First C/L airplane - best guess '70-'71 at age 9 or 10 - Cox PT-19 w/ metal tank - father bought for me at a military PX and one of three available in Belgium some months before returning to the States - would have preferred the P-40 or Stuka but probably the best choice for success of the three in retrospect.
When I became confident flying the PT-19 back in the States, I remember showing-off to neighborhood kids by swapping control handle back and forth between right and left hands while in flight in a tiny field behind a church; confidence turned to embarrassment when centrifugal force carried the airplane, lines, and handle away from me in short order. It didn't fly long when it left my hands. BTW, there was no adult supervision when we flew model airplanes then. A humbling experience and lucky for me, the airplane didn't hit one of those kids...
Also interrupted a wedding in progress with that airplane at the same church to the point that attendees came running outside to ask us to cease operation. Good times for sure.