Bill Winter

From 1951 until 1960, another famous modeler took on the role of editor of Model Airplane News: Bill Winter. Bill was a true model designer, builder, and flier. He created the monthly editorial column known as M.A.N. At Work, which became a staple of the magazine for many years. During Bill’s tenure, the FCC authorized the use of 27.255MHz as a radiocontrol channel on the then-new citizens band. That’s when we saw RC really take off. This was the first time a modeler could build and fly RC with only a permit, instead of a ham-radio license. Model Airplane News quickly took the lead in this area by publishing articles on how to construct much of the initial 27.255MHz RC equipment. The famous Lorenz Two-Tube receiver appeared in the February 1953 issue. This was a landmark RC accomplishment that took the average RC pilot of that time out of the dark ages and into the world of simple and reliable radio control.