Personal Narrative: My Interest In Airplanes

I built and crashed an airplane at the age of seventeen. To clarify, the plane was made of foam and it was controlled by a radio transmitter. However, the entire process taught me an essential lesson that I have applied to all facets of my life. My interest in flight was inspired by my father, who grew up in Jamaica and Mexico observing and envying the flying capability of birds. He also saw stunt pilots steer colorful biplanes at an airstrip in the mountains of Mexico. I was fascinated by similar observations from a young age, ceaselessly amazed by the graceful beauty of every flying animal and machine that passed high over my head across the vibrant sky. To me, being among the clouds was the purest form of freedom.
Recently, I came to the realization that, despite my interest in aircraft, I did not fully understand how they functioned. I promptly researched information about the basics of flight, and my fascination with airplanes grew to the point where I decided that I must own one. I searched the internet for model airplanes only to be disappointed by the hefty prices listed underneath all of the options. However, in this same search, I found countless free printable plans for constructing an airplane out of foam core board without a kit. I selected a particular delta wing airplane design that required two sheets of foam, costing a total of $2 for the entire body of the plane. For two and a half months, I meticulously worked on …show more content…
I will share everything that I learned before building my plane and everything that I learned from the crash, using my own personal experience as an example for the process of testing planes as they are designed. I will also build another plane, learning from the mistakes I made in my previous attempt, and give a demonstration of its flight to my