In 1927 the Society of Model Aeronautical Engineer's F de P Green approached Sir Charles
Wakefield of Castrol Oil, to inquire about the "Gold Cup" Lord Wakefield had sponsored in 1911,
only to learn that this prized cup was missing! Last won by Air Marshal Sir L H Slatter, KBE, CB,
DSD, DFC, in 1913 "The Gold Wakefield Cup", had simply never been returned to The Kite and
Model Aeroplane Association who then managed the Wakefield Contests. The Great War of 1914
intervened, and the first Wakefield contests ended.
Lord Wakefield, already known as "The Patron Saint of Aviation", made Green a proposition, if the SMAE would manage the contests, then he would sponsor a new contest, to be known as the "Wakefield International Cup". The Governing Board of the SMAE under the leadership of then President Sir Sefton Branker voted to accept the challenge, and appointed Mr A F Houlberg and Dr A P Thurston to formulate the rules for the new Wakefield Contest. These first Wakefield rules allowed aeromodels of unlimited area, weighing up to 11 pounds! These "Wakefields" could be petrol powered! The one obstacle required was that the plane had to "ROG" rise off (the) ground, under its own power! This was the single most distinguishing characteristic of the Wakefield rules that lasted until 1956 in the Wakefield contest, when the FAI/CIAM in 1957 rescinded the rule.
This book is a history of the most prestigious aeromodelling contest in the world that, if measured from the linking first contest in 1911 to the latest contest in 2001, will have continued for 90 years. That alone inspired Wakefield Flyer since 1947, Charles D Rushing to attempt what has been a labor of love, in authoring this educational history. Mr Rushing is a graduate of UC Berkeley, 1965.
[Conditions] - [FAI Home Page] - [Aeromodelling Commission] - [FF Championships results]