Dream Days....Ads from my Sept. 1960 copy of Model Airplane News

andrew wrote:Those were great -- I wore the pages out on Model Airplane News just thumbing thru all the ads and imagining what it would be like to each one.

BIG "DITTO" !


P.S. The "imagining" still goes on...

Ah ,for the "golden age" of model aviation which were so formative for me in my youth.

My recently build Goldberg ""LiL Toot" bipe is a fond rembemerance of times past.

"Thanks for the memories" - Bob Hope

great post! yep, my brain was 'imprinted' as wel, lol. I think as a kid I must of studied each page for hours, when I was lucky to get ahold of a magazine.

p.s.
I built the Thermic 50X as a kid and many years later I built a China Clipper looking-like type stick fuselage for the Thermic wing and tail feathers, slapped a Babe Bee in it w/ 2 channel R/C gear, looked great, flew ok, wing load was high and slightly overpowered, smacked it in trying to fly on a really windy day, still got parts....maybe someday.

Thank You !

Figure most of us came from very similar tracks! While I had some previous "model airplane encounters" I really started at age 12, later than a lot of guys, when my dad bailed on us and his brother Wayne stepped up to give a direction to my energies.

Uncle Wayne's time spent teaching me to fly planes with his son Bobby, literally ripped open a new universe for me. The magazines he gave me launched new heroes into my life. Maynard Hill, Dave Platt, Dave Robelen, Dave Thornburg (lot's of "Daves"), Don McGovern, Phil Kraft, "Wild Bill Netzeban, and a bunch of others suddenly became role models. Been going that way since.

NEVER underestimate the impact of your time spent teaching and encouraging kids!

Mr. Hill's T.A.M. (Trans Atlantic Model) in the A.M.A. Museum, Muncie, Indiana.

In looking thru the Scientific ad, I saw the N. Am. Texan at the bottom of the page. After my yellow COX cub bit the dust (almost immediately), I had an engine and no plane. I got the Texan and learned to fly on that plane. Living way out in the country, my nearest field was just across the road. I left off the cowling and canopy, painted it blue (all my planes were blue since a can of dope goes a long way), and flew it until it was soggy.

Great memories, indeed.

Yes! I had several stretches where my paint schemes ran on "Themes"! Silkspan was pretty much white anyway, so why get all fancy and blow a bunch of money on white dope! AND what better color than black?,,,EVERYTHING goes with it !

andrew wrote:In looking thru the Scientific ad, I saw the N. Am. Texan at the bottom of the page. After my yellow COX cub bit the dust (almost immediately), I had an engine and no plane. I got the Texan and learned to fly on that plane. Living way out in the country, my nearest field was just across the road. I left off the cowling and canopy, painted it blue (all my planes were blue since a can of dope goes a long way), and flew it until it was soggy.

Great memories, indeed.

Was that Texan profile or "hollow log"? I taught myself to fly control line on the profile one half a century (!) ago. It had a Pee Wee .020 and was a bit tail heavy so it was a challenge to fly! Had to glue the fuselage back together a number of times before I got the flying thing down!

tubebass wrote:

andrew wrote:In looking thru the Scientific ad, I saw the N. Am. Texan at the bottom of the page. After my yellow COX cub bit the dust (almost immediately), I had an engine and no plane. I got the Texan and learned to fly on that plane. Living way out in the country, my nearest field was just across the road. I left off the cowling and canopy, painted it blue (all my planes were blue since a can of dope goes a long way), and flew it until it was soggy.

Great memories, indeed.

Was that Texan profile or "hollow log"? I taught myself to fly control line on the profile one half a century (!) ago. It had a Pee Wee .020 and was a bit tail heavy so it was a challenge to fly! Had to glue the fuselage back together a number of times before I got the flying thing down!

that texan looks to be profile with a 3d cowling on it.

tubebass wrote:Was that Texan profile or "hollow log"?

