The "Back in my day" Thread

[Daleandee]

Two for B&W, 4 for color TVs.

Back when you had to tweak the color settings from show to show.

And a 19" TV was HUGE.

That was back when us kids were responsible for continually adjusting the vertical hold ...

 

[MauleSkinner]

That was back when us kids were responsible for continually adjusting the vertical hold ...

And the rabbit ears.

 

[Gary]

Bangsite cannons! Hours of fun. Get a few kids together, made quite the racket. This was my old one, probably early ‘60s. Found it rusting away in my aunt’s barn and brought it back to life.

 

[Chip Sylverne]

Estes D size rocket engines. Now those were cool. More fun to fire off with out benefit of rocket. We tried "static testing" one in a friend's garage. Tied it to the light fixture in the center. Good fun until it came off the string, landed about a foot from a 2 gallon can of gas and fired the 6 second delayed separation charge.

We survived.

 

[Bill]

I actually stayed at a Motel 6 when the room was $6.

And you probably stopped here along the way.



Pecan log roll anyone?

 

[sansoneservices]

Bangsite cannons! Hours of fun. Get a few kids together, made quite the racket. This was my old one, probably early ‘60s. Found it rusting away in my aunt’s barn and brought it back to life.

I had one, rigged it so I could shoot stuff out of it. Had to use Daddy's tools to bust out the inside casting. Shot a friend in his butt and naturally the cannon was taken away from me

 

[MauleSkinner]

Estes D size rocket engines. Now those were cool. More fun to fire off with out benefit of rocket. We tried "static testing" one in a friend's garage. Tied it to the light fixture in the center. Good fun until it came off the string, landed about a foot from a 2 gallon can of gas and fired the 6 second delayed separation charge.

We survived.

According to legend, Rocket with no fins, warhead on the nose, shot from a closet pipe 100 yards across an open area through an open dorm window. Warhead exploded properly. Campus cops didn’t believe where it came from.

 

[JackL-3J]

We had a simple Zenith TV with clicker. One evening I was watching TV and my parents were going out. My mom walked into the living room and the TV channel changed and then changed then changed.

It took a few minutes, but we figured out her metal chain belt, as she moved, made the proper frequency sound to change the channel.

FYI for those who don't know, the Zenith remote clickers were ultrasonic. When you pushed the button, it range a tuned metal rod to make the right sound to change the channel or volume.

Yes, we had an old Zenith. My mother still calls a remote a "cliker", and the 'fridge is an "icebox".

 

[GaryM]

the 'fridge is an "icebox".

Not an icebox, but we had one of these when I was a kid; it was old even then, and relegated to being the backup fridge in the basement.

By the time my parents sold the farm and moved to town, it had to be 60 to 70 years old. Still running great, never needed a repair to the best of my knowledge. There were a couple of bidders competing for it at the farm auction.

My last house had a SubZero, which couldn't go three years without something expensive breaking.

 

[wanttaja]

Bangsite cannons! Hours of fun. Get a few kids together, made quite the racket. This was my old one, probably early ‘60s. Found it rusting away in my aunt’s barn and brought it back to life.

Don't know when they stopped being available in the US. In about 1972, our CAP cadet squadron loaded up in a bus and went to Winnipeg to meet with the Canadian Air Cadets there. We did get some shopping in.

When we got back to the border, the US Customs guy stood in the front of the bus and asked, "Did anyone buy anything on your visit?"

One young timid cadet cautiously raised his hand. "...I bought a cannon."

The Customs agent looked at him with disbelief, shook his head, and got off the bus. No doubt saying something about "Smart-*** kids..."

But Kurt HAD bought a cannon... a Bangsite one.

Kurt eventually joined the Marines, had adventures as an embassy guard in Egypt (came home with a Broomhandle Mauser), then after he got out, went to OCS and pilot school to become a P-3 driver in Hawaii.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[TCABM]

Bangsite cannons! Hours of fun. Get a few kids together, made quite the racket. This was my old one, probably early ‘60s. Found it rusting away in my aunt’s barn and brought it back to life.

BIG-BANG Cannons Conestoga Company

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www.bigbangcannons.com

 

[X3 Skier]

Not an icebox, but we had one of these when I was a kid; it was old even then, and relegated to being the backup fridge in the basement.

By the time my parents sold the farm and moved to town, it had to be 60 to 70 years old. Still running great, never needed a repair to the best of my knowledge. There were a couple of bidders competing for it at the farm auction.

My last house had a SubZero, which couldn't go three years without something expensive breaking.

