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"Oh No!": collage, acrylics, digital. |
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This man built a plane for his family in his garden
It wasn’t until he moved near to an airfield in the UK over a decade ago that mechanical engineer Ashok Aliseril Thamarakshan began to seriously consider learning to fly a plane. He got his first taste of flying a few years later, when his wife Abhilasha bought him a 30-minute flight experience for his birthday.
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Engineer Ashok Aliseril spent 18 months building a four-seater plane during the pandemic, helped by his daughter. |
After researching self-assembly aircraft kits, he came across a four-seater plane manufactured by South African company Sling Aircraft that ticked all the right boxes. In January 2020, Aliseril flew to the Sling Aircraft factory facility in Johannesburg for the weekend in order to take the Sling TSi aircraft on a test flight and was so impressed that he decided to purchase it.
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Aliseril's home improvement experience came in handy while constructing the four-seater Sling TSi aircraft. |
“This was pre-Covid, where travel was still very easy at the time,” he explains. “I ordered the first kit when I got back. And by the time it arrived, the UK was in full lockdown.” Amateur-built airplanes in the UK are investigated by the CAA, who will issue a “Permit to Fly” once satisfied that the aircraft is fit to fly.Although the start of the build was delayed slightly due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place in the UK at the time – the Light Aircraft Association inspector assigned to the project was required to visit his working space beforehand – Aliseril was able to begin in April 2020. While he notes that his engineering background helped in some ways, he believes that it was actually his home improvement experience that proved most useful while constructing the aircraft, which has a length of 7.175 meters and a height of 2.45 meters. It was one of the first Sling TSi homebuilt aircraft constructed in the UK. G-Diya, named after his youngest daughter, was signed off for its first flight in January 2022.
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The aircraft, which has a range of 1,389 kilometers, was issued with a permit to fly in May 2022. |
More stuff I didn't know ...
Holly
If a Holly tree (Ilex aquifolium) finds its leaves are being nibbled by deer, it modifies its DNA to make them spiky when they regrow. So on taller Holly trees, the upper leaves (which are out of reach) have smooth edges, while the lower leaves are prickly.
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Holly leaves from the same tree. |
Sunday's Smiles ...
2 comments:
"Oh No!", that's something I think sometimes these days.... But I'm old. For a child or a young adult that's hard.
The 2GN2S story is encouraging. You never know what you are capable of before you try. Maybe we should challenge ourselves more often? I love this thought.
Have a good week ahead, Jacki!
Thanks Elenor, my ART, "OH NO!" I PAINTED my version of a little girl photo, the red parts are her mittens. I spent a lot of time on that, probably won't try again, collage is so much easier. Have a great week!
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