Vintage R/C: The history of radio control from the beginning to the end of the 60s (I Quaderni di Modellismo) Paperback – February 8, 2026

Among the main categories of model aircraft (free flight, U-control and R/C), radio control is the most complicated and technologically advanced. However, the latter has not always been the case. The early days were difficult and challenging, both because R/C flying required considerable financial resources and because knowledge of radio technology was essential. Until the mid-1950s it was not possible to walk into a model shop and buy a radio control system. You had to build it yourself after having collected all the components (which were sometimes very difficult to find) and then you also had to know how to tune and operate it. In the 1960s, the situation began to change rapidly and with the new proportional control the number of manufacturers of these radios, which continued to be expensive and sometimes unreliable, multiplied. At the same time engine manufacturers started to develop increasingly sophisticated carburetors, the control possibilities of the models went from one to three axes, and R/C flying finally took off, giving free rein to the imagination and creativity of model designers who were finally freed from the constraints of the configurations derived from free flight. Only the sky was the limit. This book recalls the exciting adventure of the early years of R/C through a wealth of photos, drawings, and testimonials from those who experienced those events firsthand. Read more