1/16 SF-92 Cleveland Ryan FR-1 Fireball With Liquids 30.75 Inch Wingspan Balsa Flying Aircraft
Wood Model Kit, Box Condition: Good+
Very rare, especially in untouched condition and with the fluids. This is the 1946 Deluxe 'large box' issue of this incredibly well detailed flying model and it even comes with the five glass bottles of Cleveland-labeled liquids - cement and colored dope behind the blue cut out display included by Cleveland just to 'show them off.' The four larger bottles are still factory sealed in the brown paper and tape! The one smaller bottle was never sealed. Cleveland 'SF' or 'Scale Flying' models in museum scale of 1/16 were very complete and this one is no exception. The kit came from a long time collector of 1930s and 1940s models. Features very high quality balsa printwood and strip wood, fully formed thrust button, prop blades, main and nose wheels, balsa blocks and sheet wood, other wood stock, covering material, clear canopy material, highest quality plans and more. Never started and inside it is as it left the factory. No parts are cut out. I have inventoried the kit and it is complete with 'excellent' plans. Cleveland Model and Supply Company played a pivotal role in the development of true scale models. In 1909 Bleriot's English Channel flight caused a surge in aviation and model aircraft around the globe. Several companies were ideally positioned to take advantage of the aviation craze. In the USA, Wading River Manufacturing Co. (1909), White Aeroplane (1911), Ideal Model Aeroplane (1911), Broadfield Model Aeroplanes (1919) were among these pioneers, offering everything from plans and parts to complete kits and ARF models. Lindbergh's 1927 crossing of the Atlantic Ocean caused an even bigger world-wide phenomenon called "The Aviation Craze" that extended up to the start of World War II. Many companies such as Megow, Guillow's and others started right around the time of Lindbergh's flight. Some of these models flew and flew well, but they all had one thing in common - were generally not accurate scale representations. In 1929, a youngster named Ed Packard had a very advanced dream- to produce incredibly accurate, true scale models that flew perfectly. This radical idea established the world's longest running single-owner (77 years) model airplane supply business - Cleveland Model and Supply Company. To this day, Cleveland models are treasured as the most accurate flying scale models produced. The fact that Mr. Packard started and successfully grew this business during The Great Depression is a testament to his ideals and business skill. I highly suggest the excellent book called 'Aviation's great Recruiter - Cleveland's Ed Packard' by H.L. (Herm) Schreiner. It is an excellent history of the man, his company and the times of the Golden Age of Model Aviation.
This item has been sold.
Click here to return to the main page.