History of Wen-Mac

[Tony Drago]

Pretty cool.

[Paul Smith]

I saw some Wen-Mac people demo their flying platform on LIVE television on the Today Show on channel 4.   It actually worked !! 
They had their neck stuck out a mile to do this live.

My next door neighbor got one and it WORKED, for a while at least.  When he broke the toy he was able to design and build a working CL model with the engine.

That's THREE known Wen-Mac success stories.  I don't know any others.

Wen-Macs really had a BAD name, maybe through the fault of inept users.  The Babe Bee was the cure.,

[Dave_Trible]

I soloed on a Wen Mac mounted on a Scientific Stuka in 1964.  Never had many troubles with them.  I still have one or two.  The early ones didn’t have a spring starter.  I think that’s what made the Babe Bee so popular.

Dave

[Dave Harmon]

My first engine was a Wen-Mac .049.
I got it for Christmas perhaps 52' or 53'.
According to the Tim Dannels engine encyclopedia it was a 1b model shown on page 237.
It came in a box with a see-through window and a small book showing how 2 cycle engines work.
The engine had a red anodized rear tank and red head muff and red plastic spinner.

My dad and several other modelers in the neighborhood (Tulsa) could not get that thing to run more than the prime.
We took it back to the hobby shop and the knowledgeable owner tried everything he knew to get it running and finally gave up.
He gave me a K&B .049 which started and ran perfectly on just about the first flip.
He took back the Wen-Mac and I guess by now it must be near the bottom of the Tulsa city dump.

Much, MUCH later......a friend gave me a clapped out Atwood Signature Greenhead.
I sent it to Bill Schmidt (MECA) in Kansas to evaluate and repair.
He said the P&S was worn out and he replaced it with a new Wen-Mac P&S and shims.
He also sent a interesting description of WHY....those stinking engines did not run.
It's all about the deck height which is critical.
This answered an ongoing 55 year question I had spent a lot of time thinking about.
My Greenhead runs great on 25/25 and has flown quite a bit in a Snapper I scratch built recently.

Back in 2002 I got married and we rented our 'costumes' from a bridal shop......
Yep....the same darn location of that hobby shop so many, many years before!!

I spent a lot of time in the back of that hobby shop in the mid 50's building Spacer free flight models and generally hanging out after school every day.
Today when I pass that location I always think about that hobby shop owner (Buck Tiers) and that damn Wen-Mac!

edit.....I forgot to mention that the video was interesting but was self serving hype.
In the past 69 years I have never seen a Wen-Mac engine run.

[EddyR]

WOW I now have a lot more respect for Wen Mac. I never paid much attention to them as i moved beyond 1/2A vert quick
Ed

[john e. holliday]

It is like the COX PT 19,  I've had people say it wouldn't start and if it did it crashed.  Even today some people don't read instructions.

[De Hill]

Around 1957, my buddy Chuckie got a Wen-Mac flying platform for Christmas. He brought it over to my house and we tried to fly it. The engine was hard to start. We finally got it going by starting it rich and then leaning it out enough to fly the platform. When the engine quit, it would not restart; you had to richen it out to make it go.

I don't remember what happened to the platform;  it was a one trick pony. (up and down only)

[Dan McEntee]

   I most definitely remember , " It's Roger Ramjet, and the American Eagles!!!"  "Roger Ramjet he's our man hero of our nation!"  It was a cartoon shown during a local kids show, "Captain 11" that we would always watch after school. I don't remember ever seeing Wen-Mac commercials, though, and I'm SURE i would have remembered those! My brother Ted's gas powered model as a kid was a Wen-Mac Dauntless Dive Bomber and his was dark blue in US Navy colors. I had been looking for  one like that for years and managed to snag two light blue Navy and two olive drab Army A-24 Invader versions. Finally luck smiled on me and about a year ago I found a dark blue Navy and again a few weeks ago I found another. I remember watching Ted and my Dad trying to start it on the patio a few times with no success. Part of the reason my Mom had told me that she would never buy another one!  I do remember clearly though that they were trying to use Testors "39" fuel that came i n a squeeze bottle, and through the years have read that this fuel was a lot less than ideal! I intend to get one each of the different versions cleaned up and presentable to be hanger queens in my basement ceiling collection, and if there is enough useful parts the lesser of the six i have will be used to attempt flight with one. I think Chris McMillin told me once that one of his buddies had managed to get one to fly with a good modern prop and 30% nitro fuel. Maybe that will happen this summer.
   After the hockey game I'll dial up the My Three Son's "Air derby episode for some inspiration!!
   Type at you later,
     Dan McEntee

