[I don’t think I’ve posted this one before.]
*
I remember
a black and white photo of a boy
in bed on Christmas morning,
a model-plane kit on the blanket;
coloured in my memory.
I remember hands hurting in the snow;
throbbing pink after snowballing.
I remember no Christmas tree
but the dry weightlessness
of balsa wood and pressing pins
to secure wings to paper
plan; sharp addictive smell
of glue and drum-like tautness
of dope-stretched tissue across
wing ribs and fuselage; winding up
elastic band powered propeller. Its level flight
reward enough for patience.
I remember a solid fuel pack
when lit sent another plane
out of sight with a fizz and a buzz
and a burnt chemical stink. I lost that plane
when it flew over roof tops.
I remember gazing at grey snowflakes
drifting against a bright sky and wondering
why everyone said snow was white.
I too remember most of this, Dope & balsa wood & hands hurting in the snow… but not the jet-plane!
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My older brother made planes powered by diesel engines. I think the fuel was diesel; would that be right?
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I built model planes from kits. most were disappointing but had fun with engine driven line controlled and free flying one using same half cc engine. later my chuck glider was carried off by a thermal on the town Moor. my tow launch glider did a half loop into the ground. my assistant was a world class Wakefield modeller . he commiserated but was no help. j s—— Original Message —— On Tuesday, 15 Sep, 2020 At 20:00, All Things Creative wrote: erikleo posted: ” [I don’t think I’ve posted this one before.} I remember a black and white photo of a boy in bed on Christmas morning, a model-plane kit on the blanket; coloured in my memory. I remember hands hurting in the snow; throbbing pink “
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