I want to start in this hobby. I am 13. Is the PT-19 a good starter airplane?? Can all you veterans tell me what books I should get that has basic info?

JW:

Sorry, there's no way to answer that question.

A truly scale PT-19 would probably not be good, but a semi scale one could be excellent.

Bill.

I suspect he is talking about the Cox PT-19 CL Trainer. They are said to be pretty good.

Jim

Thanks, is there any good books I should check out?

There are many books on model bulding, and C/L flying available. But since you have acess to the intrnet you can learn a ton of stuff by reading the available material and exploring the links on the C/L related sites.
Stuka Stunt Control Line Forum, @ http://www.clstunt.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi.
Also check out http://www.aeromaniacs.com/ - lots of good info there.

A Google search for Control Line model airplane will keep you reading for a while.

The PT-19 will get you started, and if you fly over grass it should last through quite a few crashes, the motor can be used on more advanced planes that you can build while learning to fly with the PT-19.

Welcome to C/L flying, and good luck.

Oh yeah - find a friend who likes planes and get them started too. It is a great hobby to share, and flying takes 2 people to do safely.

jw,

"Building and Flying Control Line Model Aircraft" by Dick Sarpolus is a good one. Dick explains much of the basic information, different types of control line planes, building and finishing tips, etc.
It is available through Carstens Publications (Flying Models Magazine). It may also be available at your local hobby shop.
Good luck with your PT-19 and welcome to control line model airplanes.

George

I watched all the videos on aeromaniacs. Man, I like the combat videos, now im going to try to get my friends to get a CL planes.

By who?

My experience with it is that it flys like a plastic brick, if you can get the motor running right.

I would highly recommend you build a profile style balsa kit. A Cox motor is OK, but the plastic tank and rubber fuel line in the PT-19, as well as the funky way it's all held together make it difficult to run in the PT-19.

My brother and I have taught a lot of kids to fly C/L with a Goldberg Lil'Wizard. A good next step is a Sig Skyray. There are a lot of similar kits still available. They're easy and fun to build, and will fly way better than plastic. And when you crash them, a little CA and you're back in the air, whereas, I've not yet found a glue that'll stick that flexible plastic PT-19 back together.

Phil

The Skyray is an excellent suggestion. Glue it together, touch it with sandpaper and paint it, go fly.


Bill.

A 1964 version of the venerable Cox PT-19 earned me a set of control line wings when I was 12. Once I learned basic flight, take-off and landing I moved up to a larger model - a Sterling Ringmaster with a .35 engine. They are not made anymore but I'd recommend Sig's Skyray 35. In fact, their 1/2A (another term for the .049 engine class) Skyray is a fine flyer and will fly circles around ANY plastic airplane. The plastic .049 powered models are just too heavy and underpowered to give a lot of satisfaction but they're expendable and can serve as a basic trainer to "cut your teeth" on. The larger models are much easier to fly.

I think I will still go with the Pt-19. That seems to be the major response.

I had many of the cox plastic planes through the 1970s. The pt19 is the only one I managed to get more than two flights on.
In college my roomate had one and we flew it at a construction site over concrete and crashed it dozens of times, sometimes at full power straight down from straight up over head. It usually rubber banded back together, but sometimes the plastic cracked. I was able to fix the broken bits by gluing bits of scrap plastic over the crack using ca after cleaning the heck out of the plane with alcahol and 409. Sometimes I had to sand the cox plastic to get the glue to stick.

One day, we even let some girls fly it--GIRLS!! flying a model airplane!! something i've not seen before or since..

After a while we got bored with it and tried to do loops, but with the stock prop, no dice. It was a whole new plane when we put a 6-4 prop on it (left hand) and used 25% fuel. It would do loops then, but the lines would go slack sometimes at the top, causing panic..

It's fun- it will give you good experience in running glow engines and will probably make you want to get a better model soon- one made of wood. I went rc and never flew a wooden one, but I'm shopping for a kit now to use the old pt engine again.

The PT-19 of today is not the same as the older model. I do not have one but from postings, apparently it flies better. The "Sure Start" engine is a pretty good product engine also.
That said, I'll have to agree that a SIG Skyray and a Black Widow would be hard to beat. I have one to teach kids to fly with.
You could also use a Big Mig Startup .049 on the Skyray.
The trouble with getting a trainer is that after a dozen or so flights you are usually ready for the next step. The Skyray provides that with adjustable external controls. After you learn to go round and round, you can change controls and do some mild stunts.
If you get a plane with an internal control system, you can change movement at the horn or line spacing at the handle.
Many prefer using larger planes to start but the smaller ones bounce better.
Don't fly off concrete if you can help it. Grass is much more forgiving.
Good luck whichever you decide.


