Those "Junk" Hurl Engines ...

[Dennis Leonhardi]

Can't help myself !  Classified listing looking for a tongue muffler for a Fox 15X brought up all those well-documented stories of what a miserable failure that piece of "junk" is - and I love 'em !  Inexpensive, light weight, easy to run, go forever on a tank of fuel ... What's not to like !?!

From the late '60s to the mid-'70s I mentored a group of young men in our church who learned to start and run the engines well and consistently beat others running SuperTigre 15s in 15 Combat and Goodyear.  Great "kids" !

Brian - below - became a Marine Corps helicopter pilot, then a corporate pilot.  One became an aero engineer, another an FAA Traffic Controller.  Amazing how those "junk" engines helped them succeed!

Scott Riese fashioned a custom tongue muffler for me a few years ago, haven't had a chance to try it yet.  He fabricated a "plate" that attaches to the crankcase via the threaded holes above and below the exhaust, then attaches the muffler to the "plate".  Stock Fox muffler shown in the lower left.  Scott does nice work, love these engines!

Dennis   

[Howard Rush]

One became an aero engineer...

You call that success?  If he'd spent that time hurling that Fox, he could have become a high-dollar baseball pitcher.

[Paul Smith]

Can't help myself !  Classified listing looking for a tongue muffler for a Fox 15X brought up all those well-documented stories of what a miserable failure that piece of "junk" is - and I love 'em !  Inexpensive, light weight, easy to run, go forever on a tank of fuel ... What's not to like !?!

From the late '60s to the mid-'70s I mentored a group of young men in our church who learned to start and run the engines well and consistently beat others running SuperTigre 15s in 15 Combat and Goodyear.  Great "kids" !

Brian - below - became a Marine Corps helicopter pilot, then a corporate pilot.  One became an aero engineer, another an FAA Traffic Controller.  Amazing how those "junk" engines helped them succeed!

Scott Riese fashioned a custom tongue muffler for me a few years ago, haven't had a chance to try it yet.  He fabricated a "plate" that attaches to the crankcase via the threaded holes above and below the exhaust, then attaches the muffler to the "plate".  Stock Fox muffler shown in the lower left.  Scott does nice work, love these engines!

Dennis   

Beating a G.15 is not a high hurdle.

[Dennis Leonhardi]

You call that success?  If he'd spent that time hurling that Fox, he could have become a high-dollar baseball pitcher.

Yeah, but then he'd be just another celebrity telling us how to think ...  he's much too nice for that!

[proparc]

You call that success?  If he'd spent that time hurling that Fox, he could have become a high-dollar baseball pitcher.

  LL

[Brett Buck]

I agree wholeheartedly!   The Fox 15 Slantplug is the best thing to ever come out of Fort Smith, Arkansas since Judge Isaac Parker!  We love them. They are much better than the Supertigre G15, which is much heavier and has a much higher ballistic coefficient.

     As Deputy Commissioner of the Hurl (self-appointed), I remind everyone that the G15 is definitely prohibited for any Hurl competition or Record Trials, and are best reserved for training purposes.

   I know I can speak for the Commissioner and the entire Hurl committee in thanking you for your continued interest and support of the international sporting phenomenon known as "The Hurl".

     Brett

[FLOYD CARTER]

I hope you people hurl the same Fox again and again, so as not to use up too many of these nice engines.  However, if the contest is on grass, perhaps they are not too damaged by hurling and can be restored to meaningful use.  My own slant-plug Fox 15 gave me a couple seasons in 1962=3 flying in a Midwest "Esquire" R/C.  I finally sent the engine to a young friend in England, who was short on cash and wanted an engine.

[Scott Richlen]

Out of curiosity what was the major problem with the Fox slant 15?

Started cold, but never hot.  Back in the day you couldn't sit there and flip forever 'cause your little square EverReady would deplete itself and allowance wasn't sufficient to buy another until a few weeks of savings (during which time you were grounded...)   

[Brett Buck]

I hope you people hurl the same Fox again and again, so as not to use up too many of these nice engines.  However, if the contest is on grass, perhaps they are not too damaged by hurling and can be restored to meaningful use.

   We have others in better shape that we use in the ultimate application, proudly displayed in a prominent place in my home!

[Dennis Leonhardi]

Started cold, but never hot. ...

And yet my boys won Goodyear Race after Race ...

 

[Arlan McKee]

   We have others in better shape that we use in the ultimate application, proudly displayed in a prominent place in my home!

I'm assuming the chaos created by the 3rd trophy down being askew is on purpose..??....

[Gordon Van Tighem]

I had a pair of “hurlers” back in the day. Raced one on a B Goodyear and placed a few times. Used to do the warmup with a speed prop (to psych the opposition) then back to the regular prop. The other one was on a Whipsaw that won first at our Canadian Nats mid 70s. Thank God for Fascal, the plane ended the event much smaller than it began. I even put the two engines on a rather attractive biplane which was supposed to fly in B Proto (2 Fox .15s were under the maximum displacement for B Proto of the day) unfortunately I never got it to fly, good in theory though.
Eventually they migrated to my boys trainers and now rest in the basement.....ready for the Grandkids.
Great little engines!

[Brett Buck]

I'm assuming the chaos created by the 3rd trophy down being askew is on purpose..??....

    When you win an Unprecedented 4 Hurl Championships, you can make any aesthetic choices you want.

     Brett

[Howard Rush]

I finally sent the engine to a young friend in England, who was short on cash and wanted an engine.

This explains why Brett called The Hurl an international sporting phenomenon.

[Scott Richlen]

And yet my boys won Goodyear Race after Race ...

