Tag: MiG-15

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The weekend project fallacy

The idea of any model being a ‘weekend project’ in adult life really was the triumph of hope over experience. Deep down I knew what a realistic timescale looked like, but every so often reality got pushed into the back seat. Fortunately this never, ever happened on any real life aerospace projects I got involved with.

The weekend project fallacy teaches us about realism, delusion and project schedule slippage. Yet more of those pesky cognitive biases, it would seem. Daniel Kahnemann never mentioned Airfix kits in Thinking Fast and Slow but I have my suspicions.

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Adult life is complicated part 1: Life was a lot simpler as a child

Life was simpler - Whirlwind Warriors

We all discover at some point that adult life is complicated, and then it keeps getting more complicated, forever. Model aeroplanes hinted at the complexity of adult life even before I first heard Big Yellow Taxi. And if only I’d realised at the time, they had been showing me how much simpler my life was. But unfortunately this lesson only becomes clear in hindsight, once we run smack into the complications.

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Air travel pre-Ryanair – the Airfix MiG-15 in Polish markings

MiG-15bis in Polish markings

Obviously, model aeroplanes teach you stuff about aviation history – they tend to be models of old aeroplanes, after all. From its original 1958 release to the final 2008 incarnation, one option was to finish your Airfix MiG-15 in Polish markings. Presumably the model was supposed to look something like a real life aeroplane, but which one? Not a real issue for my original 2/- Airfix MiG-15, but over time I got curious (or so people told me).

What started as a 2 minute search on Google developed into yet another rabbit hole…

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Airfix MiG-15 – a shining example of what model aeroplanes can teach us

mig-15 a shining example

The Airfix MiG-15 is a shining example in the literal sense – the finished model is a nice shiny silver colour. The actual aircraft was natural metal and in the good old days, that meant gloss silver paint. Whereas the process of building this kit could be a bit of a dull experience.

Not a bad example to start with, it’s where I started in my youth. Although that may not be a good reason to start there now. After all, the whole point was supposed to be about learning from these experiences.

Anyway, the Airfix MiG-15 offers us insights into life, evolution and other stuff too. “Evolution” doesn’t mean we’re getting into Charles Darwin territory, so please don’t be alarmed. Any actual biology lessons are elsewhere, but they might get a mention.

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