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 T
1–24 of 39 entries ·
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7 pages Autobiography
Cliff Tacie
Autobiography
The Model Aviation Story of Cliff Tacie AMA 44607, NASA 419 I have always been fascinated with flight and loved airplanes, as evidenced by a photo of 5-yearold “Bud” standing on the front steps of our house in March of 1951, proudly holding a balsa wood glider in my hand. I think that’s when it all started. As a youth, I was lucky to have grown up…
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22 pages
R. Sal Taibi
1920–2012 · AMA 3255
Career: In September 1938, he designed the Powerhouse In April 1939, set a national record with a Bay Ridge Diamond Demon with an Ohlsson .23 Met Joe Raspante in 1937; in 1939, designed a 12-foot Radio Control model for him In 1940, the Powerhouse model won contests and the plans were published in Model Airplane News Designed the Brooklyn Dodger…
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1 page
Robert Takacs
Biography
Robert Takacs, Torrington, Connecticut, is at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. He has always enjoyed aviation, and got started with Radio Control in 1981. His club is the Balsa Bandits where he has served as safety officer, newsletter editor, and secretary. He also worked on the successful acquisition of a new club flying site. As…
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2 pages
George L. Tallent
1923– · AMA 11977
Career: 1937-1940: Competed with rubber-powered models during high school 1939: Placed second at the El Paso, Texas, contest Worked for Consolidated Aircraft Company in Roswell, New Mexico, as a tool and die maker for a little while 1943: Drafted and assigned to the Navy Construction Battalion Worked around the world as a machinist; in 1961, was…
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2 pages
Sid Tanabe
Biography
I Am the AMA Sid Tanabe, Model Builder Jay Smith: How did you get involved with model aviation? Sid Tanabe: When I was a young boy living in Troutdale, Oregon, there were two young Japanese-American men who were building and flying model aircraft. One was Roy Morihiro, who had an aeronautical engineering degree from the University of Washington.…
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2 pages
Dr. James Tang
Biography
Plastic Surgeon Flies the Tiny Skies The U.S. Air Force’s loss is plastic surgery’s gain. Eyesight that didn’t pass muster for fighterpilot training was good enough (with corrective lenses) to allow James Tang, MD, of Houston, Texas, to excel in plastic surgery. As for jetting off into the wild blue yonder, he takes flights of fancy with RC…
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7 pages
Richard G. Tanis
1926– · AMA 627
Career: For 37 years he helped organize and run model airplane clubs in many of the schools in his area He has a record of over 30 years of loyal and dedicated service to his fellow club members He was reporter and printer of the clubs newsletter, the Printed Circuit He turned a dump and a swamp into flying fields for all area Radio Control flyers…
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1 page
Jeffrey Tate
Biography
Jeffrey Tate, of Nashua, New Hampshire, is attending Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts where he plans a major in Pharmacy. Jeffrey has been awarded $4,000. His high school career was very successful, and he was named to the National Honor Society for three consecutive years. A keen student, he was in the Math Club, the Foreign…
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1 page
John M. Tatone
1924–1996
John Tatone has provided innovative products to modelers for almost 40 years. He has been a successful contest flier for more than 50 years. Well known through his company, Tatone Products, and today through the J’Tec Company, John has a legacy of many firsts. Trained as a jeweler, John developed great skills that complemented his model making. As…
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3 pages
Shaun (Nytfury) Taylor
Biography
Rachelle Haughn interviews Shaun “Nytfury” Taylor Since winning the inaugural MultiGP Championship in December 2015, AMA member Shaun “Nytfury” Taylor has gone from being a new, unknown racer to one of the top pilots in the growing world of FPV racing. In 2016, he again took first place at the MultiGP Drone Racing Championship (multigp.com), held…
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1 page Autobiography
Bliss Teague
1931–2014
District IV Bliss Teague Hickory, North Carolina I became an AMA member for the second time in the mid-60s. The first time was in the mid-40s. In 1978 I became a Contest Director and have handled more than 50 contests since. I attained Leader Member-status in 1989 and was appointed AVP for Western North Carolina in 1998. Then I was responsible for…
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2 pages
Clifford (Cliff) Telford
1933–2005
Career: 1953-1958: U.S. Air Force 1960s: Served in the U.S. Navy Pilot for Eastern Airlines Devised 1960s numbering system for Contest Board rules proposals FAI Executive Committee Control Line member and FAI Control Line Team Selection Committee member (1963-1964) 1964-1966: Chair of Control Line Contest Board 1966-1970: AMA District IV Vice…
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2 pages
Ralph (Bud) Tenny
1931–2005 · AMA 16718
Ralph “Bud” Tenny 1931-2005 Indoor FF lost one of its giants when Ralph “Bud” Tenny died peacefully in his home on October 7, 2005. Bud was a master craftsman, designer, writer, and tireless supporter of Indoor FF. He leaves behind Jody, his wife of 42 years, two children, one grandchild, and one greatgranddaughter. Bud was born in Kansas City…
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1 page
Robert Teseo
Biography
Robert Teseo of New York, New York was awarded $2,000 to assist in his education. He is a freshman studying physics and education at Queens College in New York. Robert began flying models six years ago and, in the past two years, has become interested in Radio Control Sailplanes. He has done well in numerous local and regional Sailplane…
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6 pages
Nikola Tesla
1856–1943
TESLA – The Father of RC On September 2, 1897, the Chief U.S. Examiner of Patents visited the laboratory of Nikola Tesla in New York. This visit was prompted by his belief that this inventor’s latest patent application went far beyond the realm of possibility in his claim of a practical wireless control system for vessels and vehicles from a great…
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3 pages
Col. Robert E. Thacker, Ret.
