Andrew

Had to take a break from grading midterms to maintain my sanity and got to remembering my first planes. Since this forum has a wealth of experience and a number of us have been around for a long time, I thought I would ask how you got started.

Here are some of my firsts -- in order.

My first flying model (46 years ago) was a C/L COX Piper Cub with Babe Bee .049 -- it had a short lifespan, but the engine lived on.

My first flying kit was a C/L hollow block fuselage AT-6 with sheet wing -- I flew it until it was a soggy lump.

My first scratch was a C/L from a plans pullout in Model Airplane News -- ordered supplies from SIG (balsa, silkspan, dope, Ambroid).

My first free flight was a NORDIC glider built from pullout plans -- didn't have surgical tubing, so I pulled it up with a string. I later built a tissue and stick fuselage for the wing and stab and stuck a .049 on it.

My first R/C was the Ted Strader designed NOMAD -- had a rubber powered escapement and Citizenship tube type TX. It was mostly freeflight.

Jump in, guys. I know there is some interesting stuff out there.

burtcs

My first real model was a Midwest Fubar 36 (free flight) with a Cox 020 Pee Wee and an Austin timer. Oh and way to much dope of course. That was back in maybe 1963.

Regards - Steve B.

jlkonn

My Feedback: (1)

Andrew,
Did your Cox Cub have Civil Air Patrol markings?
Mine did!
About 1960 same as yours!
JLK

Andrew

JLK --

I honestly don't remember -- it seems like it had a roundel on the wing, but it had such a short lifespan [] that it doesn't stand out much.

SquirlNutZipper

My Feedback: (9)

I remember my first craft with fondness. I was about 7 or 8 and my older brother bought me one of those cox electric powered control-line P51's for X-Mas. My father would hand me one of those large square batteries he used in his flashlights in the garage on a Saturday or Sunday and I would spend the rest of that batteries life charging up my plane and "flying" it in circles much to the dismay of all the local animals. The local bird population seemed especially aggitated.

The P51 was "retired" to the attic after a couple seasons. Many years later I attempted to locate my much loved and taped bird but she had apperently gone on to a differant life.

Alex

Sneasle

first model...

16" ws guillows folk wulf..

first r/c... their p-51...

biggest... 2m HOB 2T glider

most fun.. HOB p-51

mclintock

My Feedback: (3)

I think I was six, got a comet kit that had three planes in it, a sheet wing glider, some other sheet wing thing, and a balsaframework job that used tissue to cover the wings and tail. It even came with dope! Oh that smell.... mmmm dope... every time I smell lacquer I think of that little jar in that box of balsa, plans and tissue.

The glider was very impressive, with it's clay nose weight, I can still remember the feeling of it in my hands now 34 years later.

Next I got a sterling kit all sheet piper cub control line kit that my mom's boyfriend assembled for me.. never flew that, but carried it around like a teddy bear for a long time flipping the babe bee untill it probably needed a rod reset. My mom's idiot boyfriend used elmer's glue instead of dope as dope and the wing warped too bad for me to think it worthwhile to fly.

Then got a cox green p-51, nosed over on takeoff and ground the prop to heck, scared me, didn't try it again for about ten years, I call them the rubber years...

First proper rc was a way too heavy sig kadet jr with a fire breathing super tigre 25 on it. Flew that until it crashed into a tree and splintered..

First 1/4a rc was a silk covered flyline 'quarter flash' flew about 100 feet until a tip stall did minor damage, then it got smushed real good when moving.. didn't care, all that dope from the silk covering had me too high to care!

build light

Ah yes! The early days. That was some time ago. Before my flying models I remember a tin toy airliner that had batteries and the props would spin and had the 2 passenger doors would open and you could see a tiny white plastic stewerdess at each door welcoming passengers. Was there a mobile stairway that went up to those doors? Seems like there was or else I pretended there was. From this description You could tell I had lots of fun with this thing.Big impression.

