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Plane and simple: He’s an aviation fan
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Vindicator | LISA-ANN ISHIHARA.Ron Santoro talks about the WWI and WWII model airplanes he hand crafted, on display at Canfield Historical Society's Bond House.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .This French WWI SPAD model aircraft was Canfield resident Ron Santoro's first handcrafted model plane. He has been handcrafting planes for more than 4 years.
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM
What do Canfield residents do when hobbies become too easy? They make them more challenging.
Ron Santoro has lived in Canfield for the past 15 years. Ten of those years has been dedicated to building military fighter model planes. Santoro began constructing planes from airplane kits, but after years of putting together kit after kit, he needed something that would require more time and more skill.
“It wasn’t a challenge doing store-bought models anymore,” he said. “I wanted more of a challenge.”
Santoro began to buy 2-foot-long sheets of basswood that he would fuse together to form a wooden block. He used basswood for his models instead of the traditional balsa wood due to its sturdiness. His attention to detail and creativity rekindled Santoro’s interest in aviation crafting. He has been drawing, cutting, constructing and painting handcrafted plane models for more than four years.
The planes usually take anywhere from two to five months to complete, depending on how much time he can devote to the craft. Growing up during the WWII era gave Santoro a background and interest in fighter planes. He said he has always loved aviation.
“I was a youngster during the time of the war and grew up to love the planes,” he said.
So far, Santoro has handcrafted 12 planes ranging from American to German fighter planes. His first handcrafted model was a French SPAD. His handcrafted collection was showcased at the Canfield Historical Society Bond House.
This was his first exhibit at the Bond House, but he would like to showcase his works more. Santoro said he may arrange another showcase at Canfield’s War Vet Museum some time in the future.
“It is a great history lesson for young people and should be carried on,” he said.
Santoro is taking a break from building antique fighter planes for the summer, but will begin on a new plane later this year. He said he is unsure of what he will eventually do with his handcrafted collection, but he wants his grandsons to develop in interest in aviation just as he has.
They already possess some of his plane models and are on their way to finding a personal connection to aviation.
“I have a deep interest in aviation and I would love to pass my interest along,” Santoro said.