1918–2021 · AMA 68197
Career: Began modeling at age eight, influenced by a next door neighbor Made money in grade school building balsa gliders 1930: Competed in Junior Birdman of America competition 1975 and 1976: Flew in National Scale Glider Championships Placed in Gas Scale and Glider in national competition Experimented with early solar-powered air vehicles for…
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11 pages Autobiography
Bruce Tharpe
Autobiography
Signs indicate that I’ve been a designer all of my life. One of my earliest memories involves a roll of butcher paper and a fresh box of crayons. My mom told me to draw anything, so I drew an airplane, of course. But it wasn’t the usual type of plane that kids draw with one wing sticking straight down and the other sticking straight up. No, my…
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1 page
Gerald Thomas
Biography
Gerald Thomas, member of the Contest Board, District XI, is serving his first term in this office. He is single and lives at 503 East Wright Ave, Tacoma 4, Washington. He has been modeling since 1940 and presently specializes in Free Flight Gas, Wakefield and Control Line Speed types. He has an active interest in the Tacoma Aeromodelers Club in…
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3 pages
Henry A. Thomas
1914–2002 · AMA 2004
Information submitted by HAT (3/2003); Transcribed & Edited by SS (3/2003), Updated by JS (10/2008), Reformatted by JS (12/2009) Career: Produced model designs for Testor Chemical Company Covered the AMA Nationals for Air Trails magazine Contributed to modeling magazines for more than 20 years Air Trails magazine ran his monthly “Sketchbook”…
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1 page
Harvey A. Thomasian
Biography
Career: District I Radio Control Contest Board The following biography was in the October 1964 issue of Model Aviation magazine, in the section about those running for AMA’s presidential and vice presidential seats, titled “About the Nominees.” Harvey ran as a candidate for the District I Radio Control Contest Board position and was elected in…
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2 pages
Todd Scott Thomasson
Biography
Todd Scott Thomasson of Danville, Virginia, was awarded a $1,200 Sig Scholarship. A graduate of Tunstall High School in Dry Fork, Virginia, Todd is enrolled at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and plans to study aviation or turf management and landscape design. Todd was a member of the Future Farmers of America, the Parliamentary Procedures team…
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6 pages Autobiography
Bryant Thompson
1929– · AMA L26
Career: Served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years Competed in at least 15 Nationals (Nats) starting in 1948; never took a first place, but did place Flew the first four-engine and later the first six-engine U-Control models at the Nats Runner-up for high points champion at the 1963 Nats Member of the “National Team Champions” team for four years…
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6 pages Autobiography
David (Dave) A. Thornburg
1942– · AMA 11713
Career: June 1973: Became an AMA Contest Director 1978-1982: wrote 48 consecutive columns for Model Builder magazine 1990: Published Old Buzzard’s Soaring Book; second edition published in 1993 1992: Published Do You Speak Model Airplane? – An informal history of aeromodeling in the U.S. 1995: Wrote/acted 45-minute video based on Buzzard book In…
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1 page
Elizabeth Throne
Biography
Elizabeth Throne plans a major in Marketing and/or Advertising at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She attended high school in Syracuse (NY) and comes from a family that is model aviation oriented. In 1983 and 1985, she was a worker at the Chicopee Nats. She has been a regular helper at the annual symposium run by the Central New York…