Profile of Sid and Carolyn Axelrod, L-22 and L-23
By Jim McNeill, AMA Historian
As seen in the October 1978 issue of Model Aviation.
This month we honor one of the truly great model airplane pioneers of this era, Sid Axelrod. His beautiful wife, Carolyn, is a Life Member of AMA, too—the first such husband and wife combination in the Academy's history.
Sid is president of the famous Top Flite Company in Chicago, the world's largest manufacturers of model propellers, turning out more than two million a year. "Giving kids what they want," is how he words it when describing his company's operation, making high-quality products for kids of all ages. These include kits of George Aldrich's "Nobler," Phil Kraft's "Kwik·Fly," Dave Platt's S. E.5, and others. Sid and Carolyn have spent most of their lives with model planes.
How did it all happen? Well, strict parents to start with! Growing up in Chicago during the Depression, Sidney was required to press exactly 12 pairs of pants in his father's custom tailoring shop each day after school before being allowed to split. Family chores out of the way, it was out the back door, leap on the racy 3c trolley to Cicero, and wait for that thing to clickety-clack out to the edge of town, to a vacant lot where his pals were waiting for him to fly miniature airplanes. With Carl Goldberg, Pete Vaco, Gerry Ritz, Veto Garfolio, and others, he flew his twin pushers, canards, and gassies. He remembers a lot of Indoor contests won, including one with his variable-pitch microfilm-covered prop in 1937.
Carolyn started going to the meets with Sid in 1938. How did he do at the contests? He placed 2nd in the big Junior Birdmen of America Championship in 1934 with a twin pusher; 1st in Indoor duration at an Indianapolis American Legion meet; and so on. With that little lady encouraging him, he did OK. He remembers one contest never to be forgotten. At the 1937 Detroit Nats he shared, alternately, a bathtub to sleep in with Johnny Clemens. (Johnny verified this when asked about it and added: "Everything was fine 'til some kid on the floor above lowered a huge, lit firecracker on a string outside the bathroom window. I was sleeping in the tub with a couple of models, and when that thing went off, the models were crushed.")
Sid and Carolyn were married in 1941 and World War II found Sid in the Pacific as a Navy Machinists Mate. After the war, he worked briefly for the immortal Enrico Fermi designing atomic device tools at the University of Chicago. Later with two partners, he formed the Top Flite Company in 1947. Today, 22 years later, it is going strong. Along the way, Sid invented and patented the now famous Mylar material for covering models. He devised it from draftsman's Mylar and contact cement.
A charter member of the Chicago Aeronauts in 1935, he has added to his prestigious background by becoming a Life Member of AMA.
Carolyn has important accomplishments in her own name in the modeling world. For some 10 years she has helped children assemble and fly Delta Darts at the AMA Nats. She was recently awarded a plaque for these services. Also, she has helped emotionally disturbed children at a Chicago school, and is a hospital volunteer. Off and on, she has been a Nats helper and booster since 1938.
For their 35th wedding anniversary in 1976, Sid presented Carolyn with a thousand dollar AMA Life Membership and also got one for himself. Both feel this donation to the Academy is a way of giving something back for all the wonderful fun years they have had enjoying the enchantment of model airplanes.
Editor’s note: Read Sid and Carolyn Axelrod’s History Project biography and other biographies in the AMA History Project.
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