The Gladiator, by Roald Dahl

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 11/26/2019 at 16:29 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik

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“Those old Gladiators aren’t made of stressed steel like a Hurricane or a Spit. They have taut canvas wings, covered with magnificently inflammable dope, and underneath there are hundreds of small thin sticks, the kind you put under the logs for kindling, only these are drier and thinner. If a clever man said, ‘I am going to build a big thing that will burn better and quicker than anything else in the world,’ and if he applied himself diligently to his task, he would probably finish up by building something very like a Gladiator.”

—Roald Dahl, “A Piece of Cake”, from the short story collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 16:41

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Hey, add your car(s) , please. =)

MrDakka > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 16:43

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I have that book. Apparently he was a BMW man

user314 > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 16:44

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MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 16:46

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if the pilot ever finds themself too warm, best idea would be to just pour aviation fuel all over themselves, it’s rapid evaporation rate would cool the pilot very quickly

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 16:56

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And to think, that was pretty much how a lot of airplanes were constructed back then...

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 16:58

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And despite that, three of them held off the entire Italian airforce*

*for selected values of “three” and “entire”

ttyymmnn > MrDakka 11/26/2019 at 18:13

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I have a couple of his books of short stories. Only read one or two, and they were macabre to say the least. Dahl is famous for his children’s stories, but even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach get pretty dark at times. 

Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 19:05

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Yes, Dahl knew firsthand about the Gladiator. He crash-landed one in Libya during WWII and got smashed up pretty badly. After recovery, flying Hurricanes, he downed 3 JU-88s and a Vichy French Potez 63. A life filled with tragedy, his sister and kids all being injured and dying. He was b uried with chocolate [he wrote Willy Wonka], HB pencils, his snooker cues, Burgu ndy wine and a power saw.  Hell of a life.

ttyymmnn > Only Vespas... 11/26/2019 at 19:07

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A power saw?

MrDakka > ttyymmnn 11/26/2019 at 23:10

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“Obviously I was unconscious for   some moments, but I must have recovered my senses very quickly because I can remember hearing a mighty wh oosh as the petrol tank in the port wing exploded followed almost at once by another mighty whoosh as the starboard tank went up in flames. I could see nothing at all and I felt no pain. All I wanted was to go gently off to sleep and to hell with the flames. B ut soon a tremendous heat around my legs galvanized my soggy brain into action.”

-Roald Dahl, “Going Solo”

ttyymmnn > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/26/2019 at 23:48

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Since I’ll probably screw up your spread sheet if I try to enter it myself:

2003 Honda Odyssey EX, Auto, Champagne
2013 Honda Civic EX-L, Auto, White  

Only Vespas... > ttyymmnn 11/27/2019 at 18:52

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Sure. Never say never.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn 11/27/2019 at 19:37

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I’ll try to remember when I get back. Hope you and the family have a great Thanksgiving!

ttyymmnn > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/27/2019 at 20:37

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I went ahead and too care of it. I managed to enter my info without deleting the entire spreadsheet.

Happy Turkey Day!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn 11/27/2019 at 23:06

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Haha - well done!