Does anyone remember the Bambergers Aero
Club?
Not so much a Down Neck story but the experiences of a Down Neck
youngster.
Bamberger s Department Store sponsored an Aero Club in the early
thirties. Meetings were held on one of the upper floors of the store.
Dues were very minimal, so that a number of youths could join.
Model airplane contests were held, both static and flying types.
We all brought ours hoping to win some sort of prize. Miniature
examples were judged on accurate representation of the real plane.
Also color schemes and markings had to be exact.
Flying models were also exhibited, these were powered by rubber
bands. You held the model in you hand and cranked backwards, this
tightened up the rubber bands creating tension on them. When ready
it was launched shoulder height across the room, flying perhaps
twenty to thirty feet before running out of elastic band power.
Remember this was before miniature internal combustion engines
hade been developed.
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