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Walter A. Musciano

1922 - 2019

Walter A. Musciano obituary, 1922-2019, River Edge, NJ

BORN

1922

DIED

2019

FUNERAL HOME

Beaugard Funeral Home

869 Kinderkamack Rd.

River Edge, New Jersey

Walter Musciano Obituary

Walter A. Musciano

River Edge - Rest in Peace Walter A. Musciano. Our dad, gran-dad and great gran-dad passed away April 3, 2019. He had boundless intellectual and physical energy, enthusiasm and sense of humor. He was both a Student and Teacher of culture, classical music, design and ancient history.

Born November 19, 1922 to Angelo and Theresa (Birk) Musciano in New York City. He was Orphaned and alone in NYC at a young age but blessed to be taken in and raised by maternal family friends Fred and Emma Muller. Walter married Dorothy A. Newell of Jersey City on April 1, 1945 and settled in River Edge, New Jersey.

He created a successful career as a Naval Architect working for George G. Sharp, Inc. in New York City for over forty years. An author and respected expert on military and aviation history, he authored 24 books and countless magazine articles spanning seven decades. In the 1950's he became the chief product designer for Scientific Model Airplane Company where he designed, tested and produced drawings for the production of balsa scale model flying aircraft.

Walter was predeceased by his wife Dorothy. He is survived by his daughter Carol Anne Lehner and her husband Rudy, son Gary Musciano and his wife Mary Lou Musciano, five grandchildren, Richard Scherer, Craig Scherer, Denise Doyle, Kirsten Trimiglozzi, and Derek Musciano. And seven great-grandchildren, Hannah and Kayley Scherer, Quinn and Graydon Scherer, Sophia Doyle, Klara Trimiglozzi and Dante Trimiglozzi. Beaugard-McKnight Funeral Home, River Edge.

Published by The Record/Herald News on Apr. 14, 2019.
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Walter A. Musciano was one of the most outstanding individuals I have ever known. He was so honest and forthright, so down to earth. I had dinner with Walter along with several other modelers in NYC on Dec. 2002. I was on my way to Spain and I stopped off to meet him. We had a wonderful dinner and conversations. Kudos to Curtis Mattikow of NYC, fellow modeler who organized the whole thing. He also paid the restaurant bill. Lol. Really nice guy. Walter wrote me a lot and we had many telephone conversations concerning a variety of subjects. I have kept his letters and I treasure them immensely. I really miss him. Below is one of the many kits he designed, the Scientific Super Stuntmaster.

Jimmy L Dodson

Friend

April 8, 2023

Walter A. Musciano was one of the most important figures in promoting air-mindedness in the post-WW-2 era. His modeling articles and wonderful designs captured the adventurous and optimistic spirit of aviation at the time, and inspired many youngsters to enter the aviation field. I personally looked forward to seeing his latest models every month or so in American Modeler, Model Airplane News, and other publications, and he was always a good source for tips on construction and design. He was indeed a remarkable popular historian, and his articles always included some nice context-setting text. I remember very well a Mitsubishi A5M Claude model that he built and am still struck by how very accurately his model captured this (at the time) relatively obscure aircraft. God bless him: we were all made better by his presence.

Dr Richard P Hallion

Acquaintance

April 24, 2021

While a young man in grade school in the 1950’s, one of our ‘adventures,’ would be to go with our class about once a month to the town library. It was there that I discovered Walt’s books: Building and Flying Model Airplanes, and Building and Flying Scale Model Aircraft. I used to scale up Walt’s drawings on brown paper from an unfolded grocery bag.

While I had built a number of smaller rubber powered kits, I couldn’t afford the larger gas model kits, but Walt’s designs filled that void. Later, when a drug store with a magazine rack was built in our neighborhood, I also found his plans in model magazines.

I never met Walt Face to Face, but we corresponded in later years when I worked at the Convair Division of General Dynamics.

