A Firebird Commander 2. I'm now training with an Alpha 40.

I started on a Craftaire Cowboy with a thunder tiger 15 and an aerosport 4channel radio. Years later I found a new kit of the cowboy for sale and scooped it up and put it together for nostalgia sake.

Avistar, OS 40LA, later replaced with a OS 46FX. Futaba. Still have it, still fly it even though it`s a bit the worse for wear. Kind of sentimental now in that every time I fly it it reminds me of happy times with good friends that I no longer see.

Ok...guys...
I may be showing my age...but I learned to fly on two aircraft. Andrews H-Ray...and the Falcon 56. I used an old Kraft 1969 four channel radio with KPS-12 servo's...and I would say that these two models were the main stay of the hobby in the late 60's and early 70's. I used Super Tiger .23's on the H-Ray, and a K&B .40 on the Falcon 56. Neigher engine had a muffler...and none were required or availiable in those day's. Both models in time were past on to my flying buddies...accept the Falcon 56...that one I crashed. But I've built many over the years...and still feel it is a great model today.
Soft landings always,
Bobby of Maui

Kinda wish now that I too had kept my Aeronca Champ. It would bring back a lot of memories just like yours does I'm sure. That was over four years before my wife and I were married, and that has been now almost 34 years ago now. I still enjoy my wife, kids, grand kids (new) and family, and aviation.

Hey Bob, before I got into RC, I turned a Falcoln 56 into a control line plane! With I still had that one too.

1971, Lanier Transit that I put ailerons on. Super Tiger 46, Kraft Series 70 4 channel radio. Lasted about 2 flights. No buddy boxes in those days.

1999 Windstar Ep glider. Hitec focus 4.... Its still flying today.

Graupner Taxi with an OS.35. First flight late summer of 1975...
Radio: Futaba 6ch, the golden box.
Some years ago, but I still remember my first solo-landing

my first plane was the Electrafun, they are fun to fly around the back yard

[8D]In 1954, Kenhi Buzz'rd 72" wing with Fox .19. Gas tube single channel radio with escapement that alternated left and then right. To make a gentle turn you had to double pulse. No speed control. Had to teach yourself to fly since there were no other RC fliers in the area.

Goldberg Falcon 56 with a enya 35 engine and a Kraft 4 ch. radio.The year was 1984.

Year: 1974
Plane: Goldberg Skylane 42 covered in silkspan and dope.
Engine: Cox Golden Bee .049
Radio: Single channel Ace Commander (rudder only)
Never crashed...retired, and then tossed out during a move...dumb!

September, 1953
My first R/C model was a Lew Andrews Guillows "Trixter Beam" powered by a green head K&B .15 - no thottle of course. Radio was a Aerotrol kit system, using a Bonner S/N escapement for rudder. The finish was silkspan with Testor's dope - white with orange trim. The transmitter was a heavy black box, fabricated by my Dad, with a largish dipole antenna, powered by the battery in Dad's trusty 51' Buick. I built the receiver and had to take an FCC test for the required citizens band license. It took two paper routes to support the purchase of the Burgess dry cell batteries that had to be replaced all too often. I remember using a 36" length of spruce dowel with a carved screwdriver blade shape at one end, in order to get my body as far away from the reciever tuning slug as possible during the tuning phase of the pre-flight preperations. My first flight took place at the Los Alamitos Race Track parking lot in Southern California, a location used by quite a few modelers in those days. The airplane ROG'd from the tarmac without problem and flew quite slow and actually very smoothly. Turns had to be "blipped" and with the S/N escapement, you of course had to go through the next cycle in order to repeat the direction of the turn.

I also remember having some difficulty finding an appropriate fuel tank for my Beam and that I finally wound-up using an empty glass Testors dope bottle with soldered tubing in the metal cap - but it worked fine.

For what it's worth, I just finished a replica of my old Trixter Beam, using plans obtained through Bill Northrup Old Time Plan Service. Believe me, this "new" Beam looks about 3000% nicer than my first one! Great memories - many thanks for the thread.

My first plane was a Great Planes Big Stick 40 size, with a OS 40 on the nose. That thing flew great!! That was 3 years ago, I sold the plane for $100 and the dude I sold it to crashed it a few weeks later..LOL What a great hobby.

Holy moly S. Christensen, you're one of the last dinosaurs too. Here are some photo memories of those "heavy black box" days, a single channel, vacuum tube, ground based transmitter with a 9.5 foot army tank antenna. The lead acid wet cell supplies power to the vibrator system to produce about 170 volts DC.