Black Widow?

I modified the upper black widow with a spring and a other spinner. The one below is how I received them both. They are run but not mutch by the previous owners. They told me they came with some arf fly graupner planes in the early 80's.

With one of the black widow i receieved also the plane and the manual. Still got the manual but dumped the airplane in the trash. The foam was turned yellow and much to heavy to fly ever again. kinda regret it now.

I am sure that the previous owners did not have the parts or the intention to change them.

Well then it was probably
People lazy enough to buy an ARF are also lazy enough to use an electric starter.

And why should you use a el starter on a bw? I experience them as very easy starting!

Laziness,lack of skill the "I want it now" attitude really in my opinion it should not be done!

The Plot thickens...
The one on the right is my 'odd' cylindered one which is running on my utube.
To recap it doesn't look as though it's seen a wrench.
On the left is what Postie turned up with yesterday from the States.
It has def seen some use and not unlike Wilfs, was a cheapie.
It has the 'same' pre 83 back plate with the same slotted cylinder.
However round the back leftie's venturi hole seems a good deal larger/dead
batt in my caliper prevents a measurement but I'd say at least a MM larger in
diameter.
I'll fire both up at the weekend and stick a tacho on them for a 'Tale of the
Tape'.

Here's a thought, I was looking around the "Cox virtual Museum" and I found the following quote

"Medallion .09 (1.5 cm³)

I received to upper sample as depicted with a gold drive washer which it might have received at the factory due to shortage of plain drivers. I have also found some .049 Medallions equipped with gold anodized drive washers."

My .09 had a gold driver too, do you suppose that the same thing could apply to the Black Widows? i.e some were fitted with whatever propdrivers they had on hand? It would explain all this confusion

I don't doubt they used what ever they had Wilf.
If you're producing hundreds and hundreds every day then next day a delivery fails to arrive
I can't see them stopping production because a component colour or even spec (they were
toys after all) wasn't immediately to hand.
I'm surprised no one in the States has tracked down some employees to put the thumb screws on them.
Tragically one of my pals Uncle Rex worked there during the late 60's and 70's but he's no longer
with us.

I showed her my PT19 and she showed her Cuz a pic, 'oh yeah we had loads of them in the garage
along with lots of others' came the reply.

John Goddard wrote:I don't doubt they used what ever they had Wilf.
If you're producing hundreds and hundreds every day then next day a delivery fails to arrive
I can't see them stopping production because a component colour or even spec (they were
toys after all) wasn't immediately to hand.
I'm surprised no one in the States has tracked down some employees to put the thumb screws on them.
Tragically one of my pals Uncle Rex worked there during the late 60's and 70's but he's no longer
with us.

I showed her my PT19 and she showed her Cuz a pic, 'oh yeah we had loads of them in the garage
along with lots of others' came the reply.

I often think that, if I'd only known back in my previous aeromodelling life what I know now, I could make a piggin' fortune! All the engines I had are fetching ludicrous money on EBay, I had four Oliver Tigers, those go for anything up to £250.00 each!
And of course all the Cox stuff was current, and selling for the sort of prices we can only dream about! As you say, it's even worse when you talk to someone who says, "Oh Yes, I had loads of (whatever) but I threw them out years ago"!

Hindsight is 100% accurate.

Look at the money I could made made had I bought Microsoft as an IPO.

It's just not "fair" I tell you! Ask the "Occupy" crowd at protest rally near you.

I wasn't refering to costs etc, more the info or rather lack of it.
I just think it is a tragedy given our daft interest in these things that (seemingly) no one
has attempted to compile a definitive history of them.
I just about remember an old friend of my Great Grandad who was at Spion Kop and no one ever
got him to write anything down either.