Welcome to the July 1996 issue of the "Supercruiser," the Western Museum of Flight's monthly newsletter.

The US Army called it the OQ-2A and OQ-2B, while the US Navy called it the TDD-1 which stood for "Target Drone, Denny." No matter what they were called, the RP-5A, OQ-2, TDD-1 were very effective anti-aircraft training target drones. Up to the introduction of these small target drones, the anti-aircraft gunnery crews' target practice was limited to shooting at towed target sleeves.

The use of the "sleeves" had numerous drawbacks: (1) they flew only in straight lines, (2) they didn't look like airplanes, (3) during a target run, the crews could not tell whether or not the sleeve had been hit, and (4) the danger of hitting the tow aircraft was always there.

The forerunners of modern target drones and RPVs, these midget radio control aircraft gave the anti-aircraft gunnery crews just what they needed for target practice. First of all, these were targets that looked like aircraft, sounded like aircraft, and flew like full size aircraft. They could even simulate attack maneuvers!

Reginald Denny, the Hollywood movie star was a multi-talented aviation enthusiast. Denny demonstrated his first radio controlled drone the RP-1 to the US Army in 1935. In 1938 the RP-2 was demonstrated. A year later, in 1939, the RP-3 was built. Only one each of the first three types was built.

In November of 1939, the RP-4 prototype was completed. The US Army ordered 53 of these drones, giving them the designation of OQ-1. The USAAF supported Denny's efforts to prove the practicality of the target drone aircraft. The Radioplane RP-5A (OQ-2, TDD-1) started rolling off the production line at the San Fernando Valley Airport in June of 1941. Radioplane produced a total of 14,891 drones for the USAAF and USN from 1941 through 1945.

In 1952, Radioplane became the Radioplane Division of Northrop Aircraft, Inc. Later the Radioplane Division became known as the Ventura Division, Northrop Corporation. Reginald Denny died on 16 June 1967, at the age of 75.

The Western Museum of Flight's Radioplane RP-5A was donated to the Museum by the Northrop Ventura Division. The aircraft bears the tail number of 248. A total of 3,865 of this series of drones was produced.

Specifications: Wing Span (146.7 in.), Overall Length (104.3 in.), Gross Weight (104 lbs.), Maximum Speed (85 mph), Wing Loading (6.12 lb./ft²), Power Loading (17.3 lb./hp), Fuel Tank (1.8 US gal.), Flight Duration (1 hr. 10 min.), Engine (Righter, two-cylinder, two-cycle), Horsepower (6 hp at 3,800 rpm), Total Produced (3,865).

On July 13^th and 14^th, the annual Old Fort MacArthur Days and Artillery Show was hosted by the Fort MacArthur Museum. In support of this show, the Western Museum of Flight proudly displayed its Radioplane RP-5A Target Drone. This was significant since the very first of the Radioplane target drones, the RP-1, was flight tested for the US Army at Fort MacArthur in 1935.

The two-day show was supported by Western Museum of Flight volunteers, Ed Levy III, Tom Brown III, Herb Stark, WMOF Curator John Shupek, Rick Hilton, Fred Erb, Harvey Plott, and WMOF Director John Mac Lean.

The next meeting of the Vintage Aircraft Booster Club will be on Wednesday, 28 August 1996 at 5:00 pm at the Northrop Grumman Recreation Clubhouse. Slides of the history of the Hawthorne Air Faire will be presented by Tony Chong.

As usual, the Western Museum of Flight will extend its operating hours so that SCHAF members and guests may visit the Western Museum of Flight prior to the VAB Club meeting. See you there!

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The Southern California Historical Aviation Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of Bob Slusser (LM #008) as the newest Life Member. Bob is currently retired from Northrop Grumman MASD, and is a SCHAF Trustee and President.

On 10 July 1996, the Light & Life Christian School visited the Western Museum of Flight,. There were nineteen students from the second grade. The students were chaperoned by their teachers Evelyn Richardson and Craig Pringle. Museum Volunteer Jack Wilson conducted the tour.

The students asked a lot of questions and were very inquisitive about aircraft. We want to thank the students and their instructors, for the students' outstanding behavior, and Jack Wilson for conducting the tour.

Recent donations to the Western Museum of Flight include a projection screen donated by SCHAF member, Joe Paire.

A video of the YF-23A "Black Widow II" Advanced Tactical Fighter history and restoration project is currently in the process of being produced. The Producer and Project Leader for the video is Ed Ashley. Several current and retired Northrop Grumman personnel have already had on-camera interviews for the project. Numerous cable channels have already expressed interest in airing the video. The "Black Widow II" video is expected to air on the cable channels by the end of the year.

Proceeds from the "Black Widow II Comes Home" video will aid the Western Museum of Flight in the building of a new home (hangar) at Jack Northrop Field - Hawthorne Municipal Airport. The new "home" will house the "Black Widow II" and other Museum aircraft that are currently outside.

If you have not yet visited the Western Museum of Flight's Internet Web Site, what's keeping you? The WMOF's web site is currently getting in excess of 25,000 hits per month.

In addition to the normal Western Museum of Flight features, the Museum's web site is also serving as a community service bulletin board. Prior to the Hawthorne Air Faire, the Museum posted Air Faire announcements for the city of Hawthorne.

This Month's Volunteer of the Month is none other than Ed Ashley. Ed has been doing a fantastic job cleaning up the outside storage area at the Museum. Ed has also been a key player in helping the Museum to get ready for the upcoming Hawthorne Air Faire. Ed is also the YF-23A "Black Widow II" Restoration Team Leader.

The Museum's "CyberShop" is getting ready to open for business. The CyberShop will offer hundreds of aviation related items to its Internet readers. Items to be offered include aviation books and magazines, aircraft videos, aircraft posters, aircraft scale models, aircraft related calendars, aircraft pins and aircraft patches, etc.. In addition, the Museum will be offering an aircraft maintenance manual service.

If you don't have a computer, you won't be left out. The same items for sale on the Internet may also be ordered at the Museum's gift shop.

Just a reminder that the 1996 Hawthorne Air Faire is on the 24^th and 25^th of August 1996. Doors open at 9:00 am on both days. The Museum will be open during the Air Faire. See you there.