F/F Sport

摘要

Those of us who entered the hobby as young lads in the '40s or '50s ordinarily have several crystal clear memories that have stuck in our minds―the first plane we ever finished; the first plane we built that actually flew; the first A- J Hornet we ever owned; the first A-J Interceptor that flew out of sight, or the sheer magic of a Ceiling Walker flitting about the living room. For me, growing up in isolation from other modelers my own age, many of these memories are directly connected to the company founded by Jim Walker―American-Junior Aircraft Co.―and the need to save allowance money to buy one of these wondrous creations at the nearby "five and ten-cent store," as they were called in those days. Each new purchase and successful flight of a American-Junior airplane marked a passage through time, and fueled the need to fly more and grow more to develop my own skills in an attempt to emulate those of the great Jim Walker, whose picture and escapades filled the model magazines of the day. Obviously, like so many others, I never arrived at that elevated state of accomplish-ment and adulation―but it didn't really matter in the end. It was the journey that counted―the countless hours spent in contemplation and creativity that expanded the mind and spirit of a young boy―and ulti-mately made the journey and the destina-tion the same.