I had this toy and really enjoyed it but assumed that the inevitable crashes were all my fault.
Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
91–100 of 190 posts
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
My biggest concern about modern toys is that we have dumbed them down to work for the lowest common denominator. That's why a 3 year old today can (with a bit of training) assemble 12+ LEGO sets. Back in the day, when I was playing with LEGO Mindstorms, I thought the fact that you compile binaries and flash them with a USB cable was a feature, because it gave you full control. There was even alternative OS choices li…
I have a bone to pick with LEGO. LEGO destroyed Erector sets. Erector sets were great because they were metal parts that you screwed together, and the machines you built look like machines. (My mom was reluctant to get me an Erector set, assuming I could not handle the tiny nuts and bolts. But I had no difficulty with them.) https://www.ebay.com/itm/133855778156 Lego machines look like cheap plastic crap with all tho…
There is two kinds of Lego (actually, a couple more but for this two will do). Lego bricks and Lego Technic. Lego Technic was conceived from day #1 to make proper machinery possible, the colors you are free to ignore. The old Technic sets such as https://thelegocarblog.com/2011/11/20/lego-technic-8860-car-... this one were really quite nice from a mechanical point of view.
Lego created the technic line because in Europe 'Fischer Technik' (from the factory that makes those plugs to hang stuff on the wall) was eating their lunch, especially in Germany and NL, two major markets for Lego. Fischer Technik was both more durable and far better suited to building machines than Lego and they had a whole line of electronic components to go with it.
Erector sets and Meccano were fantastic too, but not nearly as quick to build with, nor did they stand the test of time as well, clearly Lego did something right in making this stuff accessible.
Meccano is stil sold today, As is Fischer Technik https://www.fischertechnik.de/en/products/learning/stem-robo... and Lego is available just about everywhere.
So Lego did not 'destroy' anything, it all still exists it's just that the markets have shifted considerably and with Lego being heirloom grade plastic some of the bricks that we have here are now in their 6th decade and still being used by my kids.
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a bone to pick with LEGO. LEGO destroyed Erector sets. Erector sets were great because they were metal parts that you screwed together, and the machines you built look like machines. (My mom was reluctant to get me an Erector set, assuming I could not handle the tiny nuts and bolts. But I had no difficulty with them.) https://www.ebay.com/itm/133855778156 Lego machines look like cheap plastic crap with all tho…
Take a look at Cobi toys for the less garish models, although they aren't going to be like Technic sets. I still have my old erector set for my kids, as well as several boxes of knex. When I was young, I eventually lost all interest in legos once I had an erector set and a large enough knex supply. Those erector set electric motors were downright scary and I have many memories of bruised and cut fingers from making a…
> bruised and cut fingers
Is that really a bad thing? Minor things like that teach the kids how to handle tools and machinery, so they can operate safely the dangerous tools adults use. Like most boys, I had to learn the hard way to not put my finger in a light socket, and how to not stab myself when the screwdriver slips.
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#94Hey, I still have my Cox 049 engine somewhere. The airplane is gone, smashed up of course. I suppose it was dangerous by modern standards, but not at the time. About the worst it would do would cut your finger if it backfired when starting. Or you could use a cheater stick, or even an electric motor to start it. I once made a car for it out of piano wire. It would take off at high speed down the road, but because I n…
I don't know what toys you have, but my toys today are RC planes with a 25km range that transmit HD video so you can fly them with a first person view.
Is it legal to fly them out of LOS?
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know what toys you have, but my toys today are RC planes with a 25km range that transmit HD video so you can fly them with a first person view.
Is it legal to fly them out of LOS?
It depends on where you are and what license you have, but generally LOS is different from VLOS (one means there are no obstacles between you, the other means you can't see it).
Generally, there are limits to how far you can go, but you can get a license and file flight plans.
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#96The 70s really were another country - see also: chemistry sets. These are pale and anodyne things now with a mere handful of bland household-level chemicals - assuming you can even find one in a toy shop at all. But as a lad these were both readily available and full of dozens of intriguing substances that would send a modern health and safety wonk into apoplexy. Who among us did not incinerate all of the supplied ma…
Who among us lit up the chunk of sulphur and (out of innocent curiosity) took a good snork off it, realizing too late that it was a stupid thing to do ? I sure did. Tinkering with chemistry also motivated me to look for sources of hydrochloric and sulphuric acids, but in New York state the guy at the pharmacy said I needed parental permission. Wasn't gonna happen.
I ended up with a fair bit of unusable glassware after a week or two. Fortunately we had a whole kitchen full of stuff. Bad idea. Lots of pocket money got docked.
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#97We removed the engine from my control line model and made a much more dangerous device! We mounted three wheels on the edge of a Frisbee and mounted the engine vertically in the cut out center. Then we started it and let it uncontrollably bounce, fly, and spin around the driveway, scattering gravel, until it ran out of gas or quit running from sheer abuse.
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds interesting, can you elaborate? I.e., was there just a tiny bit of water, so they needed to avoid electric drills? Or if the water was deeper, how did they supply air to the engine?
this was before battery powered drills were a real thing, I should mention. And this was a crew that would spend a day inventing a solution instead of spending $20 to buy one. Big concrete block, in a waist deep puddle. This block is the base of the drain pipe for a pond; the drain is opened all the way so there's a lot of water flow happening in the area, too. They're drilling an anchor hole and had a long enough dr…
I'm surprised the engine could produce enough torque. Did they just push the drill bit really gently or something?
(Also, that's a really long bit!)
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Take a look at Cobi toys for the less garish models, although they aren't going to be like Technic sets. I still have my old erector set for my kids, as well as several boxes of knex. When I was young, I eventually lost all interest in legos once I had an erector set and a large enough knex supply. Those erector set electric motors were downright scary and I have many memories of bruised and cut fingers from making a…
> bruised and cut fingers Is that really a bad thing? Minor things like that teach the kids how to handle tools and machinery, so they can operate safely the dangerous tools adults use. Like most boys, I had to learn the hard way to not put my finger in a light socket, and how to not stab myself when the screwdriver slips.
As my professor would say "We learn by doing!" I learned so much from my erector set: about the dangers of spinning objects, how gears mesh, and even seemingly minor things like how frustrating tiny screws and nuts are when you are still learning the required fine motor control.
Re: Fun, danger, and 70s airplane toys
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
glow plugs are pretty easy to start - stupid question, but you did have a big battery to power the plug?
The "glow plug" was kind of shaped like a spark plug, but instead of a gap for high voltage arcs, it had a small loop of platinum wire. To start the engine, you had to pre-heat the plug. This entailed attaching a battery, clipping one terminal to the top of the glow plug and the other to the engine, to send a current through the platinum wire. You'd use a 'D' cell, or maybe one of those big old No.6 types. A mere 1.5…
Disconnect after it runs, definitely. They'd cool down way too fast.