More "fun and terror" or "How to kill your brother"

The El Paso trip to get dad a new Stirling RingMaster also brought home a $2.50 Cox 049 and profile balsa kit (do not remember the maker or plane name ).... just fusalage and plank wing not much differnt from the Sig SkyRay

Army life for dad was a lot of field duty so it was on the way to Taiwan on the troop ship the USS Mann that we built the models. This was a year or two after the El Paso hobby shop experiance in late 59 or mid 1960. Dad has passed and mom does not quite remember the "old days" and as I was a very young boy I do not have good reference to those years

Any way I was now a little older and my brother was walking toddler on the trip across the Pacific.

On a troop ship supplying freash meat to Viet Nam I had all kinds of soldiers helping me build and dope the model airplane. I think dad had Army duty on the voyage over. Probably something like officer of the day or executive officer. Whatever it was, he was not with us very much and my mom had my baby sister to tend to leaving me to have Mike as a tag along toddler

OK OK you want the terror or the attempt to kill my brother.

On the ship there is no way to fly a circle bird as the wind across the deck was much too strong.

I read how to start the 049 in the micro instruction sheet a thousand times and could not stand it any more.

Never haveing seen a engine stand I used scrap balsa from my dads bigger ringmaster kit to make what I though a good platform to screw the Cox engine to. (dope on the 1/2A plane was still wet so I could not use the plane as starting platform for the engine...I assume now from the humidity of the ocean)

One piece of balsa about 4" wide x 8" long I could hold down with my knee. A up right piece 2" wide by 6" tall glued to the edge of the flat on the ground piece. I even was smart enough to add a square block behind the up right and on top of the flat to form a crude guset for strength.

The small prop mounted and engine attached to the balsa upright with tiny wood screws I took my brother, engine stand and engine, glow clip and battery, and a bulb full of cox fuel to the breeze way on the port side (why I remember what side is curious to me)

On the deck, out side in freash air, I had Mike stand near the inner ship wall not the railing. I kneeled on the plank with my left knee and fuled the little tank and shot a bit in the exhaust and flipped it over to get fuel in as the instructions said.

I attached the glow clip, then took it off because I needed to set the needle. Screw it in carefully to the bottom, then out 3 1/2 turns. Back to the glow clip....ready and with right hand flipped the prop toward me.

Crap, it started first flip! Crap...OH crap what now!?

I remember! Tweek the needle to make it scream.... Just as I am reaching for the needle the 4 wood screws pulled free from the balsa (firewall??) and now we have a free flight engine carooming off metal bulkheads and heading for my baby brother..... ( I swear he was not going to get hit) just then a GI came out the door, saw the danger, and kicked my 049 Cox motor.... In slow motion I watched as it cleared the railing and disappeared over board....

It was a long way to Taiwan and my butt was sore for most of the rest of it....