# Cox control-line gas-powered airplanes



## Aunt Marg (Nov 21, 2020)

My baby brother had one, as did a few other neighbourhood friends of his, and they used to walk to a ballpark a few blocks away and fly them.

Anyone else remember them?

Maybe even a few here owned one back in the day.

I remember these being a huge hobby in the 70's.


----------



## MarkinPhx (Nov 21, 2020)

Wow..I forgot all about these. I had one back around that time.


----------



## Aunt Marg (Nov 21, 2020)

MarkinPhx said:


> Wow..I forgot all about these. I had one back around that time.


That is so neat-O, Markin!

I remember our neighbourhood would be abuzz with the sound of the little engines whining when the boys would get-together.

I'm gathering a test start of their plane engines was done before they'd gather up their toolboxes and make the trek to the park where they flew them.


----------



## Don M. (Nov 21, 2020)

Yes, I had one when I was a teenager....a replica of a P-51 Mustang....very similar to the photo in the OP.  We lived near the local High School, and on weekends, or through the Summer, when there was nothing going on at the school, I took it to the school ball park and flew it.  I had it for probably 3 years, before the little engine quit....by then, cars and girls were becoming more interesting.


----------



## Aunt Marg (Nov 21, 2020)

Don M. said:


> Yes, I had one when I was a teenager....a replica of a P-51 Mustang....very similar to the photo in the OP.  We lived near the local High School, and on weekends, or through the Summer, when there was nothing going on at the school, I took it to the school ball park and flew it.  I had it for probably 3 years, before the little engine quit....by then, cars and girls were becoming more interesting.


Yes, I believe the schoolyard also served as a flying range for baby brothers and friends on weekends, too!


----------



## hawkdon (Nov 21, 2020)

I had one in the 50's!!! Yep thats rite 50's....my brother came
home on leave from Navy and gave it to me....I promply tried
to start it in the house and broke the hell out of the wing!!! So
end of my "hobby"....!!!!


----------



## Aunt Marg (Nov 21, 2020)

hawkdon said:


> I had one in the 50's!!! Yep thats rite 50's....my brother came
> home on leave from Navy and gave it to me....I promply tried
> to start it in the house and broke the hell out of the wing!!! So
> end of my "hobby"....!!!!


One positive spin (pardon the pun) of you ending the hobby early, you missed out on making yourself dizzy turning round-and-round flying it.


----------



## oldman (Nov 21, 2020)

Oh, yes, I remember them. I had one for a short time. My dad got tired of putting money into it. I had to prime it, then take my finger and spin the propeller blade to start it. Once started, I had to adjust the fuel flow. It was fun for awhile, but then it became a disaster. Something was always going wrong with it.


----------



## Aunt Marg (Nov 21, 2020)

oldman said:


> Oh, yes, I remember them. I had one for a short time. My dad got tired of putting money into it. I had to prime it, then take my finger and spin the propeller blade to start it. Once started, I had to adjust the fuel flow. It was fun for awhile, but then it became a disaster. Something was always going wrong with it.


My baby brother had a small wooden toolbox that dad had made for him, it was plain wood (unfinished), and housed the metal canister of Cox engine fuel, a few basic tools, screwdriver and a couple other things, a small Cox engine head wrench, and an old rag/cloth to clean up and wipe up.

The boys were always fiddling around and tuning things, and when they were done flying, the string was wrapped around the string-control handle and the control handle slipped over one wing end.


----------



## FastTrax (Nov 30, 2020)

www.coxengineforum.com

www.coxengines.ca

www.mh-aerotools.de/airfoils/cox_frameset.htm

https://brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Cox_control_line_aircraft

www.modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/CoxLeroyM.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cox_Models

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cox_model_engine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_M._Cox


----------



## Grampa Don (Nov 30, 2020)

In the mid 50's I loved going down the school yard and watching guys fly these.  But, money was pretty tight at our house, so watching was all I could do.  Then a neighbor kid offered to sell me a used .049 engine for a dollar or two, and my Dad gave me the money for it.  It was pretty near worn out and wouldn't run at full speed, but I bought a balsa biplane kit and mounted the engine on it.  

Along with a bunch of other kids, I took it to a neighborhood vacant lot to try it out.  I got it running and one of my friends held it while I took my place in the center of the circle.  I nodded my head and my friend let it go.  To try to get it into the air, I pulled back too far on the elevator.  it did one vertical loop and smacked into the ground, and I ended up with a pile of balsa wood.  It didn't even make it once around the circle.

That kind of did it for me, and I went back to kits that ran on rubber bands.  They were much more affordable. 

Don


----------



## Aunt Marg (Nov 30, 2020)

What a walk down memory lane!

Loved each and every video immensely, so much so, it was as if I had been transported back in time to when my baby brother and his friends would fly their planes. I felt like I was right there.

Ding-dangly-do (the hobbyist) had me laughing so hard when he reached for the control handle off the table and started flying an imaginary plane in circles while making the engine sound with his mouth! I thought I was going to die I laughed so hard!

It's shops and basements like his that I would cherish to be able to visit.

Flying these gas-powered planes was every little boys dream.

Just love the ads for them, too!

You really know how to knock it out of the park, Fast!

Thank you so kindly for this.


----------



## Aunt Marg (Nov 30, 2020)

Grampa Don said:


> In the mid 50's I loved going down the school yard and watching guys fly these.  But, money was pretty tight at our house, so watching was all I could do.  Then a neighbor kid offered to sell me a used .049 engine for a dollar or two, and my Dad gave me the money for it.  It was pretty near worn out and wouldn't run at full speed, but I bought a balsa biplane kit and mounted the engine on it.
> 
> Along with a bunch of other kids, I took it to a neighborhood vacant lot to try it out.  I got it running and one of my friends held it while I took my place in the center of the circle.  I nodded my head and my friend let it go.  To try to get it into the air, I pulled back too far on the elevator.  it did one vertical loop and smacked into the ground, and I ended up with a pile of balsa wood.  It didn't even make it once around the circle.
> 
> ...


Awww... just love your story, Grampa Don! 

I remember baby brothers plane had been glued, repaired, taped, and everything in-between, as were so many of his friends, as a result of all the crashes.

They flew theirs on the lawn at the park and schoolyard where landings were soft, helping to preserve their planes when landings and crashes inevitably happened.


----------



## Aunt Marg (Nov 30, 2020)




----------



## Capt Lightning (Dec 5, 2020)

Yes, my friends and I used to fly them.  I never has a 'Cox', but used to build control line planes from scratch or Veron kits.
There were a number of popular engine brands such as Frog, Mills and A.M (Allen Mercury).


----------



## Aunt Marg (Dec 5, 2020)

Capt Lightning said:


> Yes, my friends and I used to fly them.  I never has a 'Cox', but used to build control line planes from scratch or Veron kits.
> There were a number of popular engine brands such as Frog, Mills and A.M (Allen Mercury).


One of my baby brothers friends used to build planes from scratch, too.

I remember thinking what a brilliant kid, baby brothers friend was, because he also built kites and gliders from scratch.

Some kids are ahead of their time.


----------



## fmdog44 (Dec 8, 2020)

I had the balsa wood ones with rubber bands. No hi-tech stuff for me!


----------



## Aunt Marg (Dec 8, 2020)

fmdog44 said:


> I had the balsa wood ones with rubber bands. No hi-tech stuff for me!


I remember that variety, too!

They had wheels on them for landing?


----------

