Hi Stewart

Many of the Cox engines are not fitted or equipped with silencers so they are noisy little beasts. I have got a Cox 010 and that is quite capable of annoying Spanish neighbours who are not generally known to be quiet peoples. My Cox 020 can annoy the neighbour's neighbours and as for the 049s and 051s well …………….. They are a big turn-off on noise sensitive flying sites.
The other problem is that most of them are not throttled so have reduced application in a radio controlled model. You can fit timer to control the length of the run and you don't need to fill the tank completely which can also give some control of the run time. To reduce the power you can richen the mixture so that they are 4 stroking and to get a significant reduction in thrust you can reverse the propeller.

Parts and new engines are available from Canada and there was quite a fun newsletter although that seems to have dried up.

I am lucky in that our flying field near Campos in Mallorca does not have noise limits or restriction and I have a number of gliders that could be fitted with Cox engines on pods to get them into thermals and soaring height.

My stronger interest is in IC engines especially four strokes but I also have a number of electric and I have to say that most of the kits and designs that I have built that were originally intended to be powered by Coxes I have adapted to use equivalent electric motors. With the small brushless motors available these days with lightweight and energy dense LiPo batteries a conversion often makes great sense. At the other end of the scale large models and top level aerobats can be electric as well and everything in between. Electric is also popular for twin and multi-engine aircraft.

I love the engineering in the IC engines and it is much harder to stir up similar emotions on an electric motor. One day maybe.

Tim

Cox Engines!

I had a Cox Tee Dee 15 in the early 60’s and I only ran it once for about 10 seconds. It must be the loudest noise I have ever heard and that includes standing 10 feet in front of Richie Blackmore’s 200 watt amps in the late 60’s. It must have started in fully leaned out mode as it dragged the heavy wooden stool it was attached to along a path and on a nylon 8×4 prop. It went back into it’s bubble pack immediately afterward to be put in the back of the cupboard. I still have it, I still have the shock from when it ran as well. I can still remember that perfect silence when it stopped and the sound of breaking crockery from all the houses where I lived as people reacted to the noise and dropped their tea trays in horror.

When i was in Hong Kong I joined the Model Club there, I lived above the model shop owned by a Millionare. The flying field was at a place called Sha Tin and it had a pool for model boats and a nice club house. In the club were 2 or 3 Australians whose favourite pastime was building free flight models using Cox .020. engines, mostly all from one sheet of balsa. Start up and fling them into the air, and then duck! They also made models that they flew over the border with China and they got their knuckles rapped by the Police. Strange that the models were returned at the border post totally unharmed. Club members were into control line with the biggest models they could find. Engines mainly Doolings and McCoys, one or two Ardens. Ardens were made of Magnesium and a crash wrapped the engine up! One I recovered where the crankshaft had gone back into the rear of the engine casing. My own engines were a Dooling 29 and a McCoy 29 in a Nationals winner.

And remember Robbie Coultrayne describing haw Two strokes worked and referring to a Cox engine in his hand as "These noisy little bu**ers" then depositing it about fifty feet (20 odd mtrs.) into a Scottish lock.

Regards Ian.

 PS, still have one in the nose of Mercury's ten bob speed model.

 Lots of designs for 049's on Outerzone.

Edited By Circlip on 22/05/2018 10:52:01

Edited By Circlip on 22/05/2018 10:53:48

Sorry but even 60 feet is less than 20 m. Lock or loch? Or which canal was that? OK, even Lochness has some locks, I believe.

Yep, I could have said Scotch lock and then you would have had a birthday.

That would have been shocking.

Regards Ian.