Are there still any line contorl model pilots?

[Bill Greenwood]

When I was a kid there were a lot of flying model planes and some were a lot of fun.There were a few soaring gliders, a few free flight models, but most were line control or U contrtol where the pilot stands in the mddle of the area and the plane which is on the end of a fine line flys a circle around the pilot , perhaps 100 ft radius. The line is connected to a U shaped device so that as pilot tilits it up you get up elevator and tilt down for the opposite. Some of these are pretty sensitive especially the fast ones, and they can make you really dizzy quickly. They sound like a real airplane, not an electric one.
I have 2 brand new planes fully assembled, still in the original boxes, never opened, just a little dusty, and I am not sure where is a good home for them. They have some sentimental value to me, I dont want to see them just wrecked, They are COX .049, one is a Spitfire and one a P-51, I think the Red Baron maybe. Im told they are fast , espcially the 51 and therefore need an expert pilot. I have flown a little line control with a basic traineer , but a long time ago and I m not up to these though it woud be fun.
Any offers to buy or otherwise good suggestions? Does EAA still fly the model behind the museum at Pioneer Airport during EAA? These are probably too fast for kids, but might be fun for demos?

[Timgineer]

I saw this group at the Milwaukee Maker Faire (https://milwaukee.makerfaire.com/) a few years ago...

http://www.circlemasters.com/

They are a Milwaukee area group of control line flyers.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[rwanttaja]

Was just at the Northwest Aviation Expo today, this group has a booth there.


Ron "My old Firebaby is around here somewhere" Wanttaja

[champ driver]

Yes, it's still alive and well.
Although it's not as popular as RC and the dreaded drones. CL has a real following within it's core group.
I'm a member of a control line club in MN, the Minneapolis Piston Poppers which has been around since the 50's.
I think my first plane was a Cox Stuka with an .049 when I was around 15. Back then you could fly from a school yard or park, until someone complained about the noise. Most of the plastic Cox planes were heavy and not very good flyers. I then built a Carl Goldberg Lil Wizard, also with a Cox .049.
I do a little flying with the club now and then, but I really should be working on my Champ instead.
Here's a photo of one of our latest January frozen Fun Fly's on January 1st.

One of our members is a Ringling Brothers trained juggler and banjo player and he puts out these videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYiFrYG2x2g


http://www.pistonpoppers.com/

[CarlOrton]

Back in the 60's I had a Cox-branded .049 Stuka. Not once was I ever able to start it.... :-( I had the right fuel, and I'm assuming the battery was good, but had no one to watch and advise. *sigh*

[Mel]

Flew control line as a kid. First trophy I ever won; 1956, Diamond Jubilee, Abilene, Texas, second place Precision Aerobatics, Jr. division. 13 years old. Thunderbird, Fox .29.
Went on to place in AMA Nationals the following year. Flew Precision Aerobatics (Nobler, Fox .35), Combat (Sweet Sweep. Fox .35), Indoor and Outdoor Hand-launch Glider, 1/2A Speed (Own designs), etc.
Built and flew a "Squaw" kit on TV, Fox .29. Program called "Texas In Review".
Old Memories. Been a while!

[martymayes]

The best place for a Cox RTF .049 powered, molded plastic airplane models is in the original box on a collector's display shelf. Not something that you'd want to fly. It's like trying to swing a brick around your head on a string, except the brick is more controllable.

The Sterling Beginner Ringmaster and Baby Ringmaster were great 1/2A general purpose planes and Carl Goldberg had some real 1/2A hotrods like the Lil' Satan.

[CHICAGORANDY]

Ah yes, the mighty Cox engines and 'airplanes'. The smell of castor oil exhaust, the unending "joy" of trying to get the darn thing to start. Explaining to the parents why you again need another starting battery from the hardware store. How many glow plugs is this durn thing gonna blow? The thrill of cut fingers when the rat weasel engine backfired. The absolute lack of even minimal power for flight. AND you get to be dizzy! A grand way to spend my youth in the 50's and early 60's - lol

[rwanttaja]

I had more problems with the Wen-Mac 049s than the Cox. Must have been living right, because I finally got those little things dialed in so they'd start in a couple of flips. Most of the time BACKWARDS, but they did run....

Though I admit seeing other guys struggle.

It was amazing what you could make fly with a Cox 049, as long as it was light enough. I carefully carved airfoils from solid hunks of balsa for the first few planes I built, but by the end, was just gluing the damn plank to the fuselage without shaping. Didn't seem to make much difference. Used to tie rags and stuff to the outer wing. It'd still stagger off the ground.

The biggest drawback to the Cox 049 was the lack of a throttle control, but that didn't stop me from doing touch-and-goes. At full power. Trimmed down a few props that way. Once there was a huge ZING and the engine screamed and quit. Turned out I'd actually broken the crankshaft on the 'ol Cox.

Ron Wanttaja

[Dana]

I flew R/C with Dad at the club field on weekends, and U-controls in the school parking lot on weekday afternoons. There were two Cox models, a Ryan ST-3 (with a throttled .020 engine) and the "Red Baron", which was really a Pitts molded in red plastic. Neither survived long. Then Dad bought me a Midwest "Snorky" trainer with a Fox .15, with which I finally learned to fly the things. Then a long series of models in various sizes, a Goldberg Lil' wizard (which I modified to have retractable gear), a Jr. Nobler, Flite Streak Jr., a Baby Ringmaster, Veco "Smoothie", Dumas "Scout", some profile WWI biplanes, and various others of my own design. Then we got into combat flying, but none of this streamer stuff... we built .049 powered disposable planes from corrugated cardboard and hot melt glue, and went straight for each other's planes.

But yeah, the best place for a Cox model still in the original packaging is ebay, collectors pay good money for them.