View attachment 135577

We had a Servel natural gas refrigerator. Never knew how it worked until thermodynamics class in Engineering School.

 

[wanttaja]

On the other side of the coin....

Noticed the other night that the thermometer on my gas grill was broken. 40 years ago, I'd have to haunt local hardware stores, try to get a catalog from the company, etc.

Instead, I just ordered a new one from Amazon....

Ron Wanttaja

 

[Dana]

As a teen, I put an actual 36 or so cc two-cycle single on a bicycle. It probably did 20 mph and got 100 or more mpg. Needed much better brakes 'tho.

I put a Brigs & Stratton lawnmower engine on a bicycle. It was a vertical shaft, so I used the right angle gearbox from a self propelled mower, and had a lever as a hand clutch to move the idler pulley on the belt. Yeah, it was dangerous, and lasted until the brakes failed and I ran it into a rock wall.

I was a Centuri rocket guy. Way back, before Estes bought them, and then there was one.

Started with a Cox plane, but moved to a Sterling Ringmaster with McCoy .35. I sill have the engine in a full bodied, trike, Ringmaster.

WOW, searched to see about Ringmasters and found this site. You can buy the classic Control Line kits from them.

I had a Baby Ringmaster, and a Flite streak, and a Jr. Nobler. and a Veco Smoothie, and...

 

[geezer]

The first member of my high school class to die had an alcohol event. 3 months later, the next died in Korea. 1952. Before the next year class started. He was not the last of my class to die in Korea.

 

[Brad W]

I'm thinking this was mid 80's....maybe 85? got my IR and Comm then. This was a flyer I found in my flight bag years later.

Brad....you don't want to add up your aviation expenses.....trust me.

Ha ha...yeah. I was more interested in looking at the trend. Seems like rental rates were fairly steady then took a significant climb at some point around 1999 or 2,000 or so. I've just been curious about the trends for a long time.

But on the other hand, I do recall adding up the costs for my certificate and ratings. I don't recall precisely, but my PPL was right at $3,000 as I recall, and my instrument rating was about another $3,000. I'll be the average rate now is a good bit more..so looking at mine doesn't look so bad!!

Yeah they were goofy as hell. Then in ‘77 these guys came out and changed gaming forever.
View attachment 135562
View attachment 135561

wow, that was wild to see that. I haven't thought of those things in a long time!!

We had a simple Zenith TV with clicker. One evening I was watching TV and my parents were going out. My mom walked into the living room and the TV channel changed and then changed then changed.

It took a few minutes, but we figured out her metal chain belt, as she moved, made the proper frequency sound to change the channel.

FYI for those who don't know, the Zenith remote clickers were ultrasonic. When you pushed the button, it range a tuned metal rod to make the right sound to change the channel or volume.

I remember learning how to change the channels by whistling

 

[Daleandee]

And the rabbit ears.

The ones with the tin foil on them ...

 

[MauleSkinner]

The ones with the tin foil on them ...

Tin foil hats go back a long way.

 

[Daleandee]

I actually stayed at a Motel 6 when the room was $6.

There was a reason their commercial was, "We'll leave the light on for you"

 

[Daleandee]

From back in the day, 50 years ago this year ... it's parked in the driveway and it runs great!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Yeah, stuff got hot. Yeah, the chemistry set we had came with real chemicals, and you could buy all kinds of other chemicals at the hobby shop. And yet we all survived.

Uh, no ya didn't. Not "all"... There's a reason that stuff's illegal now, though it probably mostly just killed the dumber kids. Of course we were all pretty dumb as kids! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

Ha ha...yeah. I was more interested in looking at the trend. Seems like rental rates were fairly steady then took a significant climb at some point around 1999 or 2,000 or so. I've just been curious about the trends for a long time.

But on the other hand, I do recall adding up the costs for my certificate and ratings. I don't recall precisely, but my PPL was right at $3,000 as I recall, and my instrument rating was about another $3,000. I'll be the average rate now is a good bit more..so looking at mine doesn't look so bad!!

FWIW, I did my private in 2003 for very close to $3,000 even as well. C152 was $49/hr, C172 was $69/hr, CFI was $30/hr.

 

[Rich Holt]

I remember being the TV remote and the dishwasher.

 

[FastEddieB]

FWIW, I did my private in 2003 for very close to $3,000 even as well. C152 was $49/hr, C172 was $69/hr, CFI was $30/hr.

Going back a bit farther - 1975 or so - I got my private at a Cessna Pilot Center (Opa Locka Flight Center) for a guaranteed $995. Took me in the vicinity of 50 hours.

Bear in mind I was earning about $2/hr at the time.

