Thread: Of all the things my mom could have kept for me....

This Thimble Drome model airplane, complete with fuel, wires, instructions, box, engine and no propeller was found in storage, where we had bulk moved the contents of my mom & dad's house, when she went into senior housing. It was part of a lot that was boxed, put on pallets and stored in the warehouse of my brother's electrical business. He's getting ready to sell out to his son and another partner and retire, so he decided we needed to sort through the stuff.

Wow, it was all I wanted for Christmas in about 1960. Times being what they were my brother and I were afraid to smash it up flying it, so we pooled our cash and bought a cheap, break-away model to learn on. It turned out to be a broke-up model, so the Flying Tiger was started, but never flown . So where's the propeller?!?

Anyway, although nothing to do with anything on SRP, it brought back funny memories of a time and place long ago!

An appropriate toy for a boy who grew up to live near Kittyhawk.

Think you will get it airborne?

Originally Posted by DZEC

An appropriate toy for a boy who grew up to live near Kittyhawk.

Think you will get it airborne?

Not sure David. There is a R/C airplane club near here. I'm going to see if any of those guys are interested in it for their collections (they're like SR shavers). If not, it'll probably be airborne to a buyer on eBay. I'm too old to be spinning in circles! I get dizzy sometimes standing up from a chair!

Boy, that jogs the memory for me too. Had a model airplane like that as a kid also. IIRC it was powered by a Cox 0.49 engine. Yup, too old to be spinning in circle now too. Thanks for the jog.

Bob

She is a busy. Is that a McCoy engine? Don't think the fuel would still be good. I built a few in my early days. Covered wings with silk and Dope Paint. Brings back memories. Thanks for sharing.

That is very cool, Harold. I remember getting the 70's version of that for my 10th birthday in '75, a Cox model, probably a Corsair IIRC. Many of you will remember the sweet-smelling Testor's fuel, the little battery with the clips, and trying to get it started against the spring without the prop catching and taking your finger off. Then flying it around in circles on the double fishing line in the handle that also controlled the flaps until the fuel ran out and you were too dizzy to stand!

My brother got one that was a P-51 Mustang replica. I'll never forget the little hellion neighbor boy somehow chasing him around with it while the engine was running; a lot of crying and commotion ensued, so a typical day in my neighborhood.

Thanks for sparking some cool memories. I miss dangerous toys: GI Joe Missile Launchers, lawn darts, Estes rockets, etc!

I believe it's a Cox .049 engine....not sure what model. I'll check next time I have the box open.

And I did get my finger in the way of the prop the first time we started it! It had a 5" 3 blade prop.

I had a friend build a model plane that ended up being so much work he was afraid to fly it.

He contacted a club and got someone with a lot of experience to fly it just to prove it worked.

As far as I know it never flew again.


P.S. I should have said he was afraid to land it rather than to fly it..........

Seems every one we had went straight up and then straight down in pieces.

Let's give a kid something which only runs full-speed, shall we?

The instruction book is a hoot! I’ll post some pics of the best parts. They left out, “once the prop is pulled against the spring and released, the engine starts AT FULL SPEED, LOOK OUT FOR YOUR FINGERS” .

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Seems every one we had went straight up and then straight down in pieces.

Let's give a kid something which only runs full-speed, shall we?