Pure Flying - When That's All That Mattered

[Chuck_Smith]

Looking for old slides in my collection, sifting through for some shots from the very early days of the my club. It's our 50th anniversary.

Found one of me and my very first airplane. Really brings back the memories - how simple and joyous flying was back then.  The feel of that McCoy .35 pulsing through the strings as my Shoestring did laps. The smell of the fuel and the fresh air. Me and my dad building it.


Since that time I've been involved with things that fly pretty much my whole life. From models to full-size, I've competed. I've owned full-scale planes, became an aerospace engineer. And now as I sit in my shop looking at the level of specialization and sophistication of some of my controline and R/C  ships I can't help but remember the shear fun of flying back then.  I just realized I need to just back down a bit at the field and fly for fun once in a while!

[Glenn (Gravitywell) Reach]

Its funny, but your right.  I also had way more fun when I was building and flying those simple Busters, Shoestrings, Ringmaster, etc.  I remember so clearly those days of huge enjoyment at coming home with a complete airplane.  I remember the very first time I came home with an airplane that didn't need fixing....it was a Midwest, 48" Skyraider.  Painted just like the box!  Simple times, huge fun.

[Tom Luciano]

This is why there is such a large group of us who enjoy the vintage combat festival on the east coast. We enjoy planes of our youth and just rip up the sky in any form we are comfortable with. From Ringmasters, flight streaks, to 120mph fast ships. Level laps to spectacular 1' pull outs. It doesn't matter and everyone enjoys sharing these moments together.  Try it, keep it loose, and enjoy!
Merry Christmas,
Tom

[Mike Griffin]

Chuck you are so right.  I relate model airplanes to Bass fishing.  Years ago I got caught in fishing tournaments.  I had the big Ranger Bass boat with the 150 Johnson with a 6 inch jackplate.  I had the best custom made boron and graphite rods money could buy and didn't own a casting reel that cost under $100.00.  Then one day I was sitting out in the middle of Lake Monroe in Bloomington, Indiana fishing a tournament after paying $100.00 entry fee, it was about 95 degrees and I had not had a bite all day and was sitting there is a $25,000 boat (that is cheap now) and probably another $5000 worth of tackle and it hit me.....this was not fun anymore.  I started thinking about the 14 ft john boat I once had with a 25hp outboard, a cane pole and a bucket of minnows and how much more fun I had with it and how much more fish I caught out of it.   It was shortly after that I sold my boat and went back to simple fun fishing out of a jon boat.

Same thing happened to me in flying model planes.  I used to spend weeks putting a finish on a model and really was never that proficient in doing so and one day I thought, do I want to spend weeks or months building the perfect stunt ship and trying for that front row finish at the NATS or do I want to go fly and have some fun.  I opted for the latter and never looked back.

These days I put out a kit occasionally and still love to build but I don't obsess over it like I once did.  I just go out to the field every once in while and visit with the guys and I may or may not fly but when I do fly, it is for FUN.  I still do some test building for Eric Rule at RSM on his new kits and I enjoy that. 

Anyway, thanks for this post.  You struck a chord in my heart and I appreciate it

Mike

[Dan McEntee]

  Hi Chuck;
    I don't know about others, but STILL feel that way you describe and I just turned 61 in October. I still get that same thrill when an engine starts first flip, I'll never tire of that. I have been flying expert class for some years now, but still love to just head to the flying field to fun fly, hand out and shoot the breeze with anyone else that shows up. I really don't like to fly by myself because it's just not as much fun! I like helping guys solve problems and trim airplanes out. I love it when some one shows up with something new and different that makes you go "WOW!" I may be 61 years old but I think I still feel the same way I did as when I was 10 or 12 and wishing I could do the stuff that I can do now! I didn't take very many photos from when I was a kid, cameras cost too much money! But may have a few that I can scan and send you to see what you can do with them. I love the old photos that have been posted lately, and hope you can get a bunch more!
   HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
     Dan McEntee

[john e. holliday]

Now you guys know why I fly for fun.  Oh, I still enter a contest once in a while to support the group holding it.  And yes if I knew back then what I know now it might be different these days.  The mention of the old McCoy .35 Redhead that cost me a whopping $10.00 and the Guillows Rat Racer it went on.  Literally wore that engine out on moving it from one plane to another with Dad being my launcher.   He loved the flying wings and watching combat.    Now I wonder why did I have so much trouble firing up my first Green Head K&B .35 on a Flite Streak.   Until I got many tanks of fuel thru it did it become easy to start and the same with the McCoy.   Won my first trophies with that McCoy on a Ringmaster.  Oh I could sit here and type for ever about the fun I've had competing also.  The highs and the lows.   Now it would be great if I could get the grand kids out just to fly my planes.  But in reality I guess I will have to fly by my self most of the time.   Also I love building  planes, not so much on finishing as some guys will tell you.  Thanks for this thread.