While he may not have started my interest in Model Aviation, he certainly enhanced it, as well as model boats, ships, and cars, for thousands of us young modelers. I now have many of his books, and still read them frequently. Walt will always be fondly remembered.

Peter Glor

Friend

April 8, 2021

When I was in grade school, a school bus would periodically be taken by a school bus to the town library. Walt’s book, Building and Flying Scale Model Airplanes was the only book they had on building flying models, and I checked it out many times. Ultimately, in the 1990’s, I discovered e-bay, and was able to buy that book, as well as many others that he had written. I also found his address, and was able to correspond with him about his “Pee Wee Pal,” among others.

My first very successful control line model was a Scientific Snark, which was so stable that I could fly it time after time with no ‘incidents.’ After that, I built a jet like model from pictures in one of his books, and saved many of his plans and articles.

I also built his rubber-powered Nautilus submarine, and saved a set of his Towboat plans - the first set I purchased by mail for years, until they were lost during a post college move. Again, many years later, e-bay to the rescue. My own injuries around the time of Walt’s passing have kept me from following up on those plans, but I may yet get to build them. So Today I was thinking about the Pee Wee Pal and Walt, and did an internet search, which brought me here. Sincere condolences to his family, and to all of those people inspired by his designs. He will be missed.

Peter Glor

Acquaintance

November 23, 2020

Before owning a kit by Walt I had flown models I hadn't built, and built models I didn't fly. But the first one I actually built that I was able to fly was a Musciano design.
I am eternally grateful to him for enabling me to get started in this wonderful hobby and not give up, but realize I could also be an active participant. Thank You Walt, from all like me who got their start because of you.

Bill Fife

July 23, 2019

It was sad to hear of Mr. Musciano's passing. I built a number of his excellent scale model airplanes when I was a kid.

June 6, 2019

Walt was a terrific person. He was perhaps the most prolific model airplane designer in the history of modeling. It is impossible to pick up a Model Airplane News from the 1960s without seeing a Musciano design. He was always ready to help you with building model airplanes. I was able to provide him with copies of his own designs that he was missing and he was very grateful for that. In turn he sent me countless tidbits of information. We maintained a correspondence for several years. Had dinner with him shortly after 9/11 in NYC. Walt will be missed by myself and the model airplane community.

Jimmy Dodson

June 3, 2019

As a child of the 50's, I grew up with Walt vicariously by building his wonderfully designed Scientific Model Company balsawood Control Line, engine powered flying models. Life went on and so did I. Decdes later, during a career as an Army Officer, friend, Hal Howard and I talked about Walt. We had both grown up in the "Scientific Airplane" era and were wondering if Walt was still around. I contacted the Academy of Model Aeronautics who directed me right to Walt. Walt and I spoke at length and this conversation started what became the rebirth of the Scientific Model Odyssey. Both Hal and I bought copies of many of the plans Walt had produced. From that, Hal and his model club leadership created a nostalgic model contest based on Walt's models which spread from N VA to the Midwest and California.
Walt and son Gary used to come to N VA to judge some of the models and enjoy the flying of the contests.
It was just a grand event to finally meet the great Walter Musciano.
His legacy is vast, it was special to participate in a small part of it. What a great guy.
Stew Crane
Reno, NV

Stewart Crane

Acquaintance

May 31, 2019

As a boy I grew up building his model airplane designs. Much later I had the honor to meet my boyhood hero at a model airplane competition in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We became pen pals after that. I always marveled at how much Walt packed into a single lifetime and how he overcame adversity to achieve so much. You will be in the heart of the model airplane community forever.

CDR Richard Kacmarsky, NC, USN (Ret)

April 25, 2019

I had the honor of working with Walter at George Sharp from 1986 to 1989. In fact, my desk and drafting table was right next to his. He was truly a Renaissance man and had a very diverse knowledge especially for history. He was a mentor and inspiration to me and I am happy to learn that he lived a long and pleasant life. God bless you Walter.

James Ruggieri

April 23, 2019

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