Guiseppe Cannella had a surprise for his mother-in-law when he put a jet-engine on the back of her wheelchair.
Mr. Cannella says the chair can now do top speeds of more than 60 mph and has proved the star of a model plane championship during the Bank Holiday.
A model plane enthusiast himself, Mr. Cannella has been putting on shows at Barkston Heath near Grantham, Lincs.
“It is just the wheelchair with the engine bolted on the back and steering in the front,” he said. “Originally, it was a gimmick. I had a jet engine and I was going to put it on a go-cart. “But the missus says put it on something unusual so I put it on the mother-in-law’s wheelchair,” said Mr. Cannella, who is from Luton in Bedfordshire.
“She was on holiday at the time so she didn’t know what I was doing until she came back. She actually thought I was doing it for her.” Mr. Cannella’s mother-in-law, who had bought a new wheelchair, has Parkinson’s disease. Her son-in-law has been collecting money for the Parkinson’s Disease Society and hopes to collect 1,500 pounds (British money) during the shows at the British Model Flying Association national championship.
“I have done it for fun, I just like going up and down in it,” said Mr. Canella.
Editorial Comment: This event happened in England and was published in this newsletter to provide a chuckle. It is not intended to inspire jet-engine assisted wheelchair travel on the Watterson Expressway.
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