back in the day ....

[boatman]

WELL i spent wks back when i was young about 15 building a keil craft f86 saber
an i covered in in tishue paper an doped it an i fitted a jetex motor in it but never painted it as i could not wait to see it fly so took it out in the feild an held it above my head an got out my ciggy lighter an forggetin that dope was highly imflameable when i struck my lighter the plane just went up with a whoof an i was just left holing the jetex motor that had the fuse burning down to start an i let go of that qiuckly as well as these motors went red hot when running an boy was i sick all that work of building the plane only to have it go up in a bang but well we live an learn an i certainly learnted but what fun times they were the young now a days dont know what they are missing
chris

[Tim Marlow]

Not funny at the time, but pretty hilarious now Chris….

[boatman]

Not funny at the time, but pretty hilarious now Chris….

YES Tim like a young idiot i forgot to line the planes bottom with tin foil to give it heat proection around near the jetex engine an well what a bang that made an yes i look back at these times an think well at least i took up the challenge of doin it an have a really good laugh myself an think god i was niaeve then
chris

[Jim R]

Hi Chris
As Tim says it's funny now but at the time you must have been scared stiff.
Jim

[Dave Ward]

Ahhh Jetex - https://www.jetex.org/ I had several successful (free ) flights with a small plane - It finally ended up stuck in an unclimbable tree! I had a jetex car - it was tethered & just went in a circle ( boring ). I saw several fancy Jetex models, including a form of helicopter ( one engine at the tip of each rotor ). I seem to remember the Jetex engines were numbered, 50, 100, 150 depending on size & number of fuel pellets.
Even more specialist - microfilm aircraft

I remember seeing these as about an 8 year old in an aircraft hangar in Sheffield ( very fragile )
Dave

[boatman]

Hi Chris
As Tim says it's funny now but at the time you must have been scared stiff.
Jim

HI JIM no i was not scared stiff. more like gobsmacked an in disbelive that it happened but when i calmed down i had a good laugh at myself thinking you silly sod an lookin in the kit box i found the thin metalsticky tape an thought well if i had stuck it on it my model might have flown but well we all make mistakes dont we young or old its a human failing lol
chris

[Tim Marlow]

As long as no one gets hurt, that’s the secret right there…a good laugh at yourself……

[boatman]

As long as no one gets hurt, that’s the secret right there…a good laugh at yourself……

YES you are right Jim as i dint tell my m8's as they would have wanted a go
chris

[Tim Marlow]

YES you are right Jim as i dint tell my m8's as they would have wanted a go
chris

Absoly Chris….but who is this Jim you are talking about LOL :cold-sweat: ….P Diddy used to call me that all the time as well….

[Ian M]

In my youth I built a rather large tow line free flight sail plane. The idea being a slow fuse would burn down while it was getting some altitude, burn through an elastic band that would then put the rudder to the left or right. Anyhow, first flight went 'ok' and after the thing came down I set it up again. to get a bit more height I made the fuse a bit longer and launched it with the aid og my bike. Pedel bike that is. The glider shoot off up into the sky and headed off and up. I stopped and waited.... and waited then waited some more as my sail plane got smaller and smaller. Then I found the fuse, still smouldering on the ground. It must have caught on the grass and got pulled out the clip.
I never saw the glider again.

[boatman]

Absoly Chris….but who is this Jim you are talking about LOL :cold-sweat: ….P Diddy used to call me that all the time as well….

Oh sorry Tim the Tims an the Jims i get mixed up with i'll try an whatch it in future lol
chris

[boatman]

In my youth I built a rather large tow line free flight sail plane. The idea being a slow fuse would burn down while it was getting some altitude, burn through an elastic band that would then put the rudder to the left or right. Anyhow, first flight went 'ok' and after the thing came down I set it up again. to get a bit more height I made the fuse a bit longer and launched it with the aid og my bike. Pedel bike that is. The glider shoot off up into the sky and headed off and up. I stopped and waited.... and waited then waited some more as my sail plane got smaller and smaller. Then I found the fuse, still smouldering on the ground. It must have caught on the grass and got pulled out the clip.
I never saw the glider again. :sad:

PROBERLY gone into orbit Ian lol but yes its sad to lose something like that that gave you so much pleasure an fun just like me an my F86 SABER but then i dint get much flyin time with that did i lol
chris

[Guest]

I never saw the glider again.

You can console yourself with the thought you at least built something that flew quite well

[Dave Ward]

My Father used to fly his slope soarers at a site called Higger Tor, just south of Sheffield. It was a popular site on Sunday morning - the local modelmaking society flew all their planes there. As a young lad, I used to sit with my father & watch the activity ( this was mid-60s ). A lot of the big gliders had radio control, but this was early days, and the range wasn't too great. It was a common occurrence for one to go out of range ( or malfunction ) - it would be followed by an anxious owner in car, with a spotter hanging out the window, as best as the roads would allow!
Powered models used to fly there as well some real large models - big engines with wooden props. Whilst one gent was test running his engine he managed to chop his little finger off, by sticking it in the propeller! Loads of blood all over the plane! As a kid, it was fascinating!!! :tongue-out:
Dave

[saguy]

:smiling:good to see the thread has stimulated some fond memories ... some other stuff i found ..... i did have a tub of pins with bobbles as the head but those have gone awol it seems .... the smell of balsa wood glue certainly stimulated a few memories .... :rolling: the little wooden thingee is a home made sanding instrument. my dad folded a piece of sand paper around it .. pinned it with a tack and used it as his sander .... the razor blades he used to cut the balsa wood. goodness knows how old those are .....