Jim Walker was born in California on April 29, 1904 and moved with his family to Portland, Oregon in 1909. Jim was intrigued by the aviation pioneers of the time and dreamed of becoming a pilot. However, tragedy struck the Walker family in 1916 when his father was killed in a railroad accident, forever postponing Jim’s dream of flying.
His flying interest was redirected when a friend bet him the princely sum of $5 that Jim could not build a model glider that would fly 100 feet. Jim easily won the wager and realized that there might be a future in model airplanes. By the time he was in high school, he had set up a model airplane production line in his basement and hired neighborhood friends to do the work while Jim sold the airplanes to local stores.
American Junior Aircraft Company
After graduating from high school, Jim continued his basement production line and, with help from his brother Bill, the business kept growing. In 1929, with assistance from two investors, Jim and Bill formed American Junior Aircraft Company and moved it out of the basement into its own facility. America’s fascination with aviation helped A-J Aircraft to keep growing, even during the depression.
In 1935, Jim and Bill were successful enough to buy out their investors and assume complete control of the business. Jim was president, Bill was vice president and Jim’s wife Dora was the secretary treasurer.
A Prolific Inventor
Jim Walker obtained 31 patents covering many of his company’s products. His inventions were diverse and included:
- The A-J Interceptor, a balsa wood glider that was shot into the air by a slingshot
- U-Control, a two-wire control system for model airplanes that allowed the flyer to control the pitch of the plane as it flew around in circles
- The U-Reely, a control handle for his two-wire control system that could reel the control wires into the handle when not in use
- A voice-controlled glider
- A remotely controlled lawnmower
Small Business Owner a Perfect Role for Jim Walker
Jim was a talented salesman. Each year, he would pack up the family station wagon with a variety of the latest models, and he and Dora would head cross-country visiting all the toy wholesalers, toy retailers and hobby suppliers they possibly could. Between sales calls, they made stops at every model airplane meet Jim could find to demonstrate American Junior’s products. If they had a few minutes of spare time, Jim would put on an impromptu demonstration in the closest park, which invariably drew crowds of potential A-J Aircraft customers.
He was the consummate showman—commercial buyers simply could not ignore him. Stories of his sales calls have become legends. In 1940, the Polk brothers, Nathan and Irwin, were the largest hobby dealers in the country. During a sales call to their New York City office that year, Jim dragged both of them outside to demonstrate his new U-Control airplane, the gas-engine powered A-J Fireball. The only space available was in front of the adjacent block-long post office building. Without hesitation, Jim began his flying demonstration in front of the steps. Even in New York City, this sight caused a massive traffic jam—followed shortly by the police and newspaper reporters. Jim not only received a big order from the Polk brothers, but garnered free press coverage in the nation’s largest city.
Simplicity of Design was the Key to Success
The beauty of Jim’s designs lies in their simplicity—they were simple enough that anyone could enjoy hours of fun with minimal training. They were inexpensive, well made and would do what they were advertised to do—perfect for recruiting converts to the model airplane hobby, which Jim pursued with a passion.
Jim Walker continued his passion until his passing on March 12, 1958, closing the book on the single most important person in the model airplane world. American Junior Aircraft carried on without Jim and merged with Pactra Chemical Company, makers of model paints and supplies, in 1963.
Frank Macy Creates Jim Walker’s American Junior Classics
Frank Macy grew up in the Portland, Oregon area and saw Jim Walker’s flight demonstrations many times. He remembers, "I guess I became a Jim Walker/American Junior historian when, as a child, I first saw Jim demonstrating models in the parks of Portland. My father died when I was five, and Jim filled that void in my life. He was a hero to me. And he was real, not like the Lone Ranger and Red Ryder that the other boys liked. Jim would talk to me, laugh with me, teach me, put me to work and give me a swat when I walked on the off-limit flight lines."
Frank had a successful custom sign painting business and was an accomplished artist and carver. He continued to be so impressed with Jim that, after Jim died, Frank began collecting everything he could find that was related to Jim Walker and American Junior Aircraft, a collection that eventually took up most of the space in his apartment. To keep Jim’s legacy alive, Frank wrote articles, gave demonstrations and created a web site, Jim Walker’s American Junior Classics, that contains invaluable information and irreplaceable pictures. Additionally, Frank Macy was instrumental in establishing a Jim Walker exhibit in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
Embers will Continue to Burn
Frank Macy, the keeper of the flame, died on May 29, 2009. What happens to the flame when the keeper passes away? While the flame will certainly diminish without Frank’s constant care, its embers will continue to burn in the memories of the untold numbers of folks who were kids between the late 1920s and 2009, and were touched by the lives of Jim Walker and Frank Macy.
Bruce Troxell - Bruce Troxell has had a lifelong interest in scientific and technical subjects. During Mr. Troxell’s youth, he was an avid builder ...