[Dennis Leonhardi]

Surprising how different our experiences were.  i have two Wen-Mac stories, times I'll probably never forget.

Back about the mid-50s I took the wing from a PDQ kit, added a "nacelle with fuel tank" and installed a Wen-Mac that must have been the rare exception.  It was probably one of the easiest to start, most reliable engines I've had and it ran circles around the Cox reed valve engines of the day.  I used pretty mild fuel but it would really wind up.  My experience has been they really produce best with smaller (diameter) props.

A few years later I had actually won a couple of AAA combat contests but still had issues with dizziness at times even on 60' lines.  No idea why.  I wandered over to good friend Jack's one day and found him flying a red Wen-Mac Aeromite on what must have been 10' lines.  I thought he was nuts - actually, we both are - but ya can't just watch.  So I took over.  First time the engine quit, I fell over.  Second time, same scenario.  But I kept on until I could stay on my feet.

Never experienced dizziness on 60' lines again.  or any lines I can remember.  That little red Aeromite was a game-changer!

Those are my stories, and I'm stickin' to 'em!

Dennis

[Dennis Leonhardi]

Pretty cool.

Thanks a bunch Tony, really enjoyed that!

Dennis

[Tony Drago]

Your welcome.

[dennis lipsett]

That engine  in the photo is not a Wen Mac. It is a Mel Anderson Spitzy 045. I had them as a kid. They were not powerhouse motors. I ran Wen Mac engines with no difficulty. Most of the problems were with the plugs. You need a really hot plug and a good battery was also a necessity. The first Wen Macs  were really nice with red anodized tanks and nice fits. I just sold a NIB original first issue Wen Mac  with the booklet intact in the box. That  box  and booklet in itself is a collector item.

[Joe Rice]

A Wen Mac Beechcraft Bonaza was my first C/L plane.  It took dad and I an hour to get it started Using the cord wrapped around the prob hub as supplied.  It never flew.  Doubt it could, but it got me started.

[EddyR]

 I worked in two hobbie  shops during the 1950-60’s. People brought in there motors that they could not start. We checked the plug ,put in fuel and the motors started right up and ran for us. Almost all of them had dead plug and plugged fuil line or needle valve turned in all the way. Leo Kern started most 1/2A motors in his hand with old leather clove to protect from heat.
EddyR

[Joe Rice]

I worked in two hobbie  shops during the 1950-60’s. People brought in there motors that they could not start. We checked the plug ,put in fuel and the motors started right up and ran for us. Almost all of them had dead plug and plugged fuil line or needle valve turned in all the way. Leo Kern started most 1/2A motors in his hand with old leather clove to protect from heat.
EddR

...and we had no clue how to analyze a hard start other than the info provided in the box.

[dennis lipsett]

I worked in two hobbie  shops during the 1950-60’s. People brought in there motors that they could not start. We checked the plug ,put in fuel and the motors started right up and ran for us. Almost all of them had dead plug and plugged fuil line or needle valve turned in all the way. Leo Kern started most 1/2A motors in his hand with old leather clove to protect from heat.
EddyR

That brings back memories. I ran a large amount of 1/2A engines in my hand with a leather glove. This being from the time I was 11 onward to leaving for service in the 60's at 18

[Frank Imbriaco]

Great video.  Enjoyed Wen-Mac Products in my childhood and own a  few today. Christmas 1958, got an Aqua Mite. Nicely crafted with a pull cord starter, but heavy. I was under the impression that it'd take off like a shot in the water, so I tied a fishing line on a pole and free spun the reel. Launched it in relatively calm waters of Barnegat Bay, South Jersey . It got swamped and sunk.
Next product in 1960 was the Wen-Mac Go Kart. This was a great, albeit slow, tether car. Had lots of fun and near wore it out. That was followed by an Aero Mite around 1961 which flew decently.

