General Craft & DIY discussion

As many students understand there are times when the pressure is on. You have a five page handwritten essay due in two weeks, and yes, neatness counts! Then there are two mid-term exams coming up you hope will be multiple choice. Time to focus on what's important. It's time to play with rubber powered model airplanes!

While my memories from 45 years ago are fuzzy (like my memories from last week!) my obsession started when I picked up a rubber powered model plane kit at a hobby store. I thought, “Gee, this shouldn't take long. I can put off studying a couple hours to have a little fun.”. I had great fun building the planes. I was amazed at how the dope would turn tissue paper into a light strong body. This was much more interesting than studying and writing papers. OK, I never was a very good pilot. I no doubt learned much about aerodynamics, but mostly I learned that impact is mass times velocity. I got to learn how small a wing can get after repeated crashes and repairs and still be able to get airborne off the coffee table runway.

It was good thing that the subjects were interesting enough that I paid attention in class so I made it through the tests but I'm quite sure the papers I wrote the day before they were due could have been better. But darn, academia became an interruption to the more important objective of flying!

Somehow I passed all my classes and completed a two year degree. It was a decade of flying in the real world before I continued my education. As many students understand in advanced classes the pressure was on. You had to produce two ten page essays due in two weeks and you better make sure you have a new ribbon in the printer. There's a mid term coming up and you know it's all essay questions. At that time I walked into a bookstore and found the book. I thought, “Gee, this shouldn't take long. I can put off studying a couple hours to have a little fun.”. I was older but not much wiser. I was able to delay studying long enough to read the book and prosperous enough to waste time ordering mail order rubber powered models plane supplies... the good stuff!

This time it was harder to find the time to put off studying, but I managed to build a serious plane. The rubber was super stretchy and unwound wicked fast with the lubricant! The plane flew up under power, then down in a wide slow spiral. Then of course I confirmed the math that indeed impact is mass times velocity. It was a fun diversion but now I had to get serious. My interest in rubber powered planes ended.

I still have the book in my library. I never intend to try rubber powered flight again, but I like that every time I'm getting a reference book from that shelf and I see the book it makes me smile.

Foxtower wrote: "As many students understand there are times when the pressure is on. You have a five page handwritten essay due in two weeks, and yes, neatness counts! Then there are two mid-term exams coming up y..."

I enjoyed reading that ! Thank you for telling us your memories.
I can identify with finding more interesting things to do than what i need to do. Thankfully that doesn't involve schooling, but it's amazing that no matter how old you are there's still paperwork and deadlines that can mess you up if you don't get it done.