan found the time to maintain a few jobs. He worked at his father’s hobby shop, T & A Hobby Lobby. He also spent summers at a 9-5 job working at a manufacturing company in Los Angeles as a CAD operator. Ryan plans to attend the University of California at Davis. He intends to double major in chemistry and…
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2 pages
Frank Nekimken
Biography
Became involved in modeling contests in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Came in sixth place at the 1937 Detroit Nats in the Outdoor Stick event, Stick Models, open class with a time of 1 minute 53 seconds. Came in seventh place at the 1937 Detroit Nats in the Balfour Contest/Outdoor Stick Model Contest, Open Age Class - over 21, with a time of 3…
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5 pages Autobiography
Bruce G. Nelson
1941–2016 · AMA L6005
Career: His club hosted the first U.S. Scalemasters in the Pacific Northwest in 1981 and he was the contest director; for the next two years he was the contest manager and then the contest director again; his wife, Marie, did all of the organization work – without her help, it could not have happened Proxy flew at the 1982 U.S. Scalemasters and…
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4 pages Autobiography
Charles (Charlie) Thornton Nelson
1941–2025 · AMA 95972
Charlie Nelson - an Autobiography It all started in 1953, when I was 12. I’m told I had a life-threatening illness for a couple of weeks. We lived in a small rural Massachusetts town. There was a town nurse, and the family doctor for many folks was in the next town. He often visited our home in his big old Buick. To keep me busy, my mother got me…
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5 pages Autobiography
Frank Nelson
1924– · AMA 562475
Career: Started the first modeling club in Washington, D.C., the Capitol Model Aeroneers Serves as secretary of the Silent Knights Soaring Society A Bit of Modeling History By Frank E. Nelson This chronicle covers a brief period, 1936 to 1942, prior to World War II, during which I came of age as a teenaged modeler and helped form the first model…
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4 pages Autobiography
Gerald (Jerry) Nelson
1937– · AMA 2025
11/2016), Reformatted by JS (11/2009) Career: Produced first ready to fly Radio Control model commercially Developed first fully acrobatic all aluminum Radio Control aircraft, the 100 inch wingspan AL-1 Member of 1963 AMA FAI Radio Control Acrobatic team Member of 1965 AMA FAI Radio Control Acrobatic team Charter member of the League of Silent…
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1 page
Robert Nelson
Biography
I attended the last Nats held in Chicago just before the war. That did it, seeing those early Radio Control efforts; I was hooked. After serving in the Air Force, it became my ambition to fly an RC model. The requirement of a Ham license was a big obstacle, but code practice in the early mornings produced the required 16 wpm. My first attempt with…
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12 pages
William (Bill) F. Netzeband
1927–2010
Career: 1934: Started model airplane building the day after his seventh birthday 1951: Became an official card-carrying Contest Director (number 749) 1948 - 1949, 1954 - 1955 and 1957: Entered and flew in the Nationals (Nats) Ran and judged meets in Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, New York and California over 21 years Got involved with many club…
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1 page
Jerry Neuberger
Biography
The following was published in the January 2011 issue of Model Aviation magazine. Jerry was inducted into the 2010 Model Aviation Hall of Fame. Jerry Neuberger became a lifetime modeler at the age of 10. He joined the Navy at age 17, with his mother’s permission. Jerry’s first sea duty was aboard the USS Enterprise where he had plenty of room for…
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2 pages
Martin Newell
Biography
I Am the AMA Martin Newell, Micro-scale model designer Jay Smith: How did you get involved with model aviation? Martin Newell: I have two answers because I got involved twice. When I was a kid in the United Kingdom, my older brother built a stick-and-tissue plane and I copied him. Although he moved on, my interest in model planes grew to include…
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4 pages
James (Jim) Newman
Biography
James “Jim” Newman Jim Newman, an author, illustrator and cartoonist, was born in the United Kingdom and first became interested in aviation at the age of seven during World War II. He enjoyed visiting the local airport and watching the aviation military operations. “1941 … and this seven-year-old was standing on a high point overlooking the River…
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5 pages
Russell (Russ) W. Nichols
Biography
Career: Worked at the AMA from 1942 to 1963; much of that time was spent as AMA executive director AMA Leader Member Served as chairman of AMA’s education committee Served as president of the Washington, D.C. Association of Model Airplane Clubs Conducted radio programs on model aviation Part of his AMA duties including serving as editor of the…
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4 pages
Frank Noll
Biography
I Am the AMA Frank Noll, Industry Professional Jay Smith: How did you get involved with model aviation? Frank Noll: My father was into aeromodeling since he was a child, building gliders and rubber band-powered models. He later went on to work for the civil service, building wind tunnel models for the Air Force. By watching him as a child, I was…
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6 pages
Robert C. (Bob) Noll
1937–2024 · AMA 12325
Biography of Bob Noll Leader Member, AMA 12325 The Beginning I became interested in Radio Control aircraft while in high school in 1953. Two men who worked at the local hobby shop in Allentown, PA fueled my interest. A few trips to the flying site in Fogelsville, PA and I was hooked. I had built many solid models from wood kits for several years…
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9 pages
William (Bill) Edward Noonan
1923–2007
Biography of William Edward Noonan April 3, 1923 – December 11, 2007 Member of San Diego FAC Scale Staffel AMA Number: 96195 Submitted by John McAvoy (6/2018) Ruth Buchanan Sachs and the city of St Louis, Missouri welcomed William Dwight Shepherd into the world on April 3rd, in the spring of 19231. On that day the St. Louis area had light rain and…
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2 pages Autobiography
Dennis Norman
Autobiography
Dennis Norman Hi, I am Model Aviation’s “Free Flight Scale” columnist. I have been privileged to hold this position since 2002. My love affair with model airplanes began in 1946 at the age of 4 when my father, a returning World War II veteran in the U.S. Navy, designed and built a small FF model. I have been continuously involved with model…
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5 pages
William (Bill) Northrop
1922–2012 · AMA 1804
Charles Reich submitted the following biography, by Bill Northrop, in March of 2007. An Autobiography of Bill Northrop My first contact with “Old Timer” models was when they were “New Timers!” At age 14, I built and flew a Henry Struck diamond-fuselage rubber-powered endurance model, published full-size on several pages in the July 1936 issue of…
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2 pages
Daniel Novak
Biography
Daniel Novak of Iowa City, Iowa, is the recipient of a $4,000 Charles Hampson Grant scholarship. Daniel has been involved in modeling since he was eight years old, beginning with Whitewings gliders. When he was in elementary school, his grandfather taught him how to build rubberpowered Free Flight models. “I was amazed that something ‘old…
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2 pages
Robert E. (Bob) Novak
1939–
Bob came out to California in the mid-1960s after working for crystal manufacturer named CTS Corporation back east. Bob was a hobbyist and had been involved in doing some crystal oscillator design consultations for several Radio Control manufactures, which ultimately landed him a job at Micro Avionics with Doug Spreng and Don Mathes of Digicon…
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1 page
Matthew R. Nuffort
Biography
Matthew R. Nuffort from Lititz, Pennsylvania has received $2,500 towards his higher education. His choice of university has not been made at this time, but his goal is to achieve a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He will be at Warwick high School in his hometown until graduation in June 1994. Matthew has served on the Student Council for three…