Pioneeres of aeromodelling progress-Henry.J.Nicholls

wonwinglo

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Colourful characters seem to be a vanishing aspect of our hobby these days,but it has not always been like that as we have seen here with these mini-profiles and the people they portray,necessity brings with it inventiveness and a desire to provide the right product and that is certainly true with aeromodelling,a typical example of how a single hobby can grow into an empire is the story of Henry.J.Nicholls who set up one of Londons most prestigious model shops at 308 The Holloway,London,this was to become a meeting pace for modellers worldwide in this alladins cave of goodies.

Not content with the retail shop business 'Henry J' as he became known also founded the famous Mercury models range of kits,the flying scale Aeronca Sedan,Monocoupe L7A and the control line kits for the Lockheed Lightning were to prove all time best sellers and lasted in production for many years providing the model builder with the basis for a really sound flying model design.

One thing that Henry Nicholls was good at was the promotion of aeromodelling and his kindly approach to the newcomers to the hobby,I once saw him at Old Warden go over and assist with the trimming of a new model,and on another occasion go over to a person taking a photograph and point out to them that the sun should be behind you when taking pictures ! yes he was also amongst other things a very keen photographer and a very good cook as well.

I believe that he has in recent years he has been connected with the SMAE/BMFA.

No doubt there are many aspects to his interesting life but we can only just touch on the salient points here in this profile.
 
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