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Somewhat less well known however was his pioneering work with engineer Walter Righter in the field of radio controlled, pilotless aviation.

In the 1940s, the mass production of Denny and Righter's "Radioplane" target drone led to the widespread adoption of radio controlled aircraft by the military for not only training AAA gunners but also combat roles from the Pacific Theatre in WW2 through to the present day.

The "Dennyplane", a mid 1930s pre-cursor to the "Radioplane" and powered by Righter's "Dennymite" engine, was one of the key products that brought model aviation to the masses in a post-depression, pre-war America.

Site Last Updated July 26, 2005 | Pages under continuous revision. Currently, July 2005

Reginald Denny

An Introduction
Portrait Gallery
With the Royal Flying Corps
A Wartime Notebook
Stage and Screen
The 13 Black Cats

Walter H. Righter - The Man - Revised July 25, 2005
The Righter Manufacturing Company - Revised July 24, 2005

The Dennyplane
The Dennyplane Jr.
The Dennymite
Dennymite Data Sheets and Operating Manuals - Revised July 20, 2005
Denny Industries Advertising 1936-1948 - Revised July 20, 2005

A Detailed History : Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 - Revised July 24, 2005

Engines - Revised July 24, 2005
Radio Control - Revised July 24, 2005
Recovery by Parachute
In the Navy - Revised July 24, 2005

Magazine essays

'Uncle Sam' buys a Model Plane
When Model Airplanes First Went to War

Radioplane : The First Ten Years
The 1940 Radioplane Manual

Correspondence
A Salute to Reginald Denny and Walter Righter : June 16, 2003
Restoring the Past

The team working on this project would like to hear from ANYONE with further information.

Did your father or mother work for 'Righter Mfg. Co.', 'Radioplane Co.' or 'Denny Industries' ?

Did you know anything of radio expert Kenneth Case or did your father possibly fly or shoot down Radioplane target drones in gunnery practice during WW2?

Please let us know by eMail to Dr Russell Naughton if you can help - thankyou