On November 10, 1935, the circulation department of the Portland Evening Express, Press Herald, and the Sunday Telegram began a series of model airplane meets at the Armory on Milk Street, which would culminate in a statewide contest. Meets were scheduled throughout the winter, and were open to model airplane builders throughout the state of Maine, free of charge. The Gannett newspapers hired Wallace Adams, a local model expert, to teach the children the craft of building model airplanes, again, free of charge.

Along with photographs of the boys and their planes, the November 10 issue of the Sunday Telegram also included an entry form for the contest and a complete set of rules.