George

My kids got me a new versionPT-19 from C*x for my birthday. I wanted it to take to the field to suck in the kids that show up. So far, 7 kids, 2 wives (neither one mine), and 3 other people have flown it. It is undamaged despite some plops into the dirt, and even touch-and-goes on asphalt.

I use 30' of lightweight Spiderwire line instead of the stock control-line as provided. It makes a big difference. I also cut the prop down to 5" from the stock 6" to get a bit more speed.

Everyone is pleased and impressed with the plane, and a couple of the "newbies" were threatening to go get their own as they left. <VBG>

I spent many days turning circles with a Cox Pt-19 as my first model plane when I was 12 years old. It will teach you how to handle a Cox engine which will stay with you for your entire life. The PT-19 will be a fine place to start.


Later,
Tim

Yeah, now with those kind words by Tim... Im DEFINITLY getting one now

Enjoy the PT-19. About a zillion people have gotten started with them. But then go to www.brodak.com to really wet your whistle!

The Cox PT-19 is what I started out with, over forty years ago. That plane held together long enough to teach me quite a lot.

Excellent first plane if you are talking about the Cox model. Take off on a piece of cardboard and then fly off grass. You will have fun.

Hey JW your avitar says you are in Wisconsin? I am also thirteen and live in Milwaukee. Maybe we could get together and fly at on of the local control line clubs. I also have a few friends in my neiborhood that you could fly with. We usually fly on weekends and we have about 50 to60 planes between us. Hell now that I think about it we should fly combat more often.

The PT-19 is the best flying plastic trainer ever made. Try to talk to someone in a hobby shop, though, and see if you can get an adult to help you fly it. Two problems:

1. You will crash it - no if's, and's, or but's. Crashing on asphalt will probably break it beyond repair. On the other hand, you may be able to crash many times - over grass - with little damage. The object is to try to make it last until you can fly it without crashing.
2. Taking off from grass will be difficult, the wheels will not want to roll. The best place is a baseball infield. I would not use the cardboard idea untill you've learned to fly. Trying to take off from cardboard will have you pulling up on the handle right away. As soon as it's airborne, you'll be overcontrolling it and crash. You need to take off from a site that will let it fly while your wrist and hand DO NOT MOVE.

If you get serious, buy the Sig SkyRay as recommended by many here. The solid wing makes it easy to put together, and makes it almost indestructable over grass. At the same time, the light balsa construction will let if fly much better than any plastic plane. A Cox Golden Bee or Black Widow is best. Keep the PT-19 as is.

Another way to take off if there is no wind is to pick a spot near a road (with no curb). Stand on the grass and let the plane take off on the road. As the model picks up speed, move away from the road and fly over the grass.
The reason I mentioned no wind is that you don't want to take off into the wind and the road position may put you there.

Good luck.

George

I always got frustrated flying the pt over grass as it would tumble every single time when the wheels got within a grass blade length of the ground.
The parking lot flying for me was much easier, as the plane would mostly land on it's wheels. Since touch-n-goes are one of the few moves this plastic thing can do, being on a hard surface has it's merits.
The pt we had crashed hard and fast into the asfault many times- the rubber bands saved it.
The prop did suffer though on the occasional bad takeoff where the nose went over but the engine didn't quit, so it just ground the prop into the tarmac.. Maybe it was bad for the motor, but we used to keep a rag around in case we needed to kill the engine- threw it in the prop.. I read in some book that was the best way to intentionally stall a reed valve engine, but later read that it's a terrible strain on things.

Ya know, come to think of it, it was the p-40 that nosed over and ground the prop, the pt I don't remember doing that.. It did get slack and fly into the strings tho!

Here are some links to a plastic plane to fly you make yourself. It won't break, you build the stooge for it from the same materials, is easy to fly, fun and the primary materials are litering the highways as we speak. If you don't want to take a political sign, they are private property litter, you can check at the local gass station for when they will be throwing away last months coke, pepsi or cig adds.

http://www.balsabeavers.ca/ Click the beginners link and then download the Manwin .pdf file.
http://www.northlandflyer.com/Manwin...nchomatics.JPG
www.northlandflyer.com/Plane%20in%20stooge1.JPG
www.northlandflyer.com/ManwinStoogelaunch.zip

Since you asked about books, I am attaching a link to the beginner's page on my club's website, of which I am the webguy. You can navigate the whole website from there, but that page recommends several books that you will find informative, and where to get them. Not a bad idea to ask at your public library, either.

For what it's worth, two years ago, we built a bunch of clones of the SIG 1/2A Skyray for training kids, and found them to capable of a many aerobatic tricks, but not so good for new pilots. This year, we got a bunch of the Cox PT-19's, and found them to be more suitable for first flights, and pretty tough. When they break, you can buy the part and bolt it on. Less emotional attachment can be a big help. Remaining calm is key, panic is bad. But beyond that, balsa flies better, and bigger flies better. Welcome to the fun, Steve http://www.nwskyraiders.com/beginners.html