Cox Model Airplane Engines

Cox model airplane engines come in a wide range of options.  The typical Cox Model airplane engine range from the 010 cubic inch Tee Dee (ci) up to the.15 cubic inch Conquest engine. 

The Cox Model Airplane Engines consist of  6 main family categories.  They are divided into the following sections:  The Early Engines, Bees, Medallions,  Tee Dees, Product Engines and Special Engines.

Early Cox Airplane Engines

The Early Cox Airplane Engines were manufactured from 1949 to 1960 time period and included the Cox Thimble Drome Engine, the Cox Space Bug Engine, the Cox Space Bug Junior Engine, the Cox Space Hopper Engine, the Cox Thermal Hopper and the Cox Strato Bug engine all of which featured a displacement of  .049 cubic inch model airplane engines and utilized a typical rear reed valve induction system and most included and integrated model airplane fuel tank. These Cox model airplane engines are identified by their unique cast engine crankcase. The Cox Strato Bug engine is the rarest of all Cox airplane engines.  Other Cox Airplane engines that were produced later in the 1950s were the Cox Olympic Model Airplane Engine and the Cox Sportsman Model Airplane Engine which featured a  rear induction rotary valve model airplane engine. The Cox RR1 model airplane was an early engine that looked very similar to a Cox Bee Engine family, however it had a  rear rotary valve intake system rather than a typical reed valve.

Cox Model Airplane Bees Engine

The Cox Bee engine family became the core of the Cox engine line and included engines such as the Cox Pee Wee .020 Engine, the Cox Babe Bee .049 Engine, the Cox Golden Bee .049 Engine as well as the Cox Black Widow .049 engine. These Cox model airplane engines featured a crankcase which was made from from bar-stock aluminum. Cox was able to build automated manufacturing machines to produce the crankcases and as a result the engines could be made less expensively. The Cox Black Widow model airplane engine came along in the 1970's and was a much better performer than the Cox Golden Bee engine. The Cox Black Widow engine has two fuel transfer ports versus one that the Cox Babe Bee engineand original Cox Golden Bee engine have.  Additionally the Cox Black Widow also has a larger venturi hole in the engine backplate.   New versions of the Bee engines included the Cox QZ (Quiet Zone) engine and Cox QRC Quiet RC engine which were both supplied with mufflers (thank God), and the Cox Texaco and Cox Texaco Junior, the Cox RC Bee Engine and the Cox Dragon Fly Engine. The Cox Texaco has a 5 fin Glow head which allows it to run much cooler with a larger prop and is used for RC Texaco competition.
 

Cox Killer Bee Engines

As late as 1995 Cox introduced the Cox Killer Bees (049 & 051) engine and the Cox Venom 049 engine.  Fortunately they were both high performance model airplane engines which were enhanced with a strengthened crankshaft, a much improved reed valve intake system and updated fuel transfer and tuned exhaust porting, all of which contributed to these engine doing speeds of over 22,000 rpm.  Cox Killer Bee only two versions were ever produced. The first Cox Killer Bee was in 1996 which was advertised as a high performance competition model airplane engine, and the second Cox Killer Bee engine was produced as late as 2002.  This engine happend to be produced by Estes corporation with the same looks and name but it was no more than a standard Bee. The Cox Tee Dee 049 engine and 051 the two models can be distinguished by a black back plate on the 049 and a red back plate on the 051. .

Cox Medallions Model Airplane Engines 

As early as the 1960s Cox started produce a new more powerful line of competition model airplane engines. Cox felt that they were limited by the rear intake reed valve. The Cox Medallion engines were released as a Sport engine and used a front rotary valve fuel intake much more like a conventional model air plane engine.  These Cox engines are available in various sizes including 049, 09 and 15 ci in both Control Line and R/C versions although the throttle is rather crude and is derived by limiting the flow of the exhaust gasses. 

Cox Tee Dees Model Airplane Engines

The Cox Tee Dee Engine family became the high performance contest range of Cox engines.  The Cox Tee Dee Engines featured a peripheral port venturi replaced the conventional needle valve and spray bar of the Cox Medallion engine. Additionally the Cox Tee Dee has a triple fluted transfer port and a heavy duty crankshaft. The Cox Tee Dee engine is available in sizes .010, .020, .049, .051, .09 and .15 ci. The size of the 049 and 051 are very similar so to distinguish them apart the Tee Dee 049 has a black carb body and the Tee Dee 051 has a Red Carb body. The 051 also has a small groove on the bottom of the piston so you can be sure it is an 051 if the engine has one of these. There are also some special versions with RC throttle and different exhaust port configurations as in the Cox Tee Dee 15 Special and Cox Special MkII.