Tis the mystery of the Fox 15 engine.  The farthest many of them ever flew was in the "Hurl".  And then, wonder of wonder, there was apparently at least one that would restart.  Congratulations on finding it!

How can I explain these wonders of nature?  Obviously, I can't.  But if that Fox of my brother's had ever restarted I would have immediately bought a lottery ticket (of course, it being back in the 50's there were no lotteries.)  And back in 5th grade I didn't have a camera so I couldn't take a picture to show you the many square EverReady batteries that gave their lives for that recalcitrant Fox 15.   

[Dennis Leonhardi]

Tis the mystery of the Fox 15 engine.  The farthest many of them ever flew was in the "Hurl".  And then, wonder of wonder, there was apparently at least one that would restart.  Congratulations on finding it!

How can I explain these wonders of nature?  Obviously, I can't.  But if that Fox of my brother's had ever restarted I would have immediately bought a lottery ticket (of course, it being back in the 50's there were no lotteries.)  And back in 5th grade I didn't have a camera so I couldn't take a picture to show you the many square EverReady batteries that gave their lives for that recalcitrant Fox 15.   

Oooooooooooooooooh!  You refer then to the 1958 "Rocket 15".  Shucks, if you got it to start either hot or cold without losing a couple of fingers, you done good!  Friend of mine broke mine in for me - kinda - that was one of the nastiest engines I've ever run, and I've owned way more than 500 glow engines over the years.

As I recall if it even thought it was flooded, it kicked like a kangaroo and then some.  My apologies, I was referring to (and had in mind) the later Fox 15X with the "slant" glow plug!

 

[Bob Heywood]

Why don't you guys put on your man pants and hurl a PA 75?

[Brett Buck]

This explains why Brett called The Hurl an international sporting phenomenon.

  A lot of people don't know this (unless they are Hurl scholars), but sending a Fox 15 Slantplug to the British is what started the War of 1812.

      Brett

[FLOYD CARTER]

I would not have sent my slantplug 15 to my little friend in Royal Leamington Spa in England if it had starting problems.  actually, it is one of the easiest-handling engines I have ever used.

[Scott Richlen]

but sending a Fox 15 Slantplug to the British is what started the War of 1812

Which probably led to the invention of "British Engineering".  It's been downhill for them ever since.  What a cruel thing to do to our cousins across the pond!

[Dennis Saydak]

I herby give notification that I am withdrawing from the International Fox .15 Hurl Society. I have a lovely .15 Stunt engine and it will be the powerplant for my recently built Jr. Nobler. So there! 

[Brett Buck]

Which probably led to the invention of "British Engineering".  It's been downhill for them ever since.  What a cruel thing to do to our cousins across the pond!

   They eventually got even, by forming the "Lucas Automotive Electronics Company". Burning down the White House was deemed insufficient.

    Brett

[Scott Richlen]

[quoteThey eventually got even, by forming the "Lucas Automotive Electronics Company".][/quote]

Yes, as we found out (as well the Germans and Argentinians) never mess with the Brits!

[john e. holliday]

Howard R., do you remember the Watkins, George and Dorathy?  His Fox 15 is the reason I bought one.  I think I gave it to him as I could never get it to start, even after he showed me it would start easily and run good.  They were the main stays of the Flying Eagles of KCK.

[Howard Rush]

I don't remember them.  My favorite Flying Eagles memory was at one of the Newberry's contests.  Several of the Eagles had grown beards for the Wyandotte County centennial, and they were trying to set each others' beards on fire with a propane torch. 

[Dennis Leonhardi]

I herby give notification that I am withdrawing from the International Fox .15 Hurl Society. I have a lovely .15 Stunt engine and it will be the powerplant for my recently built Jr. Nobler. So there! 

Very nice Dennis!  Any idea what it will weigh, and enough room for an adequate fuel tank?

Dennis

[Ken Culbertson]

We seem to treat the engines of our youth with insufficient respect.  It was the Fox 15 that moved me from the backyard Baby Bee works into control line and the McCoy 35 that completed the journey.  For their day, they were rather remarkable engines and if you flew over grass, quite indestructible which at 12 years old is a huge plus.  If I had any complaints they were that the Fox didn't restart particularly well and the McCoy's needle valve keeper was always either too tight or too loose.

Just an observation - Ken

[Gary Dowler]

Reading these comments about the difficulty, if not outright impossibility, in getting a Fox 15 to start, to say nothing of repeating the event, makes me wonder if my old first generation Thunder Tiger 15 wasn’t some closely related cousin of them.
Bought it in 1978 for the Akromaster I never got around to building.  Over the years I tried repeatedly to start that engine. Nothing. Different fuels.  Different glow plugs, zip. Different batteries, nada. Holding my tongue this way vs that way. Not a chance. 
This sad story went on for many years. Every now and then I’d get it out and try, only to fail as miserably as the last try, then mentally kick myself for apparently failing to adequately learn the lesson from the last failure.

Then (I’m now forgetting if this was last fall or this spring, as odd as 2020 has been, I’m inclined to believe the latter) , for reasons that utterly escape me, I tried one last time. This was the “super official ultra last time”, just to differentiate it from all the other last times.
Inexplicably it started!!  It ran. It never once even one single time so much as burped before, and here it was actually running. It’s now consumed a couple tanks of fuel.  Figured I’d better build that Akromaster before the stupid thing changed its mind.

Anyway, made me wonder if it’s possibly related to the Fox 15.......  one can only wonder.....

Gary

[Dennis Saydak]

Very nice Dennis!  Any idea what it will weigh, and enough room for an adequate fuel tank?

Dennis

The airframe w/3 coats of clear, wheels, tank & Fox .15 weigh in at 16.2 oz.
The tank is a standard 2.5oz metal stunt tank.