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Radio Rock Mystery

Owe Carlson


Can any reader of Outerzone help me to find who designed a model called Radio Rock? It was found as a drawing in an English book published sometime during the 1950s. I borrowed the book from my town's library in 1959!! I drew myself the plan at full scale from the drawing in the book and scratch-built the model. It was covered in silk and painted in light blue color. I had many nice flights and learned to fly one-pushbutton technique. After one year it ended in a smash caused by interference from the radio signal of a passing taxi.

Owe with the Radio Rock, 1959

After 54 years the Radio Rock No 2 was born using photos from 1959. The original plan was lost, but thanks to memories, images and some data the second model was built and is still alive since 2013. The related story was published in RC Model World January 2017 and my drawing in August 2017, the last issue before it went bankrupt.

Radio Rock plan, 2013

I have been checking with aeromodellers but they don't know who published the book. It would be nice if anyone knows anything of Radio Rock.


Owe Carlson, Sweden, 2018

Owe with Radio Rock No 2, 2013

Cover of Radio Controlled Models by FJ Camm, thanks to Pit

User comments

Hallo Owe, I found your plane at first attempts. Reading your article on RC Model World I suspected the model was published in one of several books of the period on the growing field of r/c equipment I collected. I started with the rc guru's books (Honnest Redlich) but the plan was never published in his books. Instead the plan was from him but published in a F.J. Camm book of 1958 [download Radio Rook pages here]. Probably you simply changed the arrangement of the nose cowling making it in a cabin shape. At the same time probably you simplified the trike gear design, and eliminated the anti-stall wing slot device. Correct name is Radio Rook, but undoubtedly it's the same plane. I hope you will be able to give us (Outerzone) a full size redrawn of your youth's plane. There is nothing more emotional than finding a buried toy of our childhood. Regards,
Pit_Italy - 08/03/2018
P.S. this time build it with anti-stall device and let us know.
Pit_Italy - 08/03/2018
I realized I made a mistake: Radio Rook photos shows a monogram C E B on the rudder. This was the abbreviation for Colonel C.E. Bowden. Every modeller designer made his plane design recognizable by the rudder shape. This is common for the real Aircraft Company too. In fact the rudder shape is typical of C.E. Bowden models (e.g. Meteorite oz7544). Honnest Redlich designed the radio equipment only, plan is from C.E. Bowden.
Pit_Italy - 08/03/2018
Many thanks for helping to find the original Radio Rock and to Pit in Italy for mailing the book and drawing of RR. Yes, it must be the same model as my first RR (#2) and I remember that nose cowling was altered to be like Howard Bonner's Smog Hog. On both RR#2 and #141 the wing had /has anti-stall slots (this was omitted on MW drawing). My first RR had the trike gear arrangement as shown in the book.
OweCarlson_Sweden - 14/03/2018
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