Parkflyers were a great idea!
Electrics caught on quite nicely. I fly one.

but ive never switched to glow because i dont want to lug a 50 inch 5lb plane that goes 60mph to a special field every evening. I can walk outside with my electrics and toss em up and fly. I attached a Cox .049 to my skyscooter... and now i have a Glow powered Parkflyer! Its incredible.... great fun. I love it. Surely other people would like it too. Even my dad was impressed with how small the engine was and how well it pulled the plane around.

I was so impressed, im going to get a norvel .074 for it. I cant wait!! Glow power, Glow noise, Glow smells, Electric Simplicity (almost), Electric Weight (or lower), and Electric Speeds! What more could you ask for?

So why arent these things more popular? Why doesnt anyone want a Glow powered Parkflyer?! i dont understand.... well... except for the noise... but other than that.

The noise is the thing. We'll see how long you get to fly locally before someone calls the cops. I read recently where one town banned all flying of any type within the city limits.

Power planes generally fly faster and need more room than many electrics.

My 2c

JOhn C

I have an .049 plane. I know exactly why no one flies 1/2 a's because they take forever to start. They are way to much maintenance compared to .40 sized planes. Too much work to have fun with.

I don't know about that......I've got a Tee Dee that starts on the first flip now that it's tuned and a .40 engine that won't run twice on the same needle setting. It's just a different routine to starting the small ones. Any engine can be a pain if you don't go about it the right way(trust me, I have been taught many lessons by engines...)

You'll get mixed thoughts on starting .049's. My first engine never started. My second engine took me a couple weeks of tinkering before it actually ran. And the whole time, I did basically the same thing. However, after that learning stage; my Cox .049's always start easily. It's hard to start them with the chicken stick method not like with the bigger engines; you NEED a starter. I have a little difficulty with the norvels though.

Popularity may have been due to the small size. Back when I was young, standard servos are bigger than they are now. A .049, 2 fat servos and a fat RX; well doesn't fly too great. However, the same gear in a .40 or .60 size trainer, it doesn't seem so heavy and those planes are easier to fly too. In the recent years, we can get tiny receivers and servos for cheaps. But the issue now are the planes. There are fewer and fewer scratch builders who are willing to spend the time and effort to build good 1/2A planes. Kit wood is heavy, so are ARF's. Manufacturers are also to blame; all the effort is on electric now for small planes. You can convert them, but people are too lazy (including myself). Then the foam trend! Gosh I hate foam. So anyways, thats just some idea of why 1/2 a is so small and dying.....

I've had (literally) hundreds of Cox 049s, and never had a problem; they all started with a couple of tricks, not the least of which is to block off the vent once it is full of fuel and give the bulb one more squeeze until fuel flows out the intake. Starts EVERY time. If the fuel doesn't come out, take out the needle, squeeze again (fuel should come out freely), replace needle, away it goes.

If the plug is good, no problems.

Personally, I went over to diesels long ago, and a PAW55 is as close to electric for sound as I've ever seen.

Dealing with head-in-the-sand bureaucrats (no flying anywhere) is always a problem until you get a good youth group going...

The reality is that people buy what they see advertised and in the hobby shops, and 1/2A isn't as profitable as small electrics. 1/2A has been around for 60+ years, long before RC, and has waxed and waned in popularity over that time.

Misconceptions are probably the biggest reason that 1/2A isn't as popular as it could be. Things like noise, mess, hard starting, too heavy and no throttle are often quoted, but with todays radio gear and engines with real throttles and mufflers, anything can be done in 1/2A, including scale and 3D. I can get a 1/2A model out of the car, fueled up, started and in the air before I could get a .40 out and have the wing on and I can fly for 15 mins on 2oz of fuel. We checked several planes at the field with a db meter one day and the loudest was a Quadra gasser, in the middle were the OS .60s and .46s and the quietest was my Norvel .074. Companies like Norvel, Herr and SIG produce modern 1/2A engines and kits and even an couple of ARFs.

Originally Posted by Bipe Flier

<snip>
Misconceptions are probably the biggest reason that 1/2A isn't as popular as it could be.
<snip>
Companies like Norvel, Herr and SIG produce modern 1/2A engines and kits and even an couple of ARFs.

I'm the only person in my club that flys 1/2A -- a couple of members have 1/2A planes, but I've never seen them fly. 1/2A is primarily a builders class -- Bipe noted that several good companies produce 1/2A ARFs (and quite nice ones at that), but the price is near that of .40 sized planes. For whatever reason, many folks are reluctant to pay the same for a 1/2A plane that they paid for their .40 sized model (I guess size does matter). Building seems to almost be a thing of the past.

Setup requires a little extra care; working inside a 1/2A fuselage is a bit more difficult than wandering around inside a .40 sized plane; hand launches are probably the norm (although Bipe Flier has several videos of ROG) and perceived speeds and quickness can be higher. While a .40 sized trainer can loaf around at 1/3 throttle and be managed by the novice, the majority of 1/2A planes need to be flown constantly and may at times be a handfull for the less experienced.

I believe two things initially restricted the acceptance of 1/2A as a viable R/C class: (1) the lack of an easily setup and functioning throttle and (2) early radio equipment that limited most 1/2A flying to slow circling on the edge of a stall.

While these have been overcome today, 1/2A is still thought of as a marginal performer by many in the hobby. Lastly, the heavy push into the electric parkflyer market, especially by new flyers, leaves the impression that 1/2A is just not viable or involves more effort than many wish to invest.

Cox ARF started me in the Hobby in the early 70's, I was about 12 years old . my first plane was the Pitts special UC .020, My father started it in the kitchen as I watched and broken the engine in, LOL , I was hooked and that was all the instruction I needed.

I got into multi (from single channel rudder only) with a Schoolboy from Goldberg (?), reed 049, EK system, and slow circling on the edge of stall was definitely NOT my experience. It was fun, controllable, cheap, capable, machine, and I am disappointed that there's nothing like it on the market today. I've designed a beginners model that will have the same characteristics, knowing that most beginners will not bother with the "drudgery" of having to build the model first: just pay money, then go fly...

1/2A is more difficult today, due to the lack of cheap engines. When Cox was peddling the Plastic Nasties, there was engines available EVERYWHERE: "got a P51 for Xmas? flew for a half a lap? where's the engine?", and you had a brand new reedie for a buck or two. Not today, I'm afraid!

TLyttle,

The Schoolboy, and many other vintage models like the Pageboy, Schoolgirl, Jr. Falcon, Jr. Skylark, Live Wire Champ etc., are being produced as top quality laser cut kits by Early RC Models. http://www.earlyrcmodels.com

Mmm, tempting... I have many happy memories of the Schoolboy; I found that it floats for quite a while (don't ask how I know, just accept that the model was flying next day). I also thermalled it a few times, and I think that is what got me into sailplanes, how's that for a multi-purpose trainer???

Try a small diesel.
Plenty of power and duration. No battery, leads or plug. Two flick starts every time. Lasts "forever." Low key "nice" sound. Amaze the electric set.
Peter

Amen to that!

If this pic posts, consider that this is a 7' span model, standard (NOT mini) r/c gear, power is 3 PAW80s. 50' away, you have to look at the props to make sure all engines are running, and I've heard electrics that made as much sound, mostly gear noise...