[Terrence Durrill]

Now you guys know why I fly for fun.  Oh, I still enter a contest once in a while to support the group holding it.  And yes if I knew back then what I know now it might be different these days.  The mention of the old McCoy .35 Redhead that cost me a whopping $10.00 and the Guillows Rat Racer it went on.  Literally wore that engine out on moving it from one plane to another with Dad being my launcher.   He loved the flying wings and watching combat.    Now I wonder why did I have so much trouble firing up my first Green Head K&B .35 on a Flite Streak.   Until I got many tanks of fuel thru it did it become easy to start and the same with the McCoy.   Won my first trophies with that McCoy on a Ringmaster.  Oh I could sit here and type for ever about the fun I've had competing also.  The highs and the lows.   Now it would be great if I could get the grand kids out just to fly my planes.  But in reality I guess I will have to fly by my self most of the time.   Also I love building  planes, not so much on finishing as some guys will tell you.  Thanks for this thread

                John, you pretty much said it all............oh to be young again.         

[M Spencer]

You wernt subject to the brutal . . . inadqueacies of a .75 cc DC Diesel string line job , then . 

A real rip snorter of a U Control Ship , The Shoestring with a .35 Glow . for a novice . Would get your undivided attention , real quick .

[John McFayden]

This is the feeling I get during the Ringmaster Weekend. A bunch of flying buddies out flying just for pure fun. No judges, no 5 foot bottoms and flying a model we all learned to fly on a few decades ago. A relaxed atmosphere and a lot of laughs. Flying for the pure love of it!

[Mark Mc]

 Also I love building  planes, not so much on finishing as some guys will tell you.  Thanks for this thread.

Yup.

[Paul Walker]

My Shoestring circa 1968ish.

Taught me a good portion of the pattern!

[Chuck_Smith]

Yep the Shoestring is still one of the most nimble and fun-to-fly profiles ever designed. I wore out at least two piston/sleeves on that one. I learned the pattern with it too. Half of it per flight, because a Shoestring won't accommodate a 4 oz tank!

Plus, back in those days - in 5th grade having a Shoestring with a McCoy .35 was the equivalent of owning a Corvette in High School!

Chuck

[Andre Ming]

I learned a long time ago that given my tastes/tendencies, shifting my C/L emphasis from fun flying to some form of competition started complicating the process and the needle immediately began to move downward on the Fun Scale.

So, I learned that I'm a "Sport Flyer". Period. Never will be anything but a sport flyer. I'm fine with that. Frankly, C/L isn't my most active interest, so it needs to retain all the "fun factor" it can retain. For me, C/L has a pretty high "H" factor (i.e., "Hassle Factor") that tends to limit my indulgence in it. Thus, I want it to be Fun with a capital "F" when I do dig out the stuff and put forth the effort to go fly.

Therefore "simple" and "fun" are still my basic approaches and always will be!

[john e. holliday]

Can't get much simpler than with a T-Square and McCoy .35 Redhead with metal tank.   May have to replicate the one I would fly after the hay was put up and out of the road.

[M Spencer]

 ;)Very much in the same vaign and age group , tho the engines will be .15s / 2.5 cc . Flying it ' the Back Yard ' . well mown , not to say well watered , circle . looks like the made a habit of it , or was it the back hoe .

[Skip Chernoff]

You really hit the nail on the head. Although I've gotten back into the competition aspect of our hobby I still most enjoy just going to the field with my other retired pals. Burning up fuel,BSing,helping each other out,just enjoying our models....Hey, we were just out there the other day,it was well below freezing .With our trusty can of Ronson Lighter fluid and our electric starters nothing was going to keep us from going in circles! What could be better??? PhillySkip

[Ted Fancher]

Yep the Shoestring is still one of the most nimble and fun-to-fly profiles ever designed. I wore out at least two piston/sleeves on that one. I learned the pattern with it too. Half of it per flight, because a Shoestring won't accommodate a 4 oz tank!

Plus, back in those days - in 5th grade having a Shoestring with a McCoy .35 was the equivalent of owning a Corvette in High School!

Chuck

Best flying profile my older brother Gary ever had was a Shoestring.  He flew some of his best patterns I can recall as a kid with it.  Memories were so vivid that I decided to build one to fly one year at VSC...#12 I think it was...with an O.S. .25 on it.  Flew pretty darn well and placed somewhere in the top four or so IIRC.  This thread has me thinking...it is still hanging up in the garage...maybe I can dust off the cobwebs, uncake the oil in the engine and try it out again.

Ted

[Steve Helmick]

Just keep it off the garage floor, Ted... Steve

[Ted Fancher]

Just keep it off the garage floor, Ted... Steve

Thanks for the reminder, Steve.  At my age I tend to forget even important advice like that!

Happy New Year.

