Shobosh

I have a 5 year old son. He has pretty good hand/eye co-ordination and I am keen to encourage him into C/L although his attention span is not all that it could be. He seems interested at this point.

At what age did you first pick up a C/L handle and have a go?

TIA

Shobosh

50+AirYears

I might be wrong, but I think my first CL was about 1950 or 51, putting me somewhere around 6 or 7. I had been building, mostly solid and rubber powered models since about 1948. Really ruined quite a few kits till I was about 9. At 5, the attention span for anything but cartoons on the tele is probably no more than about 5 to 8 minutes, anyway. Let him go at his own speed. His age sounds about right for a life-long addiction to this sport/hobby. Don't push too hard. Don't repeat what I said about addiction to mum. Good luck to you both.

jaof

Hi

I think was about 8 or 9 years old when me and my brother first picked up a control liner.
I think it was a Goldberg Swordsman 18 with either an OK Cub 049 or Babe Bee 049-chee that was a very long time ago.
We made a handle from just a piece of stick and used nylon fishing line to fly or at least try to fly it. We went on to the Stuntman 23, some flite streaks and sort of graduated to a Jr. Nobler with a Veco 19 when we got a real control handle with metal lines. Our favourite plane was the Sterling Biplane-I think it was called the Flying Fool-real nice to fly.

Anyway it was all fun.

Nowadays I am going to try it again and I am putting together a Brodak Flite Streak kit which is going to run on electric.

Have fun

build light

I was about 13 and My first plane was a Scientific Zig Zag with a Golden Bee. I made my hadle from a piece of light 3/4" square balsa that I cut all the corners off and made it very comfortable. I drilled holes in it and plugged the holes with brass eyelets. You know the kind. Just like the ones for leadouts. My thinking was to keep the lines from cutting into the balsa.

I built several small planes, Tried that cheap foam 1/2 A cobat plane ( I forget its name) that Sig sold and then for my first big plane, a Top Flite Kombat Kat! My favorite was my next big plane The Flying Fool biplane by Sterling.

Robert

gcb

I believe it was 1955 and I was thirteen. I had built models before that but not CL. I did not know anyone else who built models when I started. You could start successfully at an earlier age with instruction and encouragement.

George

Phlip

At 5 I would watch my older brother fly, mostly 1/2 A planes. At about 11 he built a Lil Wizard and taught me to fly.

I taught my son to fly at around 7 or 8, but he's 17 now and still not really interested in either C/L or R/C. Oh well, maybe someday I'll have a grandson (or granddaughter) with some interest.

Devilduck

I was 8 or 9. My father bought me a cox pt-19. Flew the heck out of it. I then dabbed in 1/2A building all sorts of them. I have since moved to presicion aerobatics. Just finished up my first .60 sized plane. that thing is a beast. I really am a little light in the rear to be flying it. But it is fun no less.

Jim Thomerson

I finally learned to fly after trying during the entire summer after I graduated from high school in 1953. I learned by myself; was a slow learner and did not look like a good prospect. I am so pleased that I can fly as well as I do today.

Gremlin Castle

My Feedback: (14)

My first flights were at age 11 in 1952. The Jim Walker Firebaby with a Wasp 049 was the airplane. It took 3 or 4 excursions into the weeds from hand launches before it went round and round for about 25 laps before the bladder tank ran dry. After it was retrofitted with a larger tank made from a Ford Model A Carb float it was good for 100 plus laps.

I posted some of my experiences under the blog heading in my gallery if you are interested.

green river rc

My Feedback: (2)

In 1979 my next door neighbor moved away to collage and gave me his Cox PT-19, we didn't try to fly it until about 3 years later, we never got the engine to run good enough. I got a new Cox plastic dizzy plane with a butterfly tail for Christmas that year and it developed hairline cracks all over, we did manage to get in a few flights with it though. Been hooked like a fish ever since...and that's a good thing!

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

I think I was 11 or 12.... Never looked back. From then on I was always 'Focused' or knew I would fall down... ( Joking)

Duane-RCU

My Feedback: (5)

About 8 or 9 for me. Older brothers got into it, and me and Dad built a Beginner Ringmaster, solid wing .049. Brand new Babe Bee, blister packaged.... $6.95! Dad flew first (of course!) half lap, wing-over, nose first! Engine was hard to turn over, crank hit the reed, new reed, off it went. From there, almost anything Cox sold, I had. Only had one friend that could ever fly too. The first plane I had was maybe a Testors (?) Tri-plane from a Coke mail-in offer, something like $6.95 and 6 Coke caps, Since I was so young(maybe 8), my brothers quickly made junk out of it, kept flying till all the wings were broke off, I bet it would be worth pretty good on E-pay right now! Kind of like around 1971, for Christmas they bought me a Cox Eliminator II, the only thing I got to do was hit the button to launch it, they even kept it in THEIR room! Going well over $100.00 also now! If only I had bought two of everything in the 70's, I could cash in now! Now after no CL line for about 20years, just R/C, I'm eyeing the Flite Streak ARF, but I guess I could just build the Lil Jumping Bean I bought 2 years ago.

Bass1

I had a few Cox and Wen Mac planes at ages 8 and 9 but was afraid to fly them. I used to sell Christmas cards out of comic bookk ads to get planes for my reward. At age 9, (1961) my dad bought me a Bonanza Challenger for an honor roll report card. I brought it to the school yard where the big kids would fly and had one of the "experts" promptly nose dive it into the concrete! Finally in 1963 (at the ripe old age of 11) with the help of some sailors on base in Argentia, Newfoundland, I was able to fly my newly constructed Ringmaster with a Veco 29! What a thrill that was!!!

on pipe

I was about 11-12 in the early 70's. At first, my dad made the lines too short, and I about screwed myself into the ground! It was a little red Cox bi-plane with an .020 on it. The plane is long gone, but I have the dresser it sat on with a tell-tale smudge in the varnish where fuel dripped out. Every time I see it I'm reminded of my first time... Ross

da Rock

My daughters liked hanging out and helping daddy make his airplanes. They were deep into it early on because they went on so many contest weekends and loved the trips. So they liked the idea of building and flying their own planes when they were old enough. My oldest built a flatwing .049 Messerschmidt when she was about 10. She did a decent job of it. And she did ok learning to fly it. The younger daughter didn't care about that airplane stuff at that time. The difference was their ages.