Fast forward to today. Until recently, owned an Auto Mite tether car and 1966 orange Mustang- both with .049 power. Treated them as collectables. Also had , but sold the Testors Sprite Indy Racer tether car.
Today, I have the 57 Chevy Delco Drag Car with .049 power and another Go Kart. They're in collectable condition. The Kart was last run about 10 years ago and we did a Youtube video in2011. If I get the time, I'll search for it and post it here.

[Frank Imbriaco]

Youtube-

   Search "Wen Mac GoCart.wmv"

I wasn't able to download.
 Maybe someone more technical can help.
 It was April  2011
Worth watching !

[bob whitney]

back in the late 50's when i would hang out at the local hobby shop,i used to hate the week after Christmas. Mom and young Son would come in with a Wen Mac Bonaza or such still in the box  ( Bob see if u can get this started and show them how to fly it) usually a hot plug ,a good battery and good fuel got it going but it was always down hill from there

[Skip Chernoff]

Thanks for sharing. I actually got that Wen-Mac Pea Shooter to fly,but it was not nearly as good as the Cox PT 19.

[Tony Drago]

Your Welcome.

[Tony Drago]

[John Rist]

I am surprised that no one has come out with an electric tether car. 

[Tony Drago]

This might work.

[john e. holliday]

Enjoyed those videos.   

[Dan McEntee]

This might work.

    I have a Remco Shark in my toy collection. Not very fast but they run pretty smooth on a couple of D batteries. A step further, everyone is familiar with the Stanzel Electromic battery powered toy planes and helicopters, ( I have a few varieties of that also.) They also made a car that looked like a rear engine Lotus racer. It had a unique control cable that sort of flopped from one side to the other. I never knew about those and mine is the only one I have ever seen. And one more step further on the tether car scene is the Mattel Vroom Racer! That one is manually whipped around and has the neat "vroom" motor noise mechanism. The main problem with those is a slight flaw in the way they were assembled, and the noise mechanism breaks down and it won't "Vrooom" any more! I figured out how to fix that, but it requires cutting an access hole in the bottom of the car. All tons of fun STILL! But all todays kids have is video games!!
 
    Type at you later,
      Dan McEntee

[Tony Drago]

Dan.
  This is a place every one should put on their bucket list.
 The  Stanzel Bros. museum in Schulenburg, Texas.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=Awr4xJP1uHNgMGUAzy1XNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNncTEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Nj?p=Stanzel++museum+Schulenburg+Texas&ei=UTF-8&fr=sfp&th=123.9&tw=165.5&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia-cdn.tripadvisor.com%2Fmedia%2Fphoto-s%2F18%2F0a%2F44%2F63%2Fphoto6jpg.jpg&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripadvisor.com.au%2FAttraction_Review-g56640-d270657-Reviews-Stanzel_Model_Aircraft_Museum-Schulenburg_Texas.html&size=71KB&name=Stanzel+Model+Aircraft+Museum+%28Schulenburg%29%3A+UPDATED+2019+All+You+Need+to+Know+Before+You+Go+...&oid=1&h=413&w=550&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.Ew1BNL-J7tmR1tW2x-coxQHaFj%26pid%3DApi%26rs%3D1%26c%3D1%26qlt%3D95%26w%3D165%26h%3D123&tt=Stanzel+Model+Aircraft+Museum+%28Schulenburg%29%3A+UPDATED+2019+All+You+Need+to+Know+Before+You+Go+...&sigr=bsEAAdqZYcz4&sigit=TXxH5sEsQoD5&sigi=VypFZyQlUGhb&sign=5A8ArbYAyjxo&sigt=5A8ArbYAyjxo

[Mark Mc]

Thanks for the video, Tony.  I never got to play with Wen-Mac planes when I was a kid.  It was Testors by then, and my only Testors CL model was a little P-51 that I could never get started.  But as an adult the past few years, I snag every Wen-Mac engine I can get my hands on.  I love these little beauties.

