When I tell you I've donated a working biplane to an aviation museum, it's the literal truth.

Cute little Fokker, isn't it?

This particular contraption concept dates back to my misspent youth, when my brother and I would take Guillows Jetstream and Biplane toy planes, mix the parts together into working biplanes, head off to Washington Square in Philadelphia with a roll of Scotch Tape thoughtfully placed in one pocket, and have dogfights unti we ran out of tape or the layers of patches on the planes rendered them unairworthy.

Anyhow, I was knocking about the gift shop of the Arkansas Air Museum a few years ago, when I noticed that the components to recreate my childhood toy were to hand. Accordingly, I purchased same, assembled them into a working biplane and donated it to the gift shop on the spot!

The Marmel Flyer bears the distinction of being the only hanging display to have survived the gift shop's ceiling renovation from a couple years ago. In addition, at least two or three customers have been inspired to build their own Marmel Flyers, according to the gift shop lady...

Photo and Marmel Flyer © me.