Windy days and balsa-wood airplanes
So, a half hour or so ago, a couple of my younger male co-workers came over to my cube and invited me up to the roof of the building, as one of them discovered that it was unlocked today.
The purpose? Toss off a balsawood airplane to see how far it would go.
Yeah, of course I went!
First of all, let me say that when the perimeter wall on your roof is only about 3' high, allowing you to lean out fairly far without ever feeling very secure, 11 stories seems like a LONG way down. I'm not afraid of heights, but I have to admit I was quite aware of how high up I was. 11 stories isn't even that much, but it looked like it when I was up there.
Second, the plane flew for a really, really long time! It kind of did this slow spiral down the side of the building, at one point bouncing off someone's window on about the 8th floor (I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in that person's office). It then veered off towards the Maine History Museum, taking a straight and level path for awhile before landing next to a truck in the museum's construction site.
Total flight time? 30 seconds, perhaps? Not bad for a balsawood plane.
Our next thing is to get a boucy ball and see how far it will bounce when thrown from 11 floors up onto pavement...
The purpose? Toss off a balsawood airplane to see how far it would go.
Yeah, of course I went!
First of all, let me say that when the perimeter wall on your roof is only about 3' high, allowing you to lean out fairly far without ever feeling very secure, 11 stories seems like a LONG way down. I'm not afraid of heights, but I have to admit I was quite aware of how high up I was. 11 stories isn't even that much, but it looked like it when I was up there.
Second, the plane flew for a really, really long time! It kind of did this slow spiral down the side of the building, at one point bouncing off someone's window on about the 8th floor (I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in that person's office). It then veered off towards the Maine History Museum, taking a straight and level path for awhile before landing next to a truck in the museum's construction site.
Total flight time? 30 seconds, perhaps? Not bad for a balsawood plane.
Our next thing is to get a boucy ball and see how far it will bounce when thrown from 11 floors up onto pavement...