Post by CDuster on Feb 23, 2014 21:23:09 GMT -6
There used to be a TV show called "Connections" that took an insignificant event in the past and went from event to event and finaly connected it to a major event in the present. Well, I have a connection.....not to a major event, but an interresting conclusion, Here goes......
One of my airplanes has a registration number, N6637, that came from another plane in the past. That plane was an
AVRO Biplane, a World War I Canadian training plane similar to the Curtiss "Jenny". That registration was cancelled in 1933 and the owner at that time was Reginald Denny of Hollywood, California. He was a movie star from the 1930's to the 1960's, one of his last roles was the horny old englishman in "Cat Bellou". Reginald Denny was a pilot in WWI and did stunt flying afterwards and he finally got into movies. One of his movies back then was "Captians of the Clouds". About 1935 Denny got interested in model airplanes,and then into the new fangled radio controled model airplanes. Denny started a company that manufactured model kits and was quite successful.
At the beginning of the second world war the war department went looking for a way to eleminate the use of an airplane pulling a drogue for anti-aircraft gunners to practice shooting at. Denny came up with a 12 foot radio controlled airplane powered with a 2 cylinder motor. The army bought it and Denny started "Radioplane Corp." to manufacture it. They made 15,000 of them. It was the FIRST unmanned aircraft (uav). The company was later bought by Northrup-Grumman. Here's the good part.....
In 1944 the war department suggested that it would be a good public interest story and the army sent a camera crew to show what was going on and interview people. The person in charge was non other rhan Ronald Reagan and he saw a pretty young girl working on the assembly line and decided to use her to demonstrate and show the features of the factory. Later she was asked to do some modeling for pictures. Her name was Norma Jeanne Mortenson......Dont recognize her then how about......Marilyn Monroe.
Now that's a connection.........
One of my airplanes has a registration number, N6637, that came from another plane in the past. That plane was an
AVRO Biplane, a World War I Canadian training plane similar to the Curtiss "Jenny". That registration was cancelled in 1933 and the owner at that time was Reginald Denny of Hollywood, California. He was a movie star from the 1930's to the 1960's, one of his last roles was the horny old englishman in "Cat Bellou". Reginald Denny was a pilot in WWI and did stunt flying afterwards and he finally got into movies. One of his movies back then was "Captians of the Clouds". About 1935 Denny got interested in model airplanes,and then into the new fangled radio controled model airplanes. Denny started a company that manufactured model kits and was quite successful.
At the beginning of the second world war the war department went looking for a way to eleminate the use of an airplane pulling a drogue for anti-aircraft gunners to practice shooting at. Denny came up with a 12 foot radio controlled airplane powered with a 2 cylinder motor. The army bought it and Denny started "Radioplane Corp." to manufacture it. They made 15,000 of them. It was the FIRST unmanned aircraft (uav). The company was later bought by Northrup-Grumman. Here's the good part.....
In 1944 the war department suggested that it would be a good public interest story and the army sent a camera crew to show what was going on and interview people. The person in charge was non other rhan Ronald Reagan and he saw a pretty young girl working on the assembly line and decided to use her to demonstrate and show the features of the factory. Later she was asked to do some modeling for pictures. Her name was Norma Jeanne Mortenson......Dont recognize her then how about......Marilyn Monroe.
Now that's a connection.........