out onto the street in the San Fernando Valley. small crowd of kids. Ernie Wobig is older, he'll start the engine.
the finger was cut deeply, and he went inside. someone got the plane started, and I had two disorienting rotations before the climb to the heavens and the faceplant on the concrete, shattering into pieces.
we went over to Ernie's house. his mom had set a roasting pan for him to hold his finger over. he seemed in pain. I swear there was over half an inch of blood in that pan.
I had a Stuka dive bomber in the 70's when I was about 12. The yard was too small for the 50' strings so my buddy Jerry and I shortened them. I whirled around like a mad dervish until I collapsed too dizzy to stand. Later I found that I could fly the thing on without even starting the engine simply by slinging it around on the short strings. One day I got it started and reached to adjust the needle valve cleverly placed on the back of the engine and managed to stop the propeller with my thumb which still bears visible scars from the mangling it got.
What a pity to concentrate on the negative fringes of this aeromodeling milestone! Controlline flying was all the rage in those days, and this product was conceived as an entry-level gateway to more sophisticated balsa aircraft. The fact that it was often used by a complete newbie without an instructor is the cause of these anecdotes, but plenty of Cox PT-19 planes had long and happy careers. You do NOT "get dizzy" if you concentrate on the plane and not the background. And yes, premature attempts at loops etc can lead to trouble. My model club was once contracted by Cox to demonstrate these models at the Point Mugu airshow in Ventura, California. I was an instructor-pilot despite a lack of skill, and i brought a kid or two into the circle with me while a pit man started the engine. I'd guide the kid's hand for a few laps until they "got it" and then they'd fly solo. The other kid would stand upa nd we'd do it again before the fuel ran out. By the end of the weekend I could fly with my eyes closed, just by the feel of the plane. Oh yes, crontrolline models are the only type of model plane to provide actual control-feel feedback, like a real aircraft! At the time, this was not even close to being the most dangerous toy, but viewed through modern eyes it seems a bit dicey.
I had the control line biplane "Lil Stinker" with a decal of a skunk on the fuselage. Flew it almost every day one summer. It was a prize I earned by selling Christmas Cards to the neighbors. It was 1957 and I was 11 yrs old.
Christmas Day, early sixties, a P40!!!
out onto the street in the San Fernando Valley. small crowd of kids. Ernie Wobig is older, he'll start the engine.
the finger was cut deeply, and he went inside. someone got the plane started, and I had two disorienting rotations before the climb to the heavens and the faceplant on the concrete, shattering into pieces.
we went over to Ernie's house. his mom had set a roasting pan for him to hold his finger over. he seemed in pain. I swear there was over half an inch of blood in that pan.
I had a Stuka dive bomber in the 70's when I was about 12. The yard was too small for the 50' strings so my buddy Jerry and I shortened them. I whirled around like a mad dervish until I collapsed too dizzy to stand. Later I found that I could fly the thing on without even starting the engine simply by slinging it around on the short strings. One day I got it started and reached to adjust the needle valve cleverly placed on the back of the engine and managed to stop the propeller with my thumb which still bears visible scars from the mangling it got.
What a pity to concentrate on the negative fringes of this aeromodeling milestone! Controlline flying was all the rage in those days, and this product was conceived as an entry-level gateway to more sophisticated balsa aircraft. The fact that it was often used by a complete newbie without an instructor is the cause of these anecdotes, but plenty of Cox PT-19 planes had long and happy careers. You do NOT "get dizzy" if you concentrate on the plane and not the background. And yes, premature attempts at loops etc can lead to trouble. My model club was once contracted by Cox to demonstrate these models at the Point Mugu airshow in Ventura, California. I was an instructor-pilot despite a lack of skill, and i brought a kid or two into the circle with me while a pit man started the engine. I'd guide the kid's hand for a few laps until they "got it" and then they'd fly solo. The other kid would stand upa nd we'd do it again before the fuel ran out. By the end of the weekend I could fly with my eyes closed, just by the feel of the plane. Oh yes, crontrolline models are the only type of model plane to provide actual control-feel feedback, like a real aircraft! At the time, this was not even close to being the most dangerous toy, but viewed through modern eyes it seems a bit dicey.
I had the control line biplane "Lil Stinker" with a decal of a skunk on the fuselage. Flew it almost every day one summer. It was a prize I earned by selling Christmas Cards to the neighbors. It was 1957 and I was 11 yrs old.
I don't remember that toy! It sounds like lawn darts with an engine.
I had one of these. A gift from my Dad. We could never get the engine started so it never flew.