A historical flying game in circles

[OldAirmail]

Watch this, and the rest will make sense.


I've looked up and down the list on the main page, and have decided that this is the closest category.



Back in the late '50s I remember watching some adults hanging out together building TUBE radio controlled model airplanes.

They were nice enough to a little kid, but it was obvious, even to me, that all I knew about airplanes was that they flew high in the sky.


Then one day I saw a plastic, line controlled, P40 airplane in a store. It took a while to save up and buy it. The dog gone thing was probably $10 or $12!

When I got it home I discovered that I couldn't fly it. For one reason I had no fuel! AND I needed a big battery just to start it.

Flying airplanes, obviously, was more involved than I had known!


Since it was going to take 2 or 3 weeks to get what I needed, I did the next best thing.

I took it completely apart. I mean EVEN the little motor!

To some kids, like me, that was fun too.


When I had everything together to fly it, I found I was still missing a couple of more things!

Like HOW? Oh, I could start the engine. But then what?

Not wanting to look foolish, I had waited until no one was home to see me mess up.

Yeah. Real Leave it to Beaver type of a kid.


BUT! But flying a line controlled airplane single handedly can be done.

Maybe not well. But it can be done.

Start it, hold the hand control in the left hand, and the planes in the right hand.

Gently toss it away from you AND MOVE BACK AS FAST AS ALL GET OUT!!!

OK. So more often than not, it just goes into a vertical loop, twisting the string together. Eventually the fuel runs out.


But with practice I got it to go in a circle. And that is where I learned the OTHER things about flying in circles.

On one side I had a garage. OK. Gota fly high to miss that.

On the opposite side were some BIG bushes. Almost trees in height. OK. Gota go under on that side.

Lots of crashes.



We lived on a quiet Street. (until I started flying gas fed model airplane engines, that is)

Plenty of space.

Well. Why not. The street isn't usually busy. Right?



So here's a kid spinning around in the street, with something whizzing around and making a lot of noise.

Did I ever tell you how stupid people can be!

Don't those people driving cars know that I can't do ANYTHING until the fuel runs out!!!!!!!!


Life is full of little lessons.

[PhantomTweak]

Back in 6th graade I worked hard to save up the money to buy a PT-19 U-Control model. Yes, the ones tha fly in circles. It came as a complete start up kit with the first can of fuel and battery included. I went thru a ton of rubber bands and several props putting it back together after various....mishaps, shall we say, but eventually, about the time I was ready to graduate, I got it down, so to speak.

ever since then I assosciate the scent of the durning fuel/castor oil mix they used in the engine with aviation....

Anyway, thanx for the flood of memories, OAM!

Pat☺

[OldAirmail]

It was certainly fun at the time.

But those "various....mishaps, shall we say" led me to stop flying the ones that I made. It was to much work repairing them.

For flying I went back to the plastic planes.

Duct tape would have been great back then.


I look at those cheap radio control planes from time to time.

Maybe I'll get one day.

[Hagar]

This brings back some memories. I started what we call control-line flying around 1953 when I was 10 years old. I used to design & build my own models, mainly flying wings. You could fly a plank if you bolt an engine on the front. (I still have a Cox .049 somewhere that someone gave me which I never used.) Control-line is still popular in some parts of this country. Things haven't changed much although some are electric powered nowadays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEBHkIBvvJs

Much later in life I was finally able to afford to venture into R/C, first gliders & then power - glow plug & electric. I gave up model flying in 2000. If I was still doing it I would like to try model gas-turbines.

[Sprocket]

I took it completely apart. I mean EVEN the little motor!To some kids, like me, that was fun too.

HA HA HA! I was the bain in my mothers life with taking everything apart..

But OAM, its becoming more and more clear to me how similar we may have been.. me too, at age about 12 or 13, fell in love with the P40 Warhawk.
I used to collect scrap metal after school, for goodness knows how long, to buy one.

And talk about a learning curve--- I could for a long time, (then) not understand why the Baby Bee would cut out and die after just a few minutes of flying.
And other times not..untill one day I learned all about centrifugal force as we know it..

Turns out, after taking this little engine apart, I sometimes unknowingly reinstalled the little plastic pick-up pipe to the "wrong side" inside the little fuel tank.
In flight the fuel flies outward inside the tank, and my pick-up is facing inward

But unbeknown to us then, I am sure you all must agree, those were the days of our grounding.. putting us on the path we reached today!!

[Sprocket]

This brings back some memories. I started what we call control-line flying around 1953 when I was 10 years old. I used to design & build my own models, mainly flying wings. You could fly a plank if you bolt an engine on the front. (I still have a Cox .049 somewhere that someone gave me which I never used.) Control-line is still popular in some parts of this country. Things haven't changed much although some are electric powered nowadays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEBHkIBvvJs

Much later in life I was finally able to afford to venture into R/C, first gliders & then power - glow plug & electric. I gave up model flying in 2000. If I was still doing it I would like to try model gas-turbines.

Wow...from what I've read it seems those days, 1953 era, a lot of ground breaking work were done those years for the hobby.

And its amazing how we all had this aspirations to go R/C.

I finally managed a modest set-up around 1982. Joining a club in those days was very expensive for us, when there's a young family to take care of first, of course.
Started off with a plan built Falcon 56, engine was a Super Tigre 46 and an old second hand 6 channel Futaba AM.

But it all worked, and I had arrived!!

[PhantomTweak]

I have an awesome, RC electric helicopter I fly on weekends. Thing eats through AA batteries fast, and is darn hard to comtrol, but it's a lot of fun!

My PT-19 had a Cox .049 in it, now that you mention it. Powerfull little 2 stroke!

Pat☺

[expat]

That bring back memories. I had a PT-19 control line powered by a Cox .049 when I was around 10 or 11 I think. It was a Christmas present. I cannot remember what make it was, but it was an all plastic design. It was great fun and fly for years before I could afford to move on to radio control...

Matt

Edit, found it, it was a Cox model.

[PhantomTweak]

[img]

That bring back memories. I had a PT-19 control line powered by a Cox .049 when I was around 10 or 11 I think. It was a Christmas present. I cannot remember what make it was, but it was an all plastic design. It was great fun and fly for years before I could afford to move on to radio control...

Matt

Edit, found it, it was a Cox model.

[/img]

That's exactly the one I had!!!

Mine came from Radio Shack/Tandy, and included a can of premixed fuel and a battery to heat the glowplug for starting! Thankfully there was an office supply store next door to buy rubber bands from. went through those like poopie through a goose! I can still hear the hissing sounds the glowplug made when you primed the engine with a little fuel right in through the exhaust port before the first start, and the smell of buring castor oil!! Thanx again

Pat☺

[Steve M]

I had one of the P40 Warhawks like the original post. I'm pretty sure I was too young for it, but back then all of our toys were pointy and sharp! My Warhawk logged in about 4 seconds of airtime.