Seventy-five years ago this month, these British enthusiasts are operating their radio controlled planes, as shown on the cover of the February 1951 issue of Practical Mechanics.

The magazine carried the first in a series of articles regarding the hobby. It noted that technical expertise in radio was not a prerequisite. Indeed, the author had heard from more than one retailer to the effect that they preferred selling their equipment to those who were not technically inclined. The radio “expert”, it turns out, would often try to tweak the equipment to the point where it wouldn’t work any more.

The article noted that while licenses were required in America, that was not the case in Britain, as long as the users stuck to certain wavelengths. In didn’t specify them, but from the size of the antennas shown, they appear to be VHF.