First plane I flew

[Dwayne]

Just found a pic of the first plane I ever flew. Prety kewl stuf these forums! I was 13 1973, Testors, I think Cosmic Wind.
Dwayne

[Clint Ormosen]

That thing is probably worth about $900 on eBay.

My first flight was on a CG Wizard about 1980.

[Larrys4227]

That looks like one of my very first planes!  Mine was Orange though .... had that really cool cowl on it. I knew it was a Testors, but cant remember anything else about it. I remember a pic of me and my dad getting it ready to run. I think my mom has it. I'll see if I can coax her into giving it to me. Thanks for the memory!

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

[Bill Heher]

I had that same one as my 2nd plane- a poor replacement for that super cool Cox P-51 that lasted 1/2 a lap. I wanted a PT-19 like my friends had, but my dad must have been impressed with the chrome finish.
It did fly, but the Cox engines seemed to make more power and the PT-19 was lighter.

I did end up using the engine on some Sterling Beginners Series 1/2A  war birds, flew them pretty well.

[Paul Taylor]

I too had a Cox P-51. Mine was the chrome version. I got more then a few laps out of mind. I flew it until the fuel took the finish off around the fill tube and exposed the red plastic. The tank got cracked after too many nose landings. I few this plane a few times out at the Navy base in Millington.

Looks like Dwayne and I are the same age. I think I was around 10 or 11 when I had the P-51.

I always wanted a PT-19, but never owned one. After the Cox plastic, I went to 1/2a kits, until I was around 16. Then along came the BIG plane. Ackromaster with a McCoy 19.

Paul 

[Dwayne]

That looks like one of my very first planes!  Mine was Orange though .... had that really cool cowl on it. I knew it was a Testors, but cant remember anything else about it. I remember a pic of me and my dad getting it ready to run. I think my mom has it. I'll see if I can coax her into giving it to me. Thanks for the memory!

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

Did it by chance look like this?

[Larrys4227]

Did it by chance look like this?

Wow!  That looks like it! Dont recall the white stripe, though. Maybe something you did?  I notice the pic date - 2008. Do you fly it?! Like mentioned before, those planes gotta be worth some bucks!

As soon as I can rustle up my pic, I'll post!

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

[Dwayne]

Wow!  That looks like it! Dont recall the white stripe, though. Maybe something you did?  I notice the pic date - 2008. Do you fly it?! Like mentioned before, those planes gotta be worth some bucks!

As soon as I can rustle up my pic, I'll post!

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

Hi Larry
It's not mine it's up for auction on Da Bay! You might want to check it out.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/MODEL-AIRPLANE-TESTORS-COSMIC-WIND-049-POWERED-MCCOY_W0QQitemZ110270928105QQihZ001QQcategoryZ34056QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Larrys4227]

Just spoke with my mom, and she found the pic! Says I can't be any more than 10-11 years old, which puts it very early 1970's. She says, the plane is alittle orange speed plane. She gonna send some other late 60's early 70's RC plane and helicopter pics too. A couple are the helicopters my dad and another guy put together and flew for scenes in "Towering Inferno". Later on they built and flew helicopters in Capricorn 1, and Blue Thunder. Blue Thunder was my favorite ..... that was one Bad-A$$ chopper!!  LOL!

I'm in Florda, and she's in Mass .... so will be abit before I see them at my door.

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

[Larrys4227]

Dwayne and all ..... My mom came through for me! Bless her kind heart! Below are some old pictures that really bring back the day for me.

As promised ... the pic of my dad and I getting the Cosmic Wind ready to fly! What a cool plane that was. The black and white photo I'm not sure about. I remember it sort of .... looks like a Ringmaster? Cant place the motor though. Also a shot of my first RC plane, and a pic of my dad proudly flying his helicopter. That was quite a site back then ....

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

[Dwayne]

Hey way to go those are realy kewl pics! 
The black and white pic is I believe a Sterling Magician.

[Jim Kraft]

Looks like the "15" size Magician by Midwest.

[Joe Messinger]

My dad got me a c/l plane somewhere in the mid 1950's.  That's all I had!  No lines, handle, fuel, battery, nothing else.  He thought some of the older guys would help me out with the accessories to get me started.  Well, they didn't!  The plane had a cigar shaped fuselage and looked something like a F-86.  It was all balsa and powered by an .049 Cox.  I never did fly the thing.

Later in the 1960's I built a Sterling Super Ringmaster.  Worked for several months on the plane.  Ambroid glue, pins, tissue, mixed talcum powder with clear dope for filler, brushed on multiple coats of dope and sanded on the thing (it seemed) endlessly.  Fox .35 for power.  It was pretty.  Took it to the field and let one of the "experienced" fliers take it on it's maiden flight.  It looked great in the air for about two minutes. The engine quit while the plane inverted and the guy tried to bring it up and over to land it on it's wheels. She went straight up to about forty feet then came straight down like a yard dart.  I carried the remains home in a shopping bag.

I decided another Super Ringmaster was way to much work and just might suffer the same demise so I chose a simpler Ringmaster and didn't put much effort into making it pretty.  I also decided that if it was going to meet the same fate as the Super, I would be the the one who was responsible.  It flew pretty well and I had lots of fun flying it.  So, the first model plane I ever flew was a Sterling Ringmaster.  I imagine that was the case with many who took up the sport.

Joe

[Andrew Hathaway]

Cant place the motor though.

I think Jim is right on the plane ID, the engine looks like a Cox Sportsman 15 from the aluminum case, black cylinder, aluminum head and lack of a venturi.  You can see what looks like the needle sticking out on the inboard side at the rear also.

[Dwayne]

Looks like the "15" size Magician by Midwest.

Midwest! That's it! LOL 

[Larrys4227]

You guys are real good at identifying planes ... Thanks! I dont think it was around very long, as it only rings a vague bell. I was also trying to identify the motor, and the first thing that came to mind was a Cox .049 on steroids. LOL! Andrew has a good eye saying its a Cox Sportsman 15 .... didn't even know that Cox made engines that big!!

That motor is probably still around in my moms basement ... but she doesnt dig around much down there. My dad passed away in the early 90's, and the modeling workshop is pretty much the way he left it. There are boxes and boxes of stuff. I felt fortunate that she dug through the old pics, but shes been excited for me since I got back into modeling. She was wondering which kid would start flying again .... it was very much a part of life in our household. Kind of 'in our blood' so to speak .... 

FlySafe! Larry (Larrys4227)