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Old 12-03-2014, 05:41 AM
  #47  
skylark-flier
 
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: VA, Luray
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OK, gotta chime in here. You've got me by 7 years. Born 1948, in 1955 (Christmas) I got my first CL plane, the legendary Cox PT19 - and the FOREVER EMPTY POCKET syndrome started. First build was a Guillows Fokker DR1 built with Ambroid (was there anything else at the time) and covered in tissue & dope (aerogloss), like a lot of other guys, and it met with the same fate as a lot of other guys - 10 seconds of "flight" ending with busted landing gear. Mounted a Baby Bee .049 on her and pointed it skyward - never saw it again.

BUT, that really started something. Second build was a Lil Satan with a TD.049 that I still have mounted on a CG Gentle Lady that flies fairly regularly.

Over the next 15 years I built & flew (C/L) a dozen planes by a half-dozen manufacturers, my greatest favorites of the 1960's - early 1970's was the Midwest P-63 and Cosmic Wind. Then I found my first true love with wings - Sterling Skylark (hence, my moniker here). I've had a dozen of them, still bid (and usually win) when I see 'em on E-bay. Highest price I've paid for a Skylark kit is $325 about 10 years ago, it was worth it - and of course, the plane's still flying.

ALL my C/L planes are built with Ambroid or Duco cement, no CA, covered with silkspan & SIG dope. Most are still flying.

DeBolt Aerocoupe converted to C/L. Fox .15RC engine, plane was a BEAR to get back on the ground - floated all day with engine on idle.
My old Midwest C/L stable - ME109, P63, Cosmic Wind

Some of my Skylarks - burgundy is the $325 plane.

1973 started my RC stable - SIG Kadet, built with Duco cement. I still have several tubes on-hand from my latest build, my SIG Kadet Mk-II that was built last winter when I retired that original Kadet. Of course, CA is my prime glue nowdays, but the Duco still has its place, usually with laminations and sheeting.

Ye gads, so many decades, so many planes, so many memories.
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