My first flyers were the north Pacific balsa gliders and rubber powered jobs. I remember buying one of the cheapest gliders at the 5 and dime store for a nickle (the retail price then) and Throwing and trimming that thing all day untill I had it just right. It would actually thermal! I did this about 3 or 4 times while my buddies looked on and then it happened. It cought a big thermal and went OOS. I was devastated that I had lost "the perfect glider"
My first "real" model was a HLG given to me by my uncle. Seemed rather large then. Solid balsa with a polyhedral wing. Bright yellow dope finish with black trim. Style was 30s - 40s. It too flew great.

First models I built myself were from a kit like Clint described. Had various stages of planes from a HLG to a stick rubber to a stick and tissue cabin model. They all flew so-so. I still had not gotten the feel of trimming. I just tried to follow the directions best I could.

First control line was a Scientific Zig Zag that I really poured my heart and soul into. I sanded and sanded and sealed and sanded and took no shortcuts ( I was bad about skipping steps or whatever due to impatience) on the finish. I don't remember how many coats of white I had but when the base color of white was finished it looked like it had been molded of shiny plastic! I had done it! I knew then the work that went into a good finish. I bet it weighed more than it was supposed to. I had a Golden be on it and was a little dissapointed in its performance so I took some pieces of 1/16 balsa and extended the elevator by 3/4" and that turned this kitten into a lion!. I flew that thing for ages and because I had used so much Ambroid glue and dope on the thing it was nearly indestructable. I bet I had over 200 flights on it before its wing started to crack loose. The firewall never did get soggy like my other planes.

From there I graduated to a Stallion Kand B .35 Kombat Kat by Top Flite. Covered in Chrome Monocote!

First R/C was a built from RCM plans Half A Stick which I felt was way too heavy even though I was using E K Logictriol's smallest servos made ( however the rx was I think the biggest)
I even got a 225 mah rx battery From Ace to try and help. I was still afraid it wouldn't go. So I took the cue from the Ace High glider. It was advertised you could use a 1/2 A motor to power it. So I made a wing that used 2 constant chord panels and 2 tapered panels. Using the same Golden Bee I had from before but with a throttle sleeve from Ace ( can you tell I loved Ace products). It flew beautifully but for one small flaw. It flapped like a seagull! on the down side I thought the wingtips were going to touch. I used no strapping tape or spars. This plane was Dark blue Aerogloss. I had used 3" Williams Bros vintage wheels. Once I got the flapping calmed down ( used strapping tape) it turned into a great trainer for me.

Robert

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

1965 TESTORS C/L .049 P-40 [oink]
1984 GOLDBERG C/L LIL WIZARD, SWORDSMAN, LIL SATAN [all .049 powered]
1985 DICK MATHIS designed C/L PIPER CHEROKEE w/ McCOY .35, DICK SARPOLUS C/L .35 sized STUNTER
1986 AIRTRONICS OLYMPIC 650 RC 2 CHANNEL GLIDER, 1/2A Q TEE

After this, it gets a little blurry.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Somewhere around 1968ish? I got a Cox c/l p-40 warhawk with 3 books of S & H Green stamps..anybody remember them?..well I had a car or 2 and a couple of dune buggies ( I have one now too) after that (Cox), but I never got that plane to run, just a pop or 2,probably about 1963-4 ish my father and brother tried to fly a cox pt-19? trainer c/l but with limited success, a very short lived experience...ahh memories...Rog

fritzke

My Feedback: (1)

