Andy Lennon

Background

Andy Lennon's involvement in aviation began at age 15 with a ride in a Curtiss Robin, after which he joined the Montreal Flying Club and flew D.H. Gypsy Moths and early Aeronca cabin monoplanes. He later entered the Canadian aircraft manufacturing industry and then moved to general manufacturing as an industrial engineer, while continuing to study aeronautics through texts, NACA and NASA reports, and aviation periodicals. He tested aeronautical theories by designing, building, and flying nearly 25 experimental R/C models, including the Seagull III, a flying boat with wide aerobatic capabilities.

Lennon began publishing model aircraft designs in 1957, starting with the Flamingo Flying Boat in Model Airplane News. Over the decades he published 16 designs across multiple magazines, including Model Aviation, Model Builder, R.C. Modeler, and Radio Control Models & Electronics. His designs included canards, STOL aircraft, flying boats, and a tandem wing biplane. His last published design was the Robin STOL in May 2000, which he noted as one of his favorites alongside the Seagull III.

Lennon's books were well regarded; 'Canard: A Revolution in Flight' featured a foreword by Burt Rutan, and 'Basics of R/C Model Aircraft Design' had an introduction by Bob Kress, designer of the F-14. The only known design of Lennon's to be produced in kit form was the Robin, developed in collaboration with principal designer Ken Charron, who also holds the majority of Lennon's unpublished designs.