From the archives......

[Former Member]

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[David Ashby - Moderator]

Will do Eric - you're only as old as the model you feel...er....fly

[Former Member]

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[David Ashby - Moderator]

One thing though and perhaps you can help me understand how things were.

I wasn't born till 1963 and started flying in 1979 so I went straight into 4-channel R/C. In 1960 I assume you would have had single channel, then multi-channel or reeds as it was called? and then top of the range would have been the very early digital proportional sets which I assume were hugely expensive and pretty rare, perhaps only starting to come through in the U.S.?  Were most club flyers on single channel?  

[Mike Rolls]

Most club fliers flew C/L pr F/F!

Mike

[Former Member]

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[DH1950]

Like Eric, I was only 10 in 1960, flying F/F with a 1cc ME Heron, attempting to fly control line (!) with it which was a bit of a joke. I used to buy RCM&E when pocket money permitted and could only dream of one day being able to afford such exotica. As pointed out above, the costs then were incredibly high compared to their relative costs now.

The first radio set and aircraft I ever saw was whilst flying control line (now with a PAW 2.49) at Woodvale one evening in 1963 or 64, our club being invited as guests of the Southport Club. The aircraft in question was very much radio assisted F/F, single channel on rudder, clockwork escapement driven and with the high weight of its batteries, low power from its engine, performed very marginally just above the stall speed, and had little reserve for gaining any altitude. The radio gear seemed to have been home made, possibly from one of the articles in the magazine, since it bore no manufacturers name or logos on the Tx casing. The Tx was metal cased, grey in colour, had a minimum of button.switches, and was very large and heavy. Basic though it was, I was hooked. Decision made there and then that one day I would convert to radio. The rest is history as they say.

Like seeing extracts from past issues of the magazine. Keep it coming. Some of those 'old' aircraft designs are still relevant today - Astro Hog, Uproar, Sharkface etc etc.

Regards

Derek

[A.A. Barry]

WELL here I go again, in the west side of Aus, aged 15, I was still coming to terms with High School and that "beast" osmax 15, everyone had a combat wing at the local club on sunday morns.the Blue head Tiapan had  had scince 12 yrs old had been pushed aside for this new engine called a "glow". Tinkering with home made valve set's that I could never get to work, I gave it away and concetrated on c/l scale,Family moved up North, and so I lost all of  my contacts, but I bought all the Model Mag's that were around at the time . THAT's when I saw ProPortional set's , on my honeymoon, in Perth, I bought the latest Fuaba 4 ch outfit,had to put it  on H.P I think it was $110.0, but the hoppy shop took out 2 sevos' and so the cost was less, sat there playing with it on our marriage night, "she was not impressed",  the monthly repayments were $17.00 or so, "how did we live"    Yes they have memories, the old Mag's .  Barry

[Former Member]

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[A.A. Barry]

yes and OS bought  out the PIXIE single Ch , i think, Barry

[Phils]

Ouch, I must be an old bloke to remember this. Used to live in Enfield north London and would cycle on my bike down to Henry J's, not to buy but to just enter the 'world of wonder' inside.

Just worked out I would have been 12 in 1960 and only played with control line like you guys.

I remember going over Enfield playing fields one day to see mates and we met a guy with 'loads of money' who had a radio controlled model. It was big with a 10cc glow engine into and he was thinking of flying it if the conditions were right (which thet weren't). Never saw it fly but will never forget that day. After that it was back to me Aeromodeller, ED racer, DC Bantum, Frog 80 & 150 all of which I still have.

AND, does anybody remember a small glow engine called a Cobra .049. Mine never ran well, if at al,l but it was a reed induction engine and I spent many happy hours 'trying to start it'. I think it might have been distibuted Keil Craft but I am not sure.

We also used to go to the model shop in enfield wash when the owner (being a keen chap) would think nothing of starting up and running engines in the shop on his counter - ah, the wonders of modelling!

Phil.

[A.A. Barry]

and I wonder ,old guys, how many model's have WE BUILT since 1958/60??  umm     Barry

[Steve Murray]

I was in the RAF in south Germany in the early sixties, and flew free flight and control line until my eye fell on a Metz Mecatron single channel radio "control" system. I saved up my beer money for months before I became the proud owner of a Metz plus a suitable,  model and soon got the hang of one press for left and two for right. Unfortunately after a couple of very dodgy flights, with an Allbon 3.5cc diesel engine, I was forced to land on the nearby road where the model was run over by a lady on a bicycle. Can't remember what batteries the receiver and actuater had, but the transmitter took four U2 size batteries even though it had a single valve. I'm now trying to get the hang of this new fangled "electrickery". I'm sure things were a lot simpler and cheaper (and maybe more fun?) in those days.

Steve 

[David Ashby - Moderator]

I hope she got a puncture Steve

[Phils]

David,

Isn't it just amazing how one link on a website can start everybody over 55 (or am I being ageist?) reminising about our earlier days. For sure to many of us they are fond memories and something to cling to which are occassionally bought back on threads like this or when watching the evening free flight free for all at the nationals!

By the way, I only remember single channel (although a control line flyer at the time) and possibly heard of 'Galloping ghost' but multichannel was for royalty!  

Anybody got an answer to my Cobra engine question?

Phil.

[GONZO]

Well here's my two penny's worth (or should that be 2.4 to make one new penny),

Became interested in aero modelling @7years old (born 1947) and started reading Aeromodeller around '58-'59. Must have built almost all of the KK flying scale models with limited success (perseverance and the optimism of youth). Never finished the Veron Cardinal, my mother accidentally broke the built but uncovered wing.

