a pouem. wit from history...

the flight magazine searchable archives have some amazing detail.
want to know the performance curve for an old engine just out of
curiousity. search and you'll find them.
want to read the original writeup of the Lympne Trials? it is all
there.
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchi...0-%200641.html

but this one regarding the Pou du Ciel from 1935 just tickled me...

The Flea

Flying Flea, of birth obscure,
odd, plebean cynosure,
What immortal hand or eye
framed the fearful symmetry?

Eagles, Gulls and Hawks assert
truely bird thou never wert.
Thy parentage was distant far
from D.H. Lepidoptera.

Aviation's natural history
cannot classify this mystery.
Bulldogs, Widgeons, Swordfish, Snipe,
shun thy parasitic type.

Abhorrent freak to minds mechanic;
to pilots, witches broom satanic:
The ministry can scarce divine
if aerostat or aerodyne.

Yet Henri Mignet floats serene
in his penny slot machine.
"See, my insect makes," he said,
"many people scratch their head."

Twinkle, little flittermouse,
Flying Flea, celestial louse,
Up above the world so high
like a tea tray in the sky.

Thy curious broods may beautify
a Disney silly symphony.
But will the state expressly ban
the common louse for common man?

"Ariel"

as they comment, this deserves a niche in aeronautical history.
.....pity internet trolls werent as inventive.

Stealth Pilot