THEY fly free as the air in which they soar. Model masterpieces that owe their existence to the skills of their makers, the inspiration of three pioneers who realised a dream in 1931 and a long-forgotten factory in Totton near Southampton.

Next month a unique event will bring together enthusiasts and their prized aviation models at a special exhibition to be staged at Southampton's Solent Sky museum.

The exhibition on May 20, 21 and 22 will commemorate the work of the Wilmot brothers - Charles and John - and Joe Mansour the originators of the renowned names of Jetex and FROG motors and models.

Squadron Leader Alan Jones, the museum's director, is hoping that local people may have models and that they will take them along to Solent Sky during the exhibition.

"You never know what is tucked away in forgotten corners in attics and sheds, so it might be possible that there are examples of these engines and models out there we have never seen,'' said Squadron Leader Jones.

Back in the 1920s the Wilmot brothers were aircraft aficionados from an early age and, inspired by the success Southampton-built Supermarine machines, they produced a design for a model that would both look like the Supermarine S6 and fly like it.

With equally ingenious designer Joe Mansour they went on to form International Model Aircraft (IMA).

The model, later known as the FROG, an acronym of Flies Right Off the Ground, was a great success. Toy-makers Tri-ang acquired the majority shareholding of IMA leaving Charles, John and Joe to concentrate on design and production of other models, some of which are featured at Solent Sky.

During the Second World War IMA was responsible for producing flying targets for the Royal Navy and rocket-propelled glider targets for the Army.

This activity brought Charles - his brother had by then been killed in a car accident - and Joe to the Solent area where they tested their designs at Marwell and Beaulieu.

With the war at an end and having left IMA, the two set up business at Salisbury Road in Totton and began developing miniature versions of the wartime rocket motors for use with model aircraft, and so was born the famous Jetex brand of the 50s.

At the height of its production 60 per cent of Jetex motors were being exported. Ready-to-fly models included RAF jets, a helicopter and even the Dan Dare spaceship from the pages of Eagle comic.

By the mid-1960s declining sales brought Jetex production to a close and a little earlier in 1962 was the last year that FROG produced a full range of flying construction kits and engines.

Without the influence of their innovative founders, sales figures had dropped and competition from imports forced a retreat to a simplified ready-to-fly range.

Despite the popularity of FROG plastic kits, by the 1970s the company was looking abroad in an attempt to reduce production costs and increase sales volumes and the country it chose was Russia.

By 1976 the UK workforce was told that future production would be carried out in Russia but this was short-lived and by the November of the following year FROG production ground to a halt.