A couple of years ago I went to a local hobby shop (Tammie's Hobbies, for those who remember the old mail order ads in the model magazines).  The guy behind the counter knows to hold onto any engines that get dropped off because I'll probably want to restore them.  When I walked in, he said a guy had dropped off a box with a couple of old engines in it and some plastic plane parts.  He reached behind the counter and pulled out a box that said Wen-Mac on the side, and I got excited.  I glanced in and was a little disappointed. It looked like junk tossed in and covered over with packing peanuts.  But one thing caught my eye, so I asked what he wanted for it.  He said, "Make an offer", so I said $45.00.  He said okay, then noticed a piece of plastic was cracked, so he lowered it to $40.00.  I paid the owner up front and took the box home.  Emptying the box showed:

1) All the parts of a gummy green P-39.  Including the two missiles that fire in flight.  Even the manual.  Everything for a complete restoration, hence the thanks for the above video.
2) All the parts, and I mean ALL, for a Cox Comanche.  The Sportsman .15 powered plane.  Probably the best Cox plane score I've ever had.
3) And a Cox Thimble Drome Champion tether car.  I haven't taken it apart yet, but I think it has the Testors engine/gearbox conversion.  Unfortunately, the previous owner took a drill and file to the chassis, so it won't be a pristine restoration.

A good day at the hobby shop.  I guess I'll finally get to fly a Wen-Mac once the P-39 is cleaned up and restored.

Mark

[Tony Drago]

  Always liked the P-39.

[Frank Imbriaco]

Tony, thx for posting my Wen Mac Go Kart !

Think I want to take it out and run it again.

But the thought of cleaning off the castor goo has given me pause, lol.

Frank

[Dan McEntee]

Always liked the P-39.

  Actually, it's a P-63, is it not?? I have two, an olive drab one that has all the bells and whistles with it, and a chrome version also. It's a big model and as the flight video shows could use a bit more "umph" up front! Maybe a bit more nitro in the fuel and a better prop. I also have put the Stanzel museum on my bucket list. When the manufacturing end of it went out of business, I bought some of the kits and such they offered at the time and a few extra Electromic Flash models. I hope the museum hangs around and survives this pandemic crap.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

      PS to add: I forgot to mention I picked up one of the go-Karts at at toy show a few years ago, with a decent box. I believe it's complete but haven't really looked at it in a long time. From watching the video, it looked like that one was leaving a streak of rubber on the ground and may benefit from some line rake adjustment to get it to run more on the tangent of the circle and maybe a bit faster?

[Tony Drago]

P-63 it is.
 Frank. Glad to help out.

[dennis lipsett]

Does anyone remember when Wen Mac came out with a large blow molded Mustang
with about a 40 inch W/S and that miniscule Wen Mac in the nose. A fried of mine got one as a Bday gift and he wanted to see it fly. I expressed dubious doubts about it ability to get so much as 1 inch off the ground. He was insistent to see it fly.
so we fired it up and as we had a really nice flat asphalt field he launched and I whipped it around and it lifted about 5 inches off the ground. I did stabilize it  and while whipping it got about 9 laps out of it till it mercifully ran out of fuel. The landing was good and it actually did have somewhat of a glide, not like most of the fall out of the air type that was so prevalent in the late 50's/early 60's
I would also note that we had to get the balance point right and that was really not so bad as the nose was long enough to get it balanced.
All who were active in their youth in the 50's and early 60's will probably have their own stories to tell about their favorite piece of plastic.
Do wish that I had a picture of it to amuse everyone.

[Tony Drago]

Dennis. Is the white beast.

[Brett Buck]

Dennis. Is the white beast.

    OOOF!  It's usually pretty hard to make a Mustang look bad, but somehow they managed it!


    Brett

[curtis williams]

That made me throw up just a little.

[Frank Imbriaco]

They made for a lot of happy kids on Xmas morning.
 Can't think of any kids toy of today that would jack me up.
-Real engine with noise & smoke?
-Takes fuel
- Potential for injury- cut finger
I'd argue that all the Wen Mac, Cox, Comet, Gilbert and others prepared a boy for a car and manhood.