I lived in central London (Elephant & Castle) and it was a bus ride to the nearest park (Ruskin Park) to fly????? my KK rubber models. It was Clapham common in the early '60s for radio control, but only in boats. I remenber the questionair in the aeromodeller and bought the first RCM&E and have continued to buy it to the present day. Infact I have every issue published; did I hear some one say- 'sad person get a life?'

Built my first Rx in '62. It was the 'UK RECIEVER' published in the RCM&E (still have the Rx). Followed by a valve Tx using a 3A5(DCC90) double triod valve also published in the RCM&E by I think 'windy' Kreulen (a Dutch contributer). Only used these in boats. By the late '60s participation in modelling took a back seat as work, women, marriage, children and house buying (not necessarily in that order) took my attention.

Came back to the fold in '76-'77 when I purchased a second hand Futaba DigiMax 4 digital outfit and put it in a plane called a 'Jolly Roger'. This was short lived and a Galaxy Models Escort soon followed. Got my 'A' cert. in '80 (still the SMAE then) and have continued aeromodelling to the present day, other than a 2 year break for a divorce.

I've got a new vintage 'Fuji 099', with R/C throttle and a 'SKY SCOOTER' plane and thought it would be fun to conceal the modern gear and have the old 'UK Rx' on display in the cabin suspended by rubber bands as we used to do.

Do you think I could fool anybody???

Allan Warner

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Phils - yes but it's interesting (to me anyway)

I often wonder if our modern reliable technology means we get more air-time these days?

I've been thinking whether to publish these 'years' here randomly or whether to count up from 1960 with regular scaned pages from the magazine. I'm tempted to run through the years in chronological order in that way I can hopefully catch the developments in a logical order and younger'ish readers like myself can get a sense as to how the hobby has developed over the last 48 years.  

[GONZO]

Phil,

Without digging out all my old mags and working from memory (there's a little pea size bit of grey matter in my head) I think the COBRA may have been a  variation of the DC WASP. But I could be talking a load of cobras.

Allan

[Former Member]

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[Erfolg]

In 1960  I understand that Padgate Army camp was open, and used to fly models, Stretton had fleet airarm Sea Hawks stationed there. The Yanks were still fling into Burton Wood with B36 and other transport type aircraft. All this about to change in the space of 5 years, all gone, Eric will tell us.

As for radio gear I remember the adverts for Graupner Grundig Vario form multi channel proportional system. Never saw one. There was the Elmic something or other, agin never saw one. The first set that I saw and worked was a Single Channel McGregeor.

My age was 13, Keil Kraft Conquest was my only suceful model, my Veron Deacon was destroyed by a window pelmet clipping one wing (dads Diy). All those KK scale models circa 12" span, had the flying qualities of bricks when I built and threw them.

The most sucessful flying machines I had, were German, launched by a catapult, made from wire, plastic film (dispissed by my pals as not a real covering, not paper) over the wire, with a simple wooden bodies. I used to fly them in Westpallia, over my Aunties fields, who were not that amused when I came in drenched through, from walking through one of their wheat fields trying to find a lost model. It was the wheat that bothered them, not that I was wet.

Erfolg

Erfolg

[Dave Blakemore]

Ah my first 'proportional' system - consisted of a length of cotton wrapped around the shaft of a Mabuchi 380 motor, the other end attached to one side of the rudder. A length of elastic on the other side of the rudder. The motor was powered by a FLAT 4 1/2V battery from the headlamp of a push bike. Control was by pressing the tx button to wind on the cotton onto the motor shaft, release the button and the elastic pulled the rudder (and unwinding the cotton off the motor shaft). By pressing the button for the same length of time as releasing the button - the model flew straight ahead. Varying the 'on' , 'off' button pressing periods resulted in proportional control and was a lot easier to do than explain! It had a built in fail safe too. If you ran out of range, ie loss of signal, the elastic band pulled the rudder to one side and the plane spiralled to the ground. The model was a Half tone by the now famous (in modelling terms) Dave Platt.

Fleet Galloping Ghost was the next step.

Life seemed ever so simple then.

[Former Member]

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[Mike Rolls]

Phils

You are right, the Cobra was distributed by Keil Kraft - made for them by Rodwell of Hornchurch (Mick Clanford's book, page 105 refers). Nothing like a Wasp, though, which was shaft induction, whereas the Cobra was a reed valve. It also took Cox glow heads and looked quite Cox-like, but there, apparently,  the similarity with the Cox product ended!

Mike

[Trots]

Not in 1960 but in the 60's I used to fly C/L because I couldn't afford radio !  I started with a Mercury Marvin , a 30 in. stunter and finished with a KeilKraft Spectre , 42 in. stunt .I used to fly alongside the Thanet Model Flying Club on the site of the disused Ramsgate Airfield which is now a large industrial site(Boo!) . The set up as I remember was IC engine with no throttle control and single channel radio , the rudder operated by an actuator , these were sequential devices in other words you had to remember what you did last ! I also seem to remember the actuators were rubber powered ! All distant memories now but not the Thanet Model Flying Club ,the're still going strong!

[Phils]

Mike,

Thank you so much for confirming this. I did not know about it using a cox glow head but then I was only a spotty sprog then .  For sure mine never ran like a cox and I spent alot of pocket money on Eveready batteries trying to find out why!

 Its nice to know that our 'little grey cells' are still working, I'll have to rummage in the loft to see if I still have it the motor.

Thanks everso.

Phil.