Not really in the hi-start category but perhaps the most egregious modeling mistake was made when first starting out in soaring (~ 1971). I had just flown away my first real TD ship (a Boucher Bros design - rolled plywood fuselage, dihedral std clas R/E. Forgot the name of it but it was last seen thermaling towards the Angeles Forest north of SBdo. If anyone ever finds it there's an old Kraft brick in it. I miss the plane, don't miss The Brick). The next plane was a challenge - a semi-kit Diamant.
Basically you got a glass fusleage and a set of wing plans and that was it. In grad school at Riverside in married student housing (little WWII shacks left over from March AFB) the little back room was my office, shop, etc. So the Diamant wing started to go together back there from sticks and sweat over a period of about a month. Everything was carved from balsa and spruce and it was all from scratch.
Finally the day came when the wings structure was done. The pins were pulled, the wings were popped loose from the wax paper and plans, and I held in my hands one of the most beautiful geodesic creations I've ever done. Each wing half was about 55 inches in span. The room was so tight you could barely turn around with them. I called to Adele to come and see this beautiful work of art created by my own clumsy hands.
She was busy out in the kitchen and told me to bring them out there. So I turned around, mindful of the space needed to clear the walls - and promptly walked through the 30" door frame - rendering the Diamant to a bit under a 2M class wing.
- Dave R
PS - It was subsequently repaired and flew beautfully for many years. Still have the fuse.
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