[Brett Buck]

They made for a lot of happy kids on Xmas morning.
 Can't think of any kids toy of today that would jack me up.
-Real engine with noise & smoke?
-Takes fuel
- Potential for injury- cut finger
I'd argue that all the Wen Mac, Cox, Comet, Gilbert and others prepared a boy for a car and manhood.

Wen-Mac prevents this:



    Brett

[Steve Scott]

It is like the COX PT 19,  I've had people say it wouldn't start and if it did it crashed.  Even today some people don't read instructions.

I was around 9 years old when my dad got me an Aurora L-19 Bird Dog.  He didn't do a great job explaining it and I never managed to get more than a half lap.   Some years later I got the Cox PT-19 which had the instruction book.  Flew the tank dry the first time.  Odd, that one was reverse colors with a yellow fuse and blue wing.  The same year an uncle sent me a Sterling Ringmaster kit and McCoy .35 redhead.  I was amazed how much better the larger balsa ships flew.

Never had a Wen-Mac.  I thought them inferior to Cox for some reason.

[Brett Buck]

I was around 9 years old when my dad got me an Aurora L-19 Bird Dog.  He didn't do a great job explaining it and I never managed to get more than a half lap.   Some years later I got the Cox PT-19 which had the instruction book.  Flew the tank dry the first time.  Odd, that one was reverse colors with a yellow fuse and blue wing.  The same year an uncle sent me a Sterling Ringmaster kit and McCoy .35 redhead.  I was amazed how much better the larger balsa ships flew.

Never had a Wen-Mac.  I thought them inferior to Cox for some reason.

   You were right. Wen-Mac/AMF morphed into Testors, and while I never had any particular problem getting them started, the performance was, on average, much lower than even the lowest-end Cox product engine. But what was most disturbing was that while you could generally get them started and running when new, put it away for a few weeks and almost always, it wouldn't start, apparently because it wouldn't draw fuel. Presumably this was because the metering got gummed up, but particularly the later Testors/McCoy versions were more-or-less impossible to clean out with 11-year-old skills.

   What Cox managed in the mid-50s was truly miraculous, the engines were absolute marvels of precision, so far ahead of everyone else at the time that it might as well have been magic. They are still very impressive now, 60+ years later.

     Brett

[Leonard Bourel]

Yup that is true I still have all kinds of cox 049s and they are old and well used but if I clean one out and put one of the old plugs that still glows in it with some 25 percent nitro they just keep going and going no matter how many times Naomi plants them in the bean field mud. Gotta love it!!!!

[Steve Scott]

I worked in two hobbie  shops during the 1950-60’s. People brought in there motors that they could not start. We checked the plug ,put in fuel and the motors started right up and ran for us. Almost all of them had dead plug and plugged fuil line or needle valve turned in all the way. Leo Kern started most 1/2A motors in his hand with old leather clove to protect from heat.
EddyR

I wasn't even that sophisticated.  Used to run the Babe-Bee or Pee-Wee by hand holding it in a rag.  Appears the radial tank w/fuel perhaps helped dissipate the heat.

Others I'd attach to a board w/nails.  Had lots of 1/2A engines with broken tank lugs.

[Ara Dedekian]

         I remember a two tone green WenMac Mustang with a pull starter and a four blade prop. It may have been a Testors by then. My cousin and I were out one day trying to start it and let a young boy who was watching our futile attempts, help out and launch it. I had never gotten a c/l model off the ground at that point. and two of the blades broke off in our previous unsuccessful takeoffs. When we finally got it started and everything seemed a 'go' our enthusiastic helper, having not received any instruction from us, picked it up and spear chucked it. We were on asphalt! That set me back a good year in getting a plane in the air.

         Ara

[Dan Berry]

Well, I am a fan of the mighty WenMac.
Getting a good one is hit and miss. Mostly miss. Mk1 and 2 have an interference fit that makes them useless for anything except making noise.
The WenMac Whisperer is Bill Schmidt. He set up the one I have used to win two 21st Nats events as well as the one my buddy Jackie used to win the Nats at least once. Everyone laughs until they see it go.