The first gas powered plane I ever flew was a green plastic Cox P51 U/C.
I STILL remember how happy I was to finally keep it in the air for a full tank of gas.
First successful RC flight was with a 1/2a Skylark tail grafted to a Lil TriSquire wing and nose.
Ace "wiggler" galloping ghost system on that Frankenstein.
Really learned to fly with a 1/2a Koyosho Papillon using my new 3 channel Cirrus radio ($100 in about 1975.)
Built every Tern Aero, just about every Guillows, and lots and lots of Comet stick and tissue
kits in there too. Couple of Jetco and Sterlings too. Those suckers hone your building skills.
Now I'm up to about 60 R/C planes over the last 30 years. I tend to patch and refurbish planes
and keep them flying a long time.
Dave

hogflyer

1972 - 1974 (or somewhere around there) - First C/L was the dark green plastic Cox P-51. Literally flew the wings off, still have the product engine and the tail wheel is mounted on an Ace Guppy.
.
1975 - First RC kit to start - Sig Clipped Wing Piper J-3 Cub (56" span version). Finished a couple of years later, broke the fuselage in half in flight - I don't think it was really designed for out-side snaps and outside loops .
.
1976 - First successful RC plane - Sterling Mini-Mambo, MRC 765 radio with full size servo's and battery, Cox Golden Bee, covered with silkspan, K&B yellow epoxy paint. Flew like crap - way too heavy. It's retired and hangs from the ceiling. The covering has a lot of splits due to the ravages of time and nitrate dope.
.
1977 - First RC I successfully built and flew with no help - Airtronics Square Soar 2m glider.
.
1978 - First RC powered plane I successfully built and flew with no help - Airtronics Q-Tee, Cox Sanwa 8044 4-ch, QRC power. It is currently retired and hangs from the ceiling. Didn't think to fuel proof the cabane's so it's not airworthy anymore.

From there on it just became a pit to dump money into, and has only gotten worse as time goes on .

Bipe Flyer

Do the Guillow's rubber powered "stick with sheet wings" count? I think my first was the Strato Streak

My first kits were Guillow's. Don't remember which ones. I was really to young to build them properly and they never flew.
First flying models were balsa and cardboard chuckies of my own design. Yes, they actually flew.
First CL was a COX Sopwith Camel. Dog chewed the wing.
Played with RC cars, then girls for a few years.
Fist RC was a Global Stik-E. Turned me off of electrics for a long time. It's 15+ years old now and a friend flies it with a Norvel .25.

flybug

Ah how good it is to the soul to reminisce. I remember my very first encounter with the RC world, yes one of our own a real 1/2A gem design and drawn by the infamous Bipe flyer what a great model that LST trainer. Broke me in to RC a few months ago it was my very first scratch build, kit, covering job, and flying (heck call it my first ARF as well cause at one point of the build it is almost ready to fly). Looking back now that little bugger got the best of me (did not understood any of the terminology and had to build a total of 2 sets of wings and fuse until I got it right) that darn dihedral brace placement kick my butt not only did I not know what it was but how do you use it – Thanks Dave for a great job with the build post (still waiting for the maiden) it cleared a lot. It still resides in my hanger and flies every time, it has the now discontinued Hitec Micro flight pack, and a TT07 for power (just bought a norvel 0.74 for it). Second plane, again built from plans the LST150 (never flown). Third a size 40 trainer ARF (yep Chinese made) got 4 flights out of it and donated it (too fast, too furious). Fourth just finished a DAS BIPE STICK Midwest Products kit, has a Hitec Supreme receiver and 4 Futaba servos an ole reliable OS Max 40FX (will maiden it tomorrow), and currently on my work bench another great and sought after aircraft designed and drawn by our own PTULMER an almost ready to cover DNU - thanks Flyinrog.

I want to say this is a great community, tons of knowledge and experience at your reach; I would’ve been so lost with out each and everyone of your posts so close and yet so far. I must say it is a long road ahead and a great learning experience every step of the way. I picked up a box of wood from a friend who moved and in it I found some handles, come to figure it out I think they are for control line (what on earth is that and how the heck you fly a chained plane); guess there is still lot to learn.

