Andy Lennon (September 1, 1914 - November 24, 2007) is most notably associated with his work in advanced

model aircraft A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed s ...

design.

Background

Lennon was involved in

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

since the age of 15, when he went for a short ride in a

Curtiss Robin The Curtiss Robin, introduced in 1928, is an American high-wing monoplane built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company. The J-1 version was flown by Wrong Way Corrigan who crossed the Atlantic after being refused permission to ...

. He soon joined the Montreal Flying Club and began flying D.H. Gypsy Moths and early two-place

Aeronca Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. ...

cabin monoplanes. He was educated in Canada at Edward VII School, Strathcona Academy, Montreal Technical School,

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

, (

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

Involvement in Manufacturing

Lennon entered the Canadian aircraft manufacturing industry and later moved to general manufacturing as an

industrial engineer Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...

. Throughout his career, he continued to study

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

, particularly aircraft design, aviation texts,

NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...

and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

reports and aviation periodicals. He tested many aeronautics theories by designing, building and flying nearly 25 experimental R/C models-miniatures of potential

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a Maximum Takeoff Weight, maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are use ...

. One model, the Seagull III was a flying boat with wide aerobatic capabilities. Lennon was a licensed pilot in the United States and Canada.

Contributions in Literature

Lennon was a contributing editor to '' Model Airplane News'', ''

Model Aviation ''Model Aviation'' is the monthly full-color publication written, prepared and distributed by the Academy of Model Aeronautics beginning in 1936 and established as an independent publication in July 1975. The magazine is based in Muncie, Indiana ...

'', '' Model Builder'', '' RC Modeler'', '' Fly RC'' and '' RC Models and Electronics''. He wrote several books: "Basics of R/C Model Aircraft Design", "R/C Model Airplane Design" and "Canard: A Revolution in Flight." His last book was published in 1996, has been reprinted twice since. Andy's authority in aerodynamics and related studies are well acknowledged by leaders in the aviation industry. His book "Canard: A Revolution in Flight" had the foreword written by

Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the recor ...

, a fitting authority in Canard design. For his last book "Basics of R/C Model Aircraft Design", Bob Kress, who designed the

F-14 The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...

, among other designs, wrote the introduction. Image:AGL_Robin1.jpg, Note the traditional profile found in many of Andy's designs. Image:AGL_Robin2.jpg, Andy Lennon's Robin shown in kit form.

Model Design Development

Lennon, since 1957, has designed and published a wide range of model aircraft in various publications. These designs each represented features specific to that particular plane. The current list of his published designs is as follows, in order of publication: Model Airplane News
Oct. 1957: Flamingo Flying Boat
Sept. 1980: Elseven - Sport (pronounced EL-Seven)
Jan. 1981: Canada Goose Canard
March/April 1983: Crane

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

July 1984: Gull Sport
Oct. 1992: Sea Hawk - Float & Land Plane
Sept. 1993: Swift - Sport
Nov. 1994: Dove - Glo Powered Glider
Jan. 1996: Wild Goose - 3 Surface Model
Aug. 1996: Crow

May 2000: Robin

, USA
Jan. 1987: Sparrow Hawk - Sport
Oct. 1987: Sea Loon - Twin Boom Flying Boat

Model Builder, USA
Oct. 1989: Swan - Canard
June 1991: Osprey - Float & Land Plane

R.C. Modeler, USA
Jan. 1989: Snowy Owl Sport
Oct. 1992: Seagull III - Flying Boat

Radio Control Models & Electronics, UK
Feb. 1998: Wasp - Tandem Wing Biplane

Although all designs are dear to Andy, he has noted that he"''Robin and the Seagull III, are both my favourites.''"
Lennon's last design was the Robin. (officially) Unsurprisingly, the majority of Mr. Lennon's unpublished designs are preserved in the hands of Ken Charron, principal designer who Andy collaborated with in the development and release of the "Robin" kit — the only known design of Andy Lennon's to be produced in itform.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennon, Andy 1914 births Model aircraft 2007 deaths McGill University alumni