There was a place nearby - Executive Carriers - that was offering a Cessna 150 wet @ $99 for a 10 hour block.

 

[SkyChaser]

There was a place nearby - Executive Carriers - that was offering a Cessna 150 wet @ $99 for a 10 hour block.

That is wild. When I figured out the cost per hour I was paying to rent the 1976 Archer I used for private training three to four years ago, it came out to about $102/hour wet. And that wasn't block pricing, just what it rented for at the time - and it was even well maintained! Location really does matter, I guess.

 

[Mason]

1963,
Champ $10/hr CFI $5/hr. Gas boy pay $15/day.

 

[judypilot]

Fill ‘er up with leaded, and check the oil and water.

Except we never specified leaded. It was ALL leaded.

 

[JackL-3J]

Propwash was $0.50 a gallon, as was Continental and Lycoming coolant.

 

[judypilot]

Yes, we had an old Zenith. My mother still calls a remote a "cliker", and the 'fridge is an "icebox".

I still call the remote the clicker.

 

[wanttaja]

1972: $10/hour (wet) for Citabria, $13/hour (wet) for Cessna 305. With CAP. Nobody wanted to fly the Bird Dog, so I had it pretty much to myself.

Ron Wanttaja

 

[dsbur]

1977, Gottschalk's Flying Service at Reid-Hillview in San Jose CA $11-$13 wet tach time for a C-150

 

[Pinecone]

Pecan log roll anyone?

Yummy. You can still get them at Cracker Barrel.

 

[Pinecone]

Except we never specified leaded. It was ALL leaded.

Except Amoco.

Yes, you specified Regular or High Test. Ethyl was another term for High Test.

The term Ethyl was from the Ethyl Corporation, who made TEL in the US.

 

[Pinecone]

I had a Baby Ringmaster, and a Flite streak, and a Jr. Nobler. and a Veco Smoothie, and...

I had a Baby Ringmaster also. I did some looking at the one I still have is a Ringmaster Sportster


I built mine without the canopy. I think I have a laser cut rib set for a Ringmaster.

I did not do many of the Top Flite kits. More Sterling and Carl Goldberg. I still have a Sig Super Chipmunk project. But have lost some parts over time.

I do have a kit of a profile P-63 in the shop.

Do you remember the Top Flite kits used a molded balsa shell for the fuselage? Called Super Form

 

[DaleB]

Uh, no ya didn't. Not "all"... There's a reason that stuff's illegal now, though it probably mostly just killed the dumber kids. Of course we were all pretty dumb as kids! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

Yes, "we all". Everyone I knew, and everyone they knew, all survived - and without major injuries. I never heard of anyone killed by an Easy Bake Oven, Creepy Crawler machine, or for that matter a chemistry set. Lawn darts - obviously another matter; anyone could see how dangerous those were if you did stupid things with them. You can still buy chemistry sets, with a little narrower selection of chemicals.

 

[ateamer]

Lawn darts - obviously another matter; anyone could see how dangerous those were if you did stupid things with them.

Perfect reason to keep them on the market.

 

[FastEddieB]

Except we never specified leaded. It was ALL leaded.

Except Amoco.

Edited to add: Late to the party again.

 

[JOhnH]

Except we never specified leaded. It was ALL leaded.

All except for Amoco "white gas".
But it was common to specify "ethyl" which meant "premium" because it had MORE lead than "regular".

 

[SoonerAviator]

Speaking of back in the day games, who here had one of these?

View attachment 135546

My father had one of those stored on the top shelf by the washer and dryer. I used to get it down every now and then and play with it, buzzing away while the players went in random directions, lol. I'm fairly certain they still have it in a closet somewhere.

 

[Skip Miller]

I still call the remote the clicker.

My family. Has always called it a ‘button box’.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Speaking of back in the day games, who here had one of these?

Not football, but hockey:



Each player had two controls: A ring you pulled that rotated your men other than the goalie, and a lever to scoot the goalie back and forth. 1940s, maybe. Plastic. You had to hold the whole thing still when you yanked that spring-loaded ring to spin the players. Used a marble instead of a puck, and the deck was sloped to keep the marble from stopping out of reach of the players.

Had more in common with pinball than hockey.

I actually stayed at a Motel 6 when the room was $6.

I stayed a night in the last place available on a Saturday night in New Westminster, BC. The hotel must have been nearly 100 years old at that time, about 1970. $6 per night, plus sales tax. Bathroom at the end of the hall. A railroad yard just outside my window. Noise all night. With indoor plumbing, it must have been a premium place when new.