MAKE Terry Kilby - Brief History of Autonomous Flight; RC Model Airplane

There may also be an organized group of UAV enthusiasts or a
model airplane club local to you, either of which would probably
appreciate seeing a fresh face at a meeting. Try searching
Meetup.com for drone (there’s that word again!) user groups.
Another place to look is the Academy of Model Aeronautics. The
AMA is the world’s largest model aviation association and has
been around since 1936. We have a great group of folks here in
the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area who have contributed
greatly to sharing UAV technology in our region. We truly appre-
ciate everyone who has helped us maintain this wild endeavor.
There may also be an organized group of UAV enthusiasts or a
model airplane club local to you, either of which would probably
appreciate seeing a fresh face at a meeting. Try searching
Meetup.com for drone (there’s that word again!) user groups.
Another place to look is the Academy of Model Aeronautics. The
AMA is the world’s largest model aviation association and has
been around since 1936. We have a great group of folks here in
the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area who have contributed
greatly to sharing UAV technology in our region. We truly appre-
ciate everyone who has helped us maintain this wild endeavor.
The AMA has a great PDF of best practice guidelines
for safe and responsible
flight.
Brief History of Autonomous Flight
The top inventions that we believe have contributed most to
drone technology include the RC model airplane, microchips,
GPS, the Internet, and the smartphone. Let’s take a look.
RC Model Airplane
In 1937, Ross Hull and Clinton DeSoto, ocers of the American
Radio Relay League, performed the first public demonstration of
remote-controlled flights. In the summer and fall of 1937, they
designed and built sailplanes with a 13-foot wingspan, complet-
ing over 100 successful radio-controlled flights in Hartford, Con-
necticut. During this era, Hull set the pace for homebrew radio
Introduction 3