When I truly started flying control-line in 1961 my goal was to have a Flite Streak with a 35 on it. The only 35 I could afford at the time was a McCoy 35 redhead. I was fortunate enough to be able to make that engine and model last long enough to learn how to do inside and outside loops and get me thoroughly hooked on modeling.

McCoy redhead engines had a horrible reputation at the time caused by people like me who didn't know how to operate them. They needed to be broken in with the proper fuel then operated within the proper fuel mixture range. I didn't understand that the fuel tank I had would cause the engine to go lean as the fuel load burned off.   also set it for as lean a setting as I could before the model was launched.  This caused only over-lean runs every time which would have destroyed any engine.

As I moved on through my modeling career I managed to ruin all kinds of engines but they didn't have the bad rap the McCoys did so I always blamed the problems on other things. Ultimately that was because as a control-line Combat flier I rarely used less than 50% nitro in my fuel.

Sometime around 1990 I stopped flying. When the bug bit me again in 2008 I wanted to have a Flite Streak powered by a McCoy 35. I got an RTF Top Flite Flite Streak and a used McCoy redhead .35 from my friend Mike Hazel. I then finally started to learn how to properly care for and use these engines.

I now have 4 McCoy redhead .35s powering models and more because I think the are great looking. They all work just fine. The three engines above represent the engine range that was available in '61. A never-run .19, a well-taken-care of .29, and a lightly used 35.

Since I was originally using McCoy redhead engines they went through a number of upgrades and a .40 was added. That .40 was very highly regarded as a Precision Aerobatics engine for a period of time. I don’t have a .40 yet and probably won’t ever have one as they are a bit rare and pricey. 

The Flite Streak powered by its McCoy .35.