Tubebass ---

Mine was the log fuselage. My field was part of our farm, so what wasn't grazed off was mowed with a bushhog and was seldom less than 6" tall --- which was good for a newbie flyer. Even so, I eventually ended up adding struts running from the vertical fin to the top of the stab. I can certainly say that I got my money's worth both in fun and longevity from that little plane.

andrew

The plane that I most remember is the Sterling "Ringmster (S-1) usually powereded by Fox .35 or McCoy "Redhead" .35 which BTW sold for $4.95 when first introduced in the late 50's.

The "Ringmaster" kit sold for for, IIRC, $2.95. Easy to build and very rugged, they allowed me to gain confidence and competence as CL pilot in both stunt and combat. In those day I was funding my planes from the money that I earned on my paper route.

It was not unual for me to building a new "Ringmaster" as well as rebuilding several others
that had met a firm contact with the ground. The final fate of some of my combat "Ringmasers" was suffered in "blood & guts" combat where the goal was to chew off the opponent's tail with your propeller.

Yeah, the Ringmasters were/are great. It was a big deal when my uncle let me take the handle and fly his Super Ringmaster. Nervous at first, I was surprised that it was actually EASIER to fly than the 1/2A's...I had a LOT more sky in that 60 foot circle!

The only foray I made into combat was taking on my cousin Bobby with my Riley Wooten flat wing "Lil' Bomb. The plane taught me inverted flight, which Bobby had yet to master, so escape was never more than a half-loop away for me !

SuperDave wrote:The plane that I most remember is the Sterling "Ringmster (S-1) usually powereded by Fox .35 or McCoy "Redhead" .35 which BTW sold for $4.95 when first introduced in the late 50's.

The "Ringmaster" kit sold for for, IIRC, $2.95. Easy to build and very rugged, they allowed me to gain confidence and competence as CL pilot in both stunt and combat. In those day I was funding my planes from the money that I earned on my paper route.

It was not unual for me to building a new "Ringmaster" as well as rebuilding several others
that had met a firm contact with the ground. The final fate of some of my combat "Ringmasers" was suffered in "blood & guts" combat where the goal was to chew off the opponent's tail with your propeller.

Ok then this sounds too fun I need to pull my head limit of the ground and start restoring my CL plane.

nitroairplane wrote:

SuperDave wrote:The plane that I most remember is the Sterling "Ringmster (S-1) usually powereded by Fox .35 or McCoy "Redhead" .35 which BTW sold for $4.95 when first introduced in the late 50's.

The "Ringmaster" kit sold for for, IIRC, $2.95. Easy to build and very rugged, they allowed me to gain confidence and competence as CL pilot in both stunt and combat. In those day I was funding my planes from the money that I earned on my paper route.

It was not unual for me to building a new "Ringmaster" as well as rebuilding several others
that had met a firm contact with the ground. The final fate of some of my combat "Ringmasers" was suffered in "blood & guts" combat where the goal was to chew off the opponent's tail with your propeller.

Ok then this sounds too fun I need to pull my head limit of the ground and start restoring my CL plane.

YES! YOU SHOULD !!!!!

It'd probably be too much to ever really happen, but wouldn't it be COOL if a bunch of us could get together....010's to .35's...dacron strings to steel cables...Free Flight/U-Control/Radio Control/Ground Runners/Boats...Old School to New School and everything in between...and try our level best to turn time backwards!!!!!?

Perhaps this coming year, a band of us could assemble and descend upon a S.M.A.L.L. or Musciano Fly-In, and put their attendance numbers through the roof!

Man...I think that WOULD be cool ! I'd gladly knock a hole in my schedule for THAT ONE !

That would be awesome but it is hard a it would be a lOng journey but some time in the next 5 or so years I am thinking of a year long tour to visit the worlds modelling sites and if I do end up doing that I would like to visit some of you guys tosee the flying spots and such but you know money is the problem as is time.
But hopefully I'll have the time and money.
But that is just an idea so don't hold me to it

If you're able to do that, I'll get some accommodations for you in Southeast Missouri. Sure that other members would help also !

Kim wrote:If you're able to do that, I'll get some accommodations for you in Southeast Missouri. Sure that other members would help also !

It's an idea I've had for a while but reallisticly it won't be able to happen for at least 3 or 4 years if I do it.
But I really want to.
And Ronald Valentine is a someone I'd really like to meet as well.