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General control line discussion => How I got my start in the hobby => Topic started by: Chris Belcher on August 25, 2014, 02:55:09 PM
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First time I saw a control line plane was at the end of some string with the engine rubber banded on and it was all plastic and held together with more rubber bands. Hit the ground and exploded! Amazingly it went back together right there on the spot and I got to hit the ground again! Next one I saw was my uncle's Wingmaster...at least that's what he said it was...with a Fox 35. After an hour of flipping the prop it came to life and my uncle flew the entire stunt pattern to my complete amazement. I WAS HOOKED! First plane was a Li'l Satan with Golden Bee .049. It did about 5 insides before i gained control after my uncle pitched it in the air. Next plane was VooDoo with Enya 19. I put one little 1/4" nut in the wingtip for weight...had no scale so just guessed what an ounce was...not enough. Over the top and splat. Then i went through the ususal onslaught of wingmasters, akromasters,banshees,etc...and never could get the pattern under my hands. THEN...i got a Forerunner in about 1994. I just decided to kiss it goodbye and try the entire pattern and voila...been doing the pattern ever since.
To this day the smell of castor oil wafting through the air is the MOST therapuetic and consoling friend I have ever had! there's jsut something about it...well that and Stilletto's ;D
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Is that one of the reasons that I sometimes just mount an engine to a piece of wood and just run it.
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Damn...I thought I was the only one.
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You mount your engines when you run them? :o
I used to hold the Babe Bee in a rag in my hand and run them that way.
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Well you won't hold a Fox Combat Special or Green Head Torpedo that way. LL~ LL~
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Engines are my valium and balsa dust is better than any drug ever invented. When it comes to engines i am a crackhead. Gotta have em. I know i have several hundred around here and can usually tell you a story behind it. My fathers Brown Jr.has a resting spot on my mantle. Everbody in the house knows "in case of fire" grab the Brown and run.
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Engines are my valium and balsa dust is better than any drug ever invented. When it comes to engines i am a crackhead. Gotta have em. I know i have several hundred around here and can usually tell you a story behind it. My fathers Brown Jr.has a resting spot on my mantle. Everbody in the house knows "in case of fire" grab the Brown and run.
i feel the same. my wife even had to delete my Ebay app from my phone, so I'd stop buying engines ''
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I am another castor oil and methanol addict! I love the smell of Nitro in the morning- It smells like Victory!
I occasionally run one in the driveway, the neighborhood kids ride and skate past our house all afternoon and weekend. Some of them are interested in the huge collection of "stuff" in my garage ( for some reason my sons Honda Civic Hatchback seems to be a favorite thing to ask about).
One day I had a K&B Stallion .35 on the stand and about 1/2 a dozen stopped to see what was going on. When I fired it up - most ran or screamed, but one stood there with his fingers in his ears and grinned- I think I have a live one in the bunch, just have to find time to get a handle in his hand!
His Mom would probably ban him from my presence if she ever looked in the garage.... See for your self
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Aw, let's face it: for most of us it began with the AJ-74 glider. ("How much are your ten-cent gliders?") Remember those? Wing forward for loops, etc. .... wing back for long glides. Once I discovered the "wing back" - plus a bit of help from Dad regarding wingtip washout - I was hooked!
Later (c.1950) saw some guys flying large, noisy, smoky models on wires. Things haven't been the same since.
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Not only the glider, but remember the ready to fly rubber power plane by A-J Aircraft.
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I used to try different folds on the old paper air plane. Bent the nose down, tore "flaps" in the wings and would lick 'em and bend to different shapes...flaps , ailerons etc...paperclips to balance. Got some good flights and some bad ones too...Learned the basics
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Not only the glider, but remember the ready to fly rubber power plane by A-J Aircraft.
AJ Hornet, or if you were rich, the Persuit. The Persuit wing and stab were the basis for the Firebaby!
I still have a replica each of Firebaby, Hornet, AJ 74 and the folding wing glider. ;D
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I used to hold the Babe Bee in a rag in my hand and run them that way.
Me too! #^