Thanks a million to all
PS – Have several kits on the shelf waiting and other scratch build projects. Once you get started it’s like you can’t stop; D

DICKEYBIRD

THE 1st one was an AJ Hornet windup rubber sheet balsa plane in the plastic bag from the local dimestore at 9 or 10 yrs. old. Learned CG, warps, controlling launch torque and glide circles by sliding the wing over a smidge and bending the rudder. Didn't have a clue why stuff worked but kept trying things until it flew good. Literally flew the wings off it until nothing was left except the fuse stick, prop & the re-tied rubber. Wound it up & flew it straight up & down over & over until the prop broke. Then took the rubber off & killed an entire generation of flies swarming on watermelon rinds on the front porch. The rubber got shorter & shorter & I finally threw it away. What a summer and the most efficient use of hobby funds I ever had. I wonder what the world would be like now if modern kids had to come up with their own entertainment out of almost zero money like we did back "in the day?"

1st engine equipped plane? OK Cub .049B powered Scientific hollow-log Super Sabre. I ran the engine forever before finally getting the nerve to fly it. (2 summers of 50 cent lawn mowings invested in it.) The prettiest figure 9 you ever saw killed it dead.

I gave up until I traded a buddy for a Babe Bee. Scratch-built a little 18" x 6" combat plane from a M.A.N. drawing and it flew great! Built many variations of the same design for a summer and then moved on to Berkeley Chucker HLG's (my hobby shop mentor taught me to grab all the Chucker kit bags off the peg and weigh them to pick out the lightest one....whipped all my stronger-armed buddies with it that summer,) Jetco Thermic 50 & 50X, a Goldberg 1/2A Blazer, Combat Streak with McCoy .29, yada, yada, yada.

Then....go-karts, cars, girls, motorcycles and fast forward to an Aristocrat "Fighter 400" trainer with OS H40P engine, borrowed Futaba radio with the old chrome gimbals (who's on blue & white!!?) From there into 1/2A, then pylon, comp. fun-fly, pattern, 1/3 Scale, etc., etc and then back to my roots: 1/2A and then into this forum. Been here ever since.

hfenn

My first time was in 1972 in a 1962 Mercury Comet parked behind some plum bushes in the.......... oops, never mind, I'll get back with you about the airplane stuff.

LaCerne

My Feedback: (16)

I don't know my 1st control line stuff. I built rockets then control line kits( I remember a solid balsa stuka kit) then started rc about 1980. A Cox Sportavia that I crashed several times but never really flew was my 1st. The next was a Topfite Headmaster II that I built so poorly and heavy it wouldn't get off the ground with a Super tigre .23. Then I bought a Hobby Lobby Papillon for $9.99, installed a Cox Golden Bee from my CL days and learned to fly with little help. I built, flew, and crashed several of those until I could afford something with a throttle.


Larsen

build light

DB, you brought back some bad memories for me. There was a time I too tried the jetex thing and I never once got it to fire off. it was a pay loader 150 and a simple Jetex 50. my problem was the fuse would snuff at the hole or at the screen. never once did i get the fuel to ignite inside the cannister. And there was no internet or anyone i knew that had experience.

Robert

Big Al-RCU

First actual store-bought kit was a rubber model 10 cent Hi-Flier Bellanca. It actually flew very well. It had a unique ratcheting elevator arrangement. I was about 8 yr old and it was the beginning of WWII. It was my last kit till after the war that came with real balsa. Remember the Joe Ott kits with the cardboard Ott-o-formers and pine stringers? Bah.

First C/L was a Hot Rock with a Drone. Around ‘47 or ’48, (whenever the Drone first came out). Good dependable flier.

First experience with R/C was in ‘51 with a buddy who had a Miss America. We fitted it with a Berkeley Aerotrol, but I’m not sure that we ever had a controlled flight. The rubber band would be run down, but it was a series of “What’ed it do?”, “Dunno, what did YOU do?” etc. Thankfully, it was a very forgiving F/F and could recover from our intermittent meddling.

