Hands-On History: Celebrating a Century of Model Airplanes

For nearly a century, Guillow’s has been building model airplanes out of balsa wood, by hand. Founded in Wakefield, Massachusetts, in 1926 by World War I naval aviator Paul K. Guillow, the company began with aviation-themed card games and toy planes and gliders. Through decades of Aviation shifts—from the rise of plastic kits to modern laser-cut designs—Guillow’s has continued to develop innovative designs, now using laser machines to precisely cut model kit parts,  while remaining committed to traditional craftsmanship and sustainably-sourced wood. Their company mission of making the past relevant in the present is reflected in Guillow’s sponsorship of our annual event with the Flying Aces Club, held at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts. The event brings together model aviation enthusiasts, families, and members of the Flying Aces Club for a day to build, learn, and fly together. The collaboration reflects Guillow’s and Historic New England’s shared interest in supporting hands-on engagement with history and craft, whether through objects, places, or traditions that help connect people to the past. Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Site Manager Sheila Spalding spoke with Mark Tennant, Design/IT at Guillow’s, about why events like Flying Aces Take Flight matter, and how Guillow’s helps make aviation history exciting and accessible.

Congratulations on your centennial! Here at Historic New England, we love a good origins story. Can you tell us a bit more about yours?

Guillow’s was started by naval aviator Paul Guillow out of his garage in Wakefield around one hundred years ago, making aviation-themed card games. He expanded to a small factory building in Wakefield, which we have since added onto over the years as we’ve expanded our line to include many different balsa wood toy airplanes and scale model airplane construction kits. We try to be very self-contained and make all our products here, in Massachusetts, at this same factory. That’s something we are very proud of—not only are we still here after one hundred years, but we’re still manufacturing our products in the United States.

Guillow’s has sponsored Flying Aces Take Flight for the last few years. What initially drew you to working with Historic New England, and how does this annual event align with Guillow’s broader mission and values?

I don’t actually remember how we were introduced to Historic New England’s field event with the Flying Aces, but once we heard about it, we were all in to help out and be part of the fun day. Flying Aces is a great, free flight flying club that builds and flies Guillow model airplane kits along with kits by other companies, and we LOVE seeing the planes up in the air flying. It’s also great that it is held right up in your beautiful field in Newburyport, not too far from us in Wakefield. With our small donation of some toy planes, it’s a nice way for people to play with and fly products that are locally manufactured. Just about everyone remembers playing with balsa wood toy planes as a child, and we think it is nice to RE-acquaint them and their families to the simple fun of running around a field experiencing the joy and wonder of flight.

In the century you’ve been in business, modeling materials and manufacturing techniques have evolved and your kits have become more intricate, but balsa wood remains the material of choice for Guillow’s models. Why is that, and how have you balanced your commitment to traditional handcraft with ongoing innovation—a challenge that will surely be familiar to folks working to preserve historic places and traditional while keeping them relevant today?

Our simple slogan, “Balsa flies better!” answers that question. It’s not the easiest substance to manufacture with, but nothing else has the strength-to-weight ratio of balsa wood, which makes it perfect for flying model airplanes, and it is easy for consumers to build with. There is cutting, sanding, shaping, painting associated with making model airplane kits and balsa wood is a great substrate to work with. Plus, it is eco-friendly!

Why is it important to keep tactile, analog experiences like model building alive today? OR What role does this kind of model building and experimentation play in inspiring future engineers or aviators? 

We have heard MANY stories about how playing with our flying toys and building Guillow model airplane kits has fueled young children to go down the path of aviation for their careers, whether as engineers or pilots. We think it is important to get away from the modern digital world and build and experience things made with your own hands and GET OUTSIDE to enjoy them. Working with your hands, building, learning things as a child is certainly important and does affect the path children may choose as they grow into adults in the workforce.

Can you tell us about the Flying Aces Club and how Guillow’s came to partner with them?

We have known of Flying Aces for many years, but other than making some custom-imprinted toy airplanes for their flying events, we haven’t had too much of a partnership with them. We just happen to share the same love—we love to manufacture flying toys and they love to build and fly them. We are proud to come to an event such as this one and meet with the people that build and fly model airplanes. We love to see them in the air!

You’ve got some special surprises in store for this year’s event, in honor of your anniversary. As you look toward your next hundred years, are there any early previews or directions you can share about what’s next for Guillow’s, and what you’re focused on preserving as you continue to evolve?

We are proud of making it to our hundredth anniversary and will of course market that in the upcoming year. What’s next for Guillow’s? We hope more of the same! We don’t envision changing very much except to evolve and use more modern manufacturing methods, like laser cutting parts, to produce our products. We will try to continue to come out with new, exciting toy airplanes and model kits, but the method of building and use of balsa wood is probably going to stay ‘as is.’ We are focused on trying to get the younger generations—children as well as their thirty- and forty-something parents—to get away from the digital devices and work with their hands, build an airplane, play with it, enjoy the wonder of flight, be proud as it flies across a field.

Make a simple, elegant paper plane courtesy of Gillow’s and Flying Aces Club

Guillow’s has designed a free paper glider to celebrate the collaboration between Guillow’s, Flying Aces, and Historic New England. Download the plane and instructions from Flying Aces and make yours today!

To learn more about this event and others at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, visit our Events Calendar.