Written by AMA staff (01/1999); Formatted by JS (11/2005), Updated by JS (02/2008), Reformatted by JS (10/2009)
Austin Leftwich
Austin Leftwich, Richmond, Virginia, brings 65 years of modeling background to the Hall of Fame. He joined AMA in 1938 and became a contest director in 1939. His interest spans rubber free flight, gas free flight, control line, RC pattern, pylon, sailplanes, and helicopters.
In 1941, he obtained an amateur radio operator’s license in order to experiment with radio control. Using a homemade copy of the Good Brothers’ system, he flew a modified Super Buccaneer.
Austin’s competition record spans the period from 1939 to 1974. In 1952, he competed as a member of the United States World Championship Wakefield team in Helsinki, Finland. He holds records in a variety of disciplines on a national level. His pylon record model, Delta Two, resides in the AMA museum. In addition, Austin set an FAI RC sailplane altitude record in 1962. In 1968, he set an FAI Hydroplane Closed Circuit Distance record at Lake Meade, York, Pennsylvania.
Austin wrote technical articles for Air Trails magazine as well as material and plans for Model Builder. He participated in the design improvement and testing of the Controlaire and Blue Max radio system. He was instrumental in developing the use of nylon bolts for wing attachment.
Over the years, Austin has served as a Contest Director at a number of events. He was an organizer and charter member of the Richmond Model Club and the Richmond Area Model Control Club in 1958. From 1985 until 1996, he participated as a member of the Special Events Contest Board.
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