Today I finally was able to install the key assembly in the power train for the new tandem. This assembly is a jack shaft that allows the blending of power from the rider and the auxiliary electric motor. That is the rider can power the wheel with no auxiliary power. The auxiliary motor can power the wheel and the rider can coast. Finally both can power the wheel at the same time.
At the same time the shaft itself functions as the pivot for the rear wheel suspension. This is good because the chains don’t vary in length as the suspension flexes. Continue reading Tandem Milestone:
Bee Line:
Well here we are making a bee-line back to the Pacific Northwest. I guess we just reached our limit of hot muggy weather and afternoon thunder showers. Continue reading Bee Line:
Oshkosh Fly-In:
Judy and I just today left Oshkosh, Wisconsin and the EAA Air Venture fly-in. We spent nearly two weeks camping right at the airport, (Whitman Regional,) and got to be up close and personal with about every aircraft you can imagine. We walked around under the new Boing 787 Dreamliner, and studied a flying replica of the 1911 Bleriot XI that delivered the first sack of air mail on September 23, 1911. By the way Lewis Bleriot flew the original model of this aircraft across the English Channel on July 25, 1909, and claimed the 1,000 Pound prize for the first channel crossing.
Continue reading Oshkosh Fly-In:
Tourist Destinations:
Yes, we often show up in odd ball destinations like Wickenburg, AZ, visiting obscure attractions like the “Jail Tree.” This week, however, we set our sights on a top tourist destination, Mackinac Island in the Mackinac Straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in upper Michigan. By the way up here it is pronounced “Mackinaw,” the “c” at the end of the word is silent. The name is a shortening of the original Indian name Michilimackinac which means “place of the great turtle.” Continue reading Tourist Destinations:
The Attic:
Here we were drifting around the nation’s rust belt, Detroit and Dearborn Michigan, when we stumbled into America’s attic. Maybe not exactly stumbled, more like encouraged by long time friends Jim and MaryKay and their daughter Kati and hubby JT. We arranged a rendezvous in Tipp City, Ohio and enjoyed a long visit. Continue reading The Attic: