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  • Flying model airplanes

    This was originally from the model rocketry thread

    Originally posted by na alii
    Anyone flew 1/2 A .049 Cox gas engine control line airplanes? We used to fly them at Blaisdell Park aka Pearl Harbor Park.
    I had limited success in flying a Testor's P-51 Mustang which was a really small .049 control line airplane back in the 1974 or 1975. I also had a Mattel free flight electric powered plane around the same time. I couldn't remember the name of it but it was made of sytrofoam and you placed a 6v battery to charge the plane's battery, I think flights lasted around 30 to 40 seconds.

    Also from that time period I had a free flight .049 engine helicopter that Estes sold but I could never got the engine to start and a Cox P-40 Warhawk that never flew (about twice as big as the Testor's P-51 Mustang).

    Since coming back to model rocketry in 1994 I was thinking about flying model airplanes. So far it's been limited to those $1-$4 simple balsa gliders and rubber band powered planes. I also got one of those Estes remote control electric plane as a Christmas present but I haven't flown that one yet.

  • #2
    Re: Flying model airplanes, late 60's

    Those Cox engines were a pain to start, especially on the fingers, but thats what you get for not bringing the chicken stick. (yeah I broke da spring already) Finally made my own electric starter too bad it weighed 7 lbs. (dont ask what i used).

    I remember in elementry school, I flew a cox P-51 control line plane at the Stevenson Intermediate field, without the control lines! I let it go straight up until it ran out of gas........then it came crashing to earth. bad 10 year olds..... miss the bargain bin at Pete's Model Craft.... I wish I had all them COX PEE-WEE engines now that I got for $5 each missing parts.......ebay

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    • #3
      Re: Flying model airplanes

      I'm intrigued with Micro-Turbines. Also called Gas Turbines. Basically miniaturized jet engines. They're fairly expensive beasts which start about $2,500 for a well-equipped kit (engine with electric starter & ECU). That doesn't include the plane.

      Micro-Turbine jet engines actually evolved from a car turbo charger compressor, who someone ingeniously was able to connect a shaft with a "burner bottle" and turbine exhaust vanes. Now Micro-Turbines are produced by a number of manufacturers.

      They also have Turbo-Shaft kits for Helicopters. There's a cool video of one on the net somewhere. Try look.

      I've watched a guy fly an R/C F-15 Eagle with a single, split-ducted turbine out at Kawainui field in Kailua. Sounds and flies just like the real deal. The sound of that high RPM whine and rumble from the burner is all there. Truly amazing!

      By far the ultimate R/C aircraft I've ever seen is this Horten-9...
      http://www.amtjets.com/gallery_horten.html

      Next would have to be that mammoth B-52 that had 8 turbines (do the math $$). It also crashed. Ouch.

      Next would have to be the Harrier Jump Jet. Seen it in an R/C mag a while back. Had 4 (or 2, I forget) vectored exhaust ducts just like the real deal. Not sure how good it could do verticle lift though. Still a challenge even in the real jet world. We'll see how good the new ATF program does.

      There's also Electric Ducted Fans (EDF's) and Gas Ducted Fans. But those are just jet engine wannabees.
      sigpic The Tasty Island

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      • #4
        Re: Flying model airplanes

        I just bought some Cox .049 engines and Balsa airplane kits on eBay. The kits are vintage 70s stuff. I was surprised and called some hobby shops around and found out they hardly have any control line stuff. Remote are what people are flying these days. I took had the Chicken Stick but I see they sell a electric starter. Estes bought out Cox so the newer Cox engines come out of Penrose, Colorado.

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        • #5
          Re: Flying model airplanes

          Oh the venerable Cox .049 engine. Just as memorable as the Dodge 426 Hemi but mo smalla eh?

          I have this gas powered model dune buggy called the Sand Blaster that my brother gave me as a birthday present in 1971 I think. I still have it because it was at that time one of the neatest gifts I ever got. Somewhere in my closet is this beast with the .049 engine still intact. I should pull it out and see if it still works (after some cleaning though)
          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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          • #6
            Re: Flying model airplanes

            better you sell it on ebay. might fetch you enough money to buy a more modern one that your kids can abuse. If you abuse a classic it may not be worth nothing after.....

            I sold a Shrike on ebay for $$$ a few months back!

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            • #7
              Re: Flying model airplanes

              I used to control-line a Cox Stuka out in Aiea. Over-powered, and that's what killed it. One day it climbed faster than I could manage the elevators and it stalled directly overhead and dived right at me. Just like a real Stuka. I scampered and it augured in.