Ted

[Chuck_Smith]

Chuck you are so right.  I relate model airplanes to Bass fishing.  Years ago I got caught in fishing tournaments.  I had the big Ranger Bass boat with the 150 Johnson with a 6 inch jackplate.  I had the best custom made boron and graphite rods money could buy and didn't own a casting reel that cost under $100.00.  Then one day I was sitting out in the middle of Lake Monroe in Bloomington, Indiana fishing a tournament after paying $100.00 entry fee, it was about 95 degrees and I had not had a bite all day and was sitting there is a $25,000 boat (that is cheap now) and probably another $5000 worth of tackle and it hit me.....this was not fun anymore.  I started thinking about the 14 ft john boat I once had with a 25hp outboard, a cane pole and a bucket of minnows and how much more fun I had with it and how much more fish I caught out of it.   It was shortly after that I sold my boat and went back to simple fun fishing out of a jon boat.

Same thing happened to me in flying model planes.  I used to spend weeks putting a finish on a model and really was never that proficient in doing so and one day I thought, do I want to spend weeks or months building the perfect stunt ship and trying for that front row finish at the NATS or do I want to go fly and have some fun.  I opted for the latter and never looked back.

These days I put out a kit occasionally and still love to build but I don't obsess over it like I once did.  I just go out to the field every once in while and visit with the guys and I may or may not fly but when I do fly, it is for FUN.  I still do some test building for Eric Rule at RSM on his new kits and I enjoy that.  

Anyway, thanks for this post.  You struck a chord in my heart and I appreciate it

Mike

Mike, We share a common background. 250 ProXS, Bob's plate, Hot Foot, trim on the column, cruised at 70mph without breaking a sweat. Then one day I realized the boat and F150 Lariat to pull it together cost what a Porsche 911 turbo would run me. Somehow I managed to not end up divorced!

[Fredvon4]

Chuck Smith's post on Airplane haulers moved me to comment--- this thread is more appropriate.

I flew CL as a kid but always was jealous of the RC guys... no money in our family for that more pricey hobby...'65 to '75

I did good in life, and once retired for second time, jumped into RC model airplanes with head first. Buying very good RC planes, engines, and radio. Then a local club membership to help me learn... I got real bored real fast as the connection to the plane was NOT there (for me)

The airplane hauler tie in...
RC flying site was 59 minutes away.  I owned two vehicles, a F 350 Pickup and a Smart car. 60" WS Planes were in Pick-up bed and I lost one on the way home as it flew out of the bed, despite being secured (sort of)....SO I bought a harbor freight el-cheapo trailer and built it up with a box for my toys...worked very well and low cost....even put a hitch on the Smart Car to haul at much lower fuel costs...

BUT a NOTE!... a bouncy trailer on marginal roads will beat the crap out of equipment if you do NOT create some sort of way to secure all items

OK, Back to flying for the PURE FUN of it...

For me that meant back to control line... WHY... building a thing and flying it for the first time... and having it actually fly, is part of the thrill... (Beginner RC these days usually means ARFs or PNP)

Getting a kit or scratch built model bench trimmed for the first flight, and running out the fuel with only a few OH crap, Adrenaline events, super stuff!.

 Bringing the plane home intact, the ultimate thrill....

BUT!!!  Even the errant figure Nine...for me...elicits a sly grin and a new story to embellish and repeat to wife and friends.

At the RC field; a bad skill or decision, and pranged model ---got mostly derisive and condescending comments...

Contrast:
On the CL circle the same lack of skill or bad decision usually got a standing ovation and cheers.... many of you are aghast at that...

BUT....my ability to spectacularly Crash an airplane needing a smallish shovel to retrieve the motor...you must understand...
EVERY time I do this terrible "stunt" ----I fall to the ground and Laugh my ARSE off.... and that laughing by me--- is super infectious....(curious...NOT so with the RC crowd)

I personally never, even as a teen ager, threw a nasty, snotty, profane, hissy fit when I destroyed a model of any venue.... tether car, boat, FF glider, stunt or combat plane when playing with it

The good is--- usually----- some of the spectators will offer advice, or condolences, or just tell me how freaking entertaining that was, and thank me........

A Long long time ago, I learned to smile and listen politely to the one or two guys who wanted to critique what I did wrong.

I guess my upbringing has a bit to do with accepting constructive criticism without getting defensive... I mention this mostly because the RC club members ALL seemed to have NO ability in this area... always becoming argumentative and adversarial at any critical thoughts from an observer

With CL flying, I still get to go home with a grin...not entirely of my own making... adults and kids watching, even if they never try it for themselves, are pretty quick to comment, ask questions, and let me know what they saw was WAY cool....

OK...you might surmise, I watch NASCAR for the "Big One"

On Mike and Chuck's notes, about the giant hole in the driveway you pour time and money into (A Bass Boat).
Been there done that, as well as several other Motor Sports type of "cash in the wind" endeavors

AS a young 61 (compared to many I learn from here on SH) this hobby has me doing daily searching, perusing, reading, learning, experimenting, and ultimately flying my meager attempts at a model, based on your and MY ideas...

Great fun, and She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) is super happy I stopped the daily trips to the VFW....
Jest sayin

SO "flying for the Pure Fun of IT"

OH Hell Yes!

Thanks Sparky for this great web site.