Dad does it again
As a reward for enduring two hours at a DIY store one Saturday afternoon, my Dad bought me one of those "Flying Gliders" polystyrene type planes with the little whirly propellor on the front.

Like these:



My father decreed however that mini-PJM wasn't trusted with the complicated task of assembling it though, in case I "bugger it up". My father, with thirty year experience with engineering and aeronautics elected to assemble my P-47 Thunderbolt himself, notwithstanding the fact that I had a veritable Luftwaffe of the things in a little box in my room.

Thus he grabs a tube of Humbrol Polystyrene Cement and proceeds to glue the tailplane in place. Can you guess what happened next?

My P-47 ends up with a whacking great hole in the tailplane as the Polystyrene Cement burns it's way through like acid. Polystyrene Cement is used to glue together Airfix models and works by melting the plastic together.

Silly Dad.

So in the time honoured tradition of the Great British Bodge, he grabs some thick electrical tape and tapes over the holed tailplane before inserting it in it's little slot.

Now here's a funny thing an aeronatuical engineer should know, any type of gliding aircraft requires the centre of gravity to be perfectly balanced to ensure the wing is dragged through the air by a weight in the nose. If you upset that balance, for example by applying a large wrapping of heavy tape to the back of a polystyrene P-47 Thunderbolt, then the glider will drop like a stone.

Seeing the disappointment on my young face, he reacts with exasperation and removes the plastic weight from the nose of my glider and returns it to me.

Yep, it ended up flying better backwards.

Cheers Dad.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Mon 7 Apr 2008, 12:48, 3 replies)

Yay!
I still remember the first one of those I ever got.... it was a little non military yellow one.

My grandad built it for me. He glued the propeller on. So my first ever glider had a rigid propeller and wouldn't go very far.

Harumph.
( baw__bag contains traces of nuts on, Mon 7 Apr 2008, 14:06, closed)

When you run the country
don't let your dad run the RAF.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Mon 7 Apr 2008, 15:10, closed)

My dad running the RAF
Well, if he did there would be an awful lot of English Electric Lightnings brought out of retirement, bodged with electrical tape and flying backwards...
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Mon 7 Apr 2008, 15:29, closed)