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              • #8
                Re: Flying model airplanes

                I was at Wal-Mart this evening and while checking the toy/sports section there were selling Estes electric powered R/C planes. Had about 6 or 7 boxes left but there were 3 different types of planes from the World War II era. One was a P-40, another was a F-4U and I think the third was a P-51. The box didn't have prices on them but the planes have 20 inch wingspans, don't seem to have landing gear, operate on 27 MHz and takes 6 AAA batteries to power the transmitter and 6 C batteries to power the charger.

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                • #9
                  Re: Flying model airplanes

                  I had a Cox trainer with a .049 engine that flew nicely. The engine always started, too. It had an integrated gas tank -- the ones without the integrated tank seemed to have the most trouble.

                  Never could get that trainer to do a loop. One day I built a balsa plane and mounted the reliable Cox .049 on it and finally pulled a succesful loop -- that was a thrill!

                  Eventually I crashed the balsa plane and, unlike the sturdy plastic Cox trainer, this couldn't be put back together again.

                  Always wanted a radio control plane. Back in the 1960's RC systems were about $250 and that was way, way out of the question. Today they seem to be about the same price or less and, with inflation, is really quite reasonable.

                  I finally learned to fly the real thing and logged a couple of hundred hours until it got too expensive to continue. Actually realized one of my dreams and had a chance to fly a 737 -- a couple landings and take-offs, too.

                  Those electric RC gliders sure look interesting. If I were to get one of those I'd probably put a small wireless camera in the nose!

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                  • #10
                    Re: Flying model airplanes

                    Originally posted by craigwatanabe
                    Oh the venerable Cox .049 engine. Just as memorable as the Dodge 426 Hemi but mo smalla eh?

                    I have this gas powered model dune buggy called the Sand Blaster that my brother gave me as a birthday present in 1971 I think. I still have it because it was at that time one of the neatest gifts I ever got. Somewhere in my closet is this beast with the .049 engine still intact. I should pull it out and see if it still works (after some cleaning though)
                    Earlier this year (or was it last?) Cox made a special run of the .049 and sold them for relatively cheap... I think it was in honor of one who was a major factor in engineering the original little beast.

                    Yeah I had one of those Cox cars too. The Vega funny-car.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Flying model airplanes

                      Lot of the Cox stuff can be bought online from Cox.

                      https://www.coxmodels.com/

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                      • #12
                        Re: Flying model airplanes

                        The Lihue Radio Shack were selling an A-7 duct fan plane for about $80, I was thinking of buying it since the weather here has been kind of chilly but with little wind in the last couple of days. But the cost was kind of steep for something to be used for a day or so (and I wasn't planning on taking it back with me to Honolulu). On a trip to the Wal-Mart on Saturday (Christmas Eve) there were no R/C planes left, but there was this free flight B-2 model that went for $8, so I purchased that and played with it on Saturday afternoon.

                        It's an electric plane with the propeller in the back, the charger uses 2 AA batteries and it takes 90 seconds to charge the plane's battery.

                        After 6 or 8 attempts one flight had it going for about 30 or so feet from me.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Flying model airplanes

                          Originally posted by helen
                          I was at Wal-Mart this evening and while checking the toy/sports section there were selling Estes electric powered R/C planes. Had about 6 or 7 boxes left but there were 3 different types of planes from the World War II era. One was a P-40, another was a F-4U and I think the third was a P-51. The box didn't have prices on them but the planes have 20 inch wingspans, don't seem to have landing gear, operate on 27 MHz and takes 6 AAA batteries to power the transmitter and 6 C batteries to power the charger.
                          You hand launch those and basically land them like a glider so you dont mess up the prop.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Flying model airplanes

                            Originally posted by helen
                            The Lihue Radio Shack were selling an A-7 duct fan plane for about $80
                            Update on the price of this plane, I was at the Ala Moana Radio Shack on Friday and there selling this for $40.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Flying model airplanes

                              Sorry to post so late to this thread...

                              I saw that A-7 in the Lihue Radio Shack a couple of weeks ago. It was kind of cool looking. It was sitting on top of the big TV in the front window. It had no box and was missing some pieces (including the controller). Nobody in the store seemed to know anything about where the box was or how much it costs.

                              That started me looking at other jets online. Found the MIG-15 and F86 Sabre on the Hobby-Lobby site--very cool!! I know this is not the plane for me to learn to fly with--but some day!

                              Tim

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