Thats the same set that was in my house when I grew up, it was the first color set for my parents. Just a little different cabinet but the rest looked exactly the same.

The ctc 16 is a cool chassis and as we can see has a good picture.
Would anyone know if this is the first chassis that had the flyback where the 3a3 plate connected into the top of the flyback tire? I thought it was but not sure.

You are correct.

Thank you. Wonder why rca did that? I have seen a lot of flybacks that melt down from the heat of the tube.

The reason is universal: to cut production costs.

Been trying to think of a way to get some air inside the hv cage on my set.
If i drill holes in the front or side hv cage it will destroy the look of it. Could drill some holes on the back side of the cage where it can not be seen? Humm.

Beautiful set! Congratulations!

I think part of the reason may have been a safety device to ensure the HV rectifier could not be active with the HV cage open. It probably was a cost cutting move too but I wonder why all the chassis went to this design, from the cheaper portables to the highest end models.
The key thing is to make sure the tube is plugged in all the way to the socket...if its not in all the way you can get arcing which can lead to flyback destruction. Probably a fuse in the HO cathode would be good too (1/4 amp to .3 amp).