Makes you wonder what its fallen from popularity.
Memories...
I had a 6ft wingspan competition glider (I didnt make that one) You towed it up with 20lb fishing line and you could feel the pull as it leapt skyward. Timer mounted that flipped the tail aileron, gently stalling it back to earth. I cant imagine what height that used to fly but a little trim on the rudder kept it going in a circular motion.
One Cessna type free flight model I made,, brought from my Birthday money, 2 weeks build, towed it up the first time...up it went, and up, and straight on...and straight on. I'd forgotten the trim. I ran for maybe 2 miles after it but it disappeared off I to the distance, never to be seen again. Maiden flight, running through hedges, nettles and then the realisation...sod it, it's gone.
I tried controll lines but I think the engine I used was underpowered, it just nosedived into the ground .
Spent many an hour running engines on homemade jigs in the garden, the smell of ether, beautiful smell.
The hours spent poring over drawings, the hours cutting, sanding, glueing, doing, thats before the fun of flight, summer days on airfields, catching thermals and watching it soar overhead. If only kids now knew the pleasures to be had.