On May 6th, 1937 Lakehurst Hanger No. 1 was etched into history when the tragedy of the worlds largest airship was captured on film and narrated by Herb Morrison. Even today to here his emotional account of the event send chills. Aside from this most famous tragedy, the hanger is also rich in history of all types. At ECIM we feel that properly accounting for the history of the base should be left up to the professionals. So instead of reading accounts and writing on them, we would like to offer the following links:

Navy Lakehurst Historical Society, Inc: This is a terrific site dedicated to preserving the history of the base. Here you will find all types of information on air ships, a detailed look at the hanger itself and many, many other interesting facts about the base.

Abandon and Little Known Airfields by Paul Freeman: Many large photos and facts on Lakehurst and other southern New Jersey airfields.

Vidicom Television, Hamburg Germany: Documentary footage on the Hindenburg

Cider Press Pottery: This appears to be a personal page that was put together on a private page for a pottery site? Not really sure what the original intent was, but the page covers many different types of airships.

NavAir - Base web site dedicated to all types of information

Hindenburg Bio - Not 100% sure, but appears to be the German Field Marshall of the air ships namesake.

In 1926, a small handful of modelers were given permission from Commander Charles E. Rosendahl (the father of airship development in the U. S.) and Base Commanding Officer E. S. Jackson, to use the newly finished hangar at Lakehurst for Indoor Free Flight Modeling. Through the remaining portion of that year and the next couple, Indoor Modeling was able to develop in this unlimited space.

In 1931, the first major indoor Free Flight contest was held in Hangar 1, hosted by the Lakehurst modeling group. This event marks the formal origin of what we now call the East Coast Indoor Modelers (ECIM).

Merrick "Pete" Andrews (1914-1992) was one of the originators and founder of our group. Among the many records he established here, he also helped to promote Indoor Modeling throughout the New Jersey and Philadelphia school systems.

Weekly building sessions were held at the major educational facilities, and several department stores (such as John Wanamaker).

Newspapers like the Philadelphia Inquirer published model plans and contest results to help further the hobby. Hangar No.1 served as a haven to these aviators, where up to 200 young flyers would gather and compete.

Today, ECIM works In conjunction with several organizations to perpetuate this superb facility. Being one of the oldest modeling groups in the world, we are very proud to continue our tradition at our original flying site. Many of our present members have been flying here for over 50 years!!

We hope you enjoy being a part of our current tradition as we are very honored to bring it to you!