Bill says maybe one in six has piston/cylinder fit that is worth working with. Then it gets shimmed and other witchcraft to turn it into a mighty WenMac.
When I got mine there were instructions for hand starting, which plug and fuel to use, clown balloon for bladder tank, other things I cannot remember.

Then there was the most important piece of advice: Get the engine running and happy. Trim the plane. Oil the engine and put it away until the contest. It won't take too long to wear it out.

WenMacs made LeRoi Cox a lot of money.

[Dan Berry]

Wen-Mac prevents this:



    Brett

I have stolen this.
My apologies but I really needed to defend my mighty WenMac.

[Dennis Leonhardi]

   You were right. Wen-Mac/AMF morphed into Testors, and while I never had any particular problem getting them started, the performance was, on average, much lower than even the lowest-end Cox product engine. But what was most disturbing was that while you could generally get them started and running when new, put it away for a few weeks and almost always, it wouldn't start, apparently because it wouldn't draw fuel. Presumably this was because the metering got gummed up, but particularly the later Testors/McCoy versions were more-or-less impossible to clean out with 11-year-old skills.

   What Cox managed in the mid-50s was truly miraculous, the engines were absolute marvels of precision, so far ahead of everyone else at the time that it might as well have been magic. They are still very impressive now, 60+ years later.

     Brett

Cox definitely wins on quality control, at least in the "early" years.  But I'd take a good Wen-Mac over a Babe Bee or Golden Bee any day.

As for Testors - every review I've seen on the latest .049 reports better performance than the 2 Cox engines mentioned above.

And the Chinese Cox .049s - does anyone have an example that wasn't worn out after just 5 runs?  Pure junk ...

Dennis

[Frank Imbriaco]

Cox definitely wins on quality control, at least in the "early" years.  But I'd take a good Wen-Mac over a Babe Bee or Golden Bee any day.

As for Testors - every review I've seen on the latest .049 reports better performance than the 2 Cox engines mentioned above.

And the Chinese Cox .049s - does anyone have an example that wasn't worn out after just 5 runs?  Pure junk ...

Dennis

      Gulp ! I didn't know the latest( or final version) Cox .049 Babe Bee were made in China. I just built my young grandsons two Sig ukie kits and thought I was buying N.O.S. Cox Babe Bees made in the USA. These have plastic tanks which look identical to the old spun aluminum jobs. Bought from a guy in Conn. Haven't run them yet. When did the China thing start ?

[Dennis Leonhardi]

      Gulp ! I didn't know the latest( or final version) Cox .049 Babe Bee were made in China. I just built my young grandsons two Sig ukie kits and thought I was buying N.O.S. Cox Babe Bees made in the USA. These have plastic tanks which look identical to the old spun aluminum jobs. Bought from a guy in Conn. Haven't run them yet. When did the China thing start ?

Mike Pratt might be able to answer that, but it's been a lotta years ...  The plastic backplates are a real disappointment, but at least some of the Chinese pistons are a wee bit harder than butter.

Ain't the Chinese great!

Dennis

[Dennis Leonhardi]

Testors 8000 vs Cox Babe Bee / Golden Bee: No Contest!

Cox: http://sceptreflight.com/Model%20Engine%20Tests/Cox%20Babe%20Bee%20&%20Golden%20Bee.html

Testors 8000: http://sceptreflight.com/Model%20Engine%20Tests/Testor%208000%20%282%29.html

Wen-Mac .049 Hot Shot vs Cox: No Contest!

Wen-Mac: http://sceptreflight.com/Model%20Engine%20Tests/Wen%20Mac%20.049%20Hot%20Shot.html

Old McCoy .049 vs Cox: Roughly equivalent but McCoy wants more rpm

McCoy: http://sceptreflight.com/Model%20Engine%20Tests/McCoy%20049.html

I think Stunt flyers talk about finding the right fuel and prop ...

Dennis

[Kim Doherty]

I had a WenMac Cessna Trainer. Big model!
30 inch wing span, all flying tail, Hot Shot engine. Chris Brownhill and I did get it to fly... level. That was about it.
Kim