First successful R/C was a Hal DeBolt Jenny (a trainer in his Livewire series) in ’64. Had a Veco 19 and a home made radio, the B&D Proportional, built from a series published in MAN in ’63. It flew OK until the Interstate next to the flying field opened up. The truckers CB’s played havoc with the super-regen receiver. The ace double ended super-het came out about that time, so went with it and got into ½ A G/G. The bible for G/G at the time was Grid leaks published by Ace R/C. Those were exciting times, because there was always something new that could be cobbled together and the odds were at least 50/50 that it would really work! Those were the Golden years of radio (and Rube Goldberg control schemes) IMO. Lots of fun.

Al

cyclops2

Around the 50's in 7 th grade. Got a Xmas plane. Veco full stunt CHIEF. 1 st plane and I built it alone. Parents bought the MeCoy RED HEAD 35 for it. CL

Release the plane and 4' later it is going vertical and starting to go inverted. Never flew before.

5 minutes later I dead stick it roughly.
I just collapsed into a slumped over sitting position for a long time.

NONE of you know SQUAT about a overpowered and less than 1/2 the weight 3D plane.

I started it all on that day.

The rest of you are all followers.

SquirlNutZipper

My Feedback: (9)

This is a great thread.

Hey FG what are you doing up so late? Me, well it's not G rated so Can't tell you here, lol.

I look forwards to flying with you guys this spring.

Alex

groundsman

Mid 60s started with a COX PT 19 trainer. I still have the engine.
then I built a Sterling Royal Coachman.
I could not afford a radio, so I built a Ringmaster Jr. and put the OS .15 on it and flew it alot. Next
I built a Sinbad glider.
Mid 70s got a radio, and flew the Coachman.
Scratch built several other planes then built an Oly II
Started flying 1/2A Pylon with Half A Sticks
Those were the days

Steve

ebeneezer3

Mid 5o's 1st plane I rember was a guillow's Corsair. It was terribly tail heavy best flight was the last one off the roof of the barn and on fire.

1st control line was a profile 049 P40 in the mid 60's. It didn't fly a complete circle. Later in 68-69 I learned to fly control line in Viet Nam with Ring Masters and Sterling YAK 9's. Build for 6 days, fly for 1 crash, build another. Made that year go quickly.

Early 70's tried rc with a Digit Midget 3 channel and one servo. Put that system along with a Cox 049 in a Junior Falcon. Got a gray hair or two. Most exciting was putting it into an unintentional spirial dive. Only thing to do was stop the spiral with opposite rudder then hang on and hope there's enough altitude for it to pullout. Finally joined a club and found people would help you learn to fly! Flew until '78 then took a break to raise a family.

Restarted about the time Flyin Rog did. from what I've read here, he flies better then me. Have been using an Easy Star to retrain the thumbs this time

flyswatter

Let me see, my first model airplane was a long time ago and I would guess it was in 1946-48 and it was whittlers delight. I always loved building. My first contest was in 1952-53 (sorry, but the memory gets a little fuzzy) and it was a Monogram Models local building contest using their kits. I built the Monogram PT17 and came in 3rd. Still have the 3rd place medal. That may also been the year I won a local Duncan yooyoo contest and went to the city championships (Richmond, VA) and got my clock cleaned.

My first radio was given to me in 1954 and it was a Citizenship pulse system. The radio was a tube type and the receiver required a 57.5v and a 3v (2-1.5v flashlight cells) batteries - not exactly a mini! The radio went in a Sterling cabin cruiser. I still have the radio.

First, rc plane was in 1963 and it was a Nomad with a 020 Peewee with a substantially smaller OS pulse radio. Still have the Peewee. First, 4 channel proportional RC plane was in 1969 and was a Top Flite Headmaster with a Enya 29RC and a MAN 1-2-3-4 radio. Believe it or not, I still have all three. As I have mentioned on another thread, I recently rebuilt the Headmaster and it is flying today with an OS 25 and a Futaba radio. With any luck, the Headmaster and me will grow old(er) together.