That is so neat-O, Markin!Wow..I forgot all about these. I had one back around that time.
Yes, I believe the schoolyard also served as a flying range for baby brothers and friends on weekends, too!Yes, I had one when I was a teenager....a replica of a P-51 Mustang....very similar to the photo in the OP. We lived near the local High School, and on weekends, or through the Summer, when there was nothing going on at the school, I took it to the school ball park and flew it. I had it for probably 3 years, before the little engine quit....by then, cars and girls were becoming more interesting.
One positive spin (pardon the pun) of you ending the hobby early, you missed out on making yourself dizzy turning round-and-round flying it.I had one in the 50's!!! Yep thats rite 50's....my brother came
home on leave from Navy and gave it to me....I promply tried
to start it in the house and broke the hell out of the wing!!! So
end of my "hobby"....!!!!
My baby brother had a small wooden toolbox that dad had made for him, it was plain wood (unfinished), and housed the metal canister of Cox engine fuel, a few basic tools, screwdriver and a couple other things, a small Cox engine head wrench, and an old rag/cloth to clean up and wipe up.Oh, yes, I remember them. I had one for a short time. My dad got tired of putting money into it. I had to prime it, then take my finger and spin the propeller blade to start it. Once started, I had to adjust the fuel flow. It was fun for awhile, but then it became a disaster. Something was always going wrong with it.
Awww... just love your story, Grampa Don!In the mid 50's I loved going down the school yard and watching guys fly these. But, money was pretty tight at our house, so watching was all I could do. Then a neighbor kid offered to sell me a used .049 engine for a dollar or two, and my Dad gave me the money for it. It was pretty near worn out and wouldn't run at full speed, but I bought a balsa biplane kit and mounted the engine on it.
Along with a bunch of other kids, I took it to a neighborhood vacant lot to try it out. I got it running and one of my friends held it while I took my place in the center of the circle. I nodded my head and my friend let it go. To try to get it into the air, I pulled back too far on the elevator. it did one vertical loop and smacked into the ground, and I ended up with a pile of balsa wood. It didn't even make it once around the circle.
That kind of did it for me, and I went back to kits that ran on rubber bands. They were much more affordable.
Don
One of my baby brothers friends used to build planes from scratch, too.Yes, my friends and I used to fly them. I never has a 'Cox', but used to build control line planes from scratch or Veron kits.
There were a number of popular engine brands such as Frog, Mills and A.M (Allen Mercury).
I remember that variety, too!I had the balsa wood ones with rubber bands. No hi-tech stuff for me!