A Flying Life

[Will]

A Flying Life
Riding, Richard
Fonthill Media 2013
ISBN 978-1-78155-087-8

I found this marvellous brand new book in our local library today.  The author is a well known aviation writer whose father died when he was eight.  His mother kept his dad's photo collection for her son as he shared his father's interest in aircraft.  Recently he received a log of his father's photos, meticulously recording the information for each picture and this together with letters and interviews with his father's old friends led to this book.

E.J.Riding was an aviation enthusiast, photographer, modeller and professional.  This book is a collection of hundreds of his photographs of mostly civil aircraft before WW2, together with the story of his plane-spotting, modelling, designing and building their own aeroplane and then working in the industry up to the outbreak of war.  Later he was part of the Eaton Bray - Aeromodeller - Harleyford puplishing set, drawing all the planes in Vol 7 of Aircraft of the Fighting Powers.  Sadly he was killed in a 1950 light plane crash with another solid model plan draughtsman and aviation artist, Stanley Orton Bradshaw (The Aircraft Modeller's Guide, Vol.3 1936).

The photos are all well composed and show many of the unusual types in use in the '30s.  The captions are very informative and it all reads very well.  It may not be too late for a christmas present, the book is available through Amazon (and others no doubt).

Regards
Will

[Balsabasher]

I can add to this interesting story,Eddie Riding produced some beautiful scale built up rib for rib model aircraft that were described in detail in the early Aeromodeller's,two fine subjects were the Avro Cadet and the de Havilland Leopard Moth,each wing rib was built up just like the full sized aeroplane with riblets and cross baces in compression,the models were large in fact as big as contemporary flying models of that era but were never intended or made to fly,they were unique.

Eddie Riding was years ahead of his time in that he and a few others realised the importance of recording photographically the aeroplanes that then graced the British civil aircraft register,to this end he travelled in what are now vintage cars such as Austin 7's all over the United Kingdom visiting aerodromes taking scores of black and white photographs which today have become a treasure trove of aviation days gone.

The tragic crash that took his life was in an Auster aeroplane whilst taking off from Boston aerodrome in Lincolnshire,UK the subsequent findings revealed that the aircraft had taken off with an aft centre of gravity due to a person sitting in the rear jump seat,this seat was normally for a lightweight person but the aft weight must have been exceeded as the aircraft reared up and stalled,after this Auster's were well placarded or those seats removed.

I am intrigued to read about this new book and his life story,one more thing the mention of Eaton Bray,this was a model-drome set up after WW2 and was home amongst others to DAGRA a company who produced exceptional detailed solid models employing some notable names such as the late J.D.Mc Hard,the fate of Eaton Bray was short as apparently full planning permission had not been undertaken before it was established and set up,people would travel hundreds of miles on bicycles or by train with rubber powered flying models in large boxes called 'Coffin's' cars were far and few between in those far flung days,the Aeromodeller magazine were forced to close the model airfield with huge losses as a lot of infrastructure had been established there,today it is a farm airstrip but I often wonder if the present owners fully know of its history ? there has never been anything like it since except a place called Goosedale in Nottingham now sadly also closed,you could go there and camp and fly your models over the weekend or keep them in a resident model museum with a fantastic social element to it,I once entered a model air race there with my big  8 foot span Miles Hawk Speed Six battling it out around the pylons,the winner got a big steak that evening and the last person got a tiny steak ! I think I came fourth in that air race,what happy memories !

Barry.

[cliff strachan]

Will and Barry. Thank you very much for the very informative history of early days of flying and model  building in the UK. Enjoyed every minute of it. History is what makes conventional model building so powerful in this day.
Cliff.

[Balsabasher]

Here are some early pioneers of aeromodelling that have gone into the annals of the model building history books-

C.Rupert-Moore,aviation artist that painted the covers of Aeromodeller magazine in gouache,produced some remarkable rubber driven model aircraft including an Hawker Typhoon that had a retracting undercarriage that lowered when the rubber lost its tension.

Owen.G.Thetford-Draughtsman who produced the solid model plans for the Aeromodeller and later went onto producing the hundreds of drawings for 'Aircraft of the Fighting Power's' that ran into seven volumes.

D.J.Laidlaw-Dixon,Managing director of the Aeromodeller magazine in the 1930's

Lawrence Bagley-Superb aviation artist employed by the Aeromodeller.

George Cox-Produced the solid model plans in the 1=36th scale famous biplanes series.

Peter Lesley Grey-Specialist in WW1 aeroplane colourschemes,produced some lovely solid models.

Leslie Brock-Did drawings for solid models for Model Aircraft magazine.

Howard Boys-Author of several publications about model aircraft,also excellent draughtsman.

Doug Mc Hard-Prolific scale model builder who did many articles for Aeromodeller and later Model Aircraft magazine,became editor of the Meccano magazine,later set up Somerville models in Lincolnshire specialising in bespoke metal classic cars,a former RAF photographer which taught him many skills,did a series of canard designs.

C.A.Pollitt-Produced plans for free inserted drawings in the Aeromodeller.

Ron Moulton-Introduced U-Control into the UK which became very popular and later called control line,produced many model subjects including a beautiful Ryan N-Y-P,life member of the SMAE Society of model aeronautical engineers which later became the BMFA,produced books on kite flying.

Alan Hall-Lifetime aviation enthusiast who set up Aviation News magazine which did a weekly solid model plan and did many reference books,enjoyed his retirement in Malta.

C.A.Cull-Excellent line drawings mostly of civil aeroplanes for the Aeromodeller,built a full sized replica of the Comper Swift with original Pobjoy engine.

FredTaxi Borders-London taxi driver who planned to fly the English channel with a model of the DC-3,he used to strap the Dakota to the roof of his London taxi cab,a mathamatician he appeared on the television programme by Hughie Green called Opportunity Knocks.

P.E.Norman-Early ducted fan jet models with high wing loadings,used to fly from Chobham common.

Barry.