Let him draw you some airplanes. Tell him that y'all could build what he can draw. The drawing's quality will show you when he reaches the point he could "build" with your help. Very young children don't "operate machinery" very well until about the time they can draw halfway decent. About the time he can build, he'll be able to handle flying.

Another thing to look for is the strength to actually hang on to the handle safely by himself.

Bass1

On pipe, I had a little red Cox Biplane that I received for selling 14 boxes of Christmas cards. It was in 1961 and called the LiL' Stinker! Now that I'm a little more informed, I've come to realize it was a Pitts Special (I think). Never did get to fly it under power but I remember slinging it around on short lines in my front yard untill I demolished it[&o]

build light

darock, Was the Messerschmidt one of the Scientific "hollow log" planes like this one? This one had a flat wing and a solid chunk of balsa that was hogged out by machine for a fuselage.

The Scientific planes weren't great flyers but were not bad flyers. The main thing about them is they generally were a great deal sturdier that the off the shelf store bought variety and there were many a modeler that learned how to fly on them...

Robert

Merco 35

I was 14, waiting with the trainer ready from 12.....too hard to obtain from my parents the first diesel!!!!!!!
Regards.

Azcat59

Either 1946 or 1947 when I was either 12 or 13. That is, if you can call my first attempt "a flight".....straight up, straight down. Sent the engine back to K&B for repair. While it was gone an older brother took pity on me and financed a K&B 24. Put it in the rebuilt "trainer", and repeated the flight #1 maneuver. When the first engine came back I put it in a Goldberg "Zing", supposedly too fast for a beginner, and flew it out of our cow pasture (western Kansas). Got it down in one piece, and I was hooked!

Clair Sieverling

RandyD

My Feedback: (8)

I was 10 years old (1969) living on Weisbaden Air Force Base in Germany when I first flew. My first flyer was a Scientific kit. Built most of all thier kits during my four years there. Flew a bunch of the ol' plastic jobs too, Cox and Testors. Broke into R/C there as well with the Sterling Mini Mambo and an Ace single channel radio.

PipeMajor

My Feedback: (1)

I had that one. Had a thin metal sheet for the cowl. Flew it in an open warehouse on pretty short lines.

My first attempt at C/L was age 9 and a Cox L-19 my dad bought me but never really explained how it worked. Never got past ½ lap with it.

Next attempt was age 12 and successful. A Cox PT-19 (with instruction booklet) solved the mystery and I pretty much flew the tank out first flight. It was a handful on a windy day though. Almost immediately I built and flew a McCoy 35 powered Ringmaster and was amazed at how much easier the larger models were to fly.

CLpilot

My Feedback: (1)

The first picture shows 3 kids and the youngest is about 5 years old.

In the second picture is me teaching a 4 year old to fly. He does pretty good now.

Jay

Applehoney

My Feedback: (3)

About 13/14 (?). I was building FF's and a younger lad came to the door and asked advice on what C/L to build for an ED Bee diesel ; suggested Phantom Mite. He made quite a good job of it but asked me to help him with first flight(s) .. laid out lines .. then he says 'You fly it first, then if I crash it I know it wasn't any fault of the airplane"

I took it off, flew out a smooth tank of fuel and wheeled back onto the short grass .. "It's fine" ... he flew and dorked it. Not badly, it flew again a day or so later and he became a proficient pilot. About 55 years later I broke the news to him that the Mite's first flight was my first C/L flight also.... I went on to fly the simple stunt schedules of that and into a little teamracing but C/L got too much in the way of my FF activities and I haven't flown one for decades. However, I'll still stop and watch a good stunt schedule being flown.

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

I was barely 5 when I first held a handle by myself. It was a McCoy 35 powered Comet Rookie in 1959. After a few laps I got into PIO and finally crashed before dad could get it back. I cut myself with a blade building a tissue and stick airplane the next year, and built a free flight rubber job at 8. Started flying a lot with a log cabin with a Cox RR-1 by age 10, built my first RC airplane at 13, but only flew it free flight. At 16, bought a Orbit 4 channel and built a Falcon 56. Learned to fly it with three flights of training. I landed it on the first flight, took off on the second, and solo'ed it on the third. Flying a lot of CL helped, because I knew how to flair for landing. Stopped most of the CL after the RC in 1970, but I am building a couple planes for it again.

hothandle

Pico Rivera, California in about 1950, (I was 10) I got a ready to fly balsa airplane that looked like a jet airplane it had a Spitzy 0.045 #9 engine on it. Sun props, start it and wing over in to the ground, never could get it to fly. My fault not the plane's.
Got a McCoy 19 that Christmas and a testers 19 Jr, airplane, etc. Built the airplane, took it to the school yard and I thought it was going up too fast so gave full down broke the plane in three pieces, took it home and put it up to repair, my brothers new spaniel puppy ate it. In 1955 in Kansas City, got a Ring and a K & B 35, built it with help from hobby shop guy over on State Line, he took me and the plane out to swope park and tought me to fly. I finally destroyed that plane learning to fly combat. Went through 17 Rings before I quit counting Rings flying combat. Say what you will, I think more folks have learned to fly U/C on a Ring than anyother airplane.

Hothandle