CATALOG TALES—A BROADWAY STAR, AN EARLY B.A.T. AND SINATRA’S LAMBORGHINI
CATALOGS FROM automobile auctions make for great reading. They’re snapshots in time as well as in value. And, in just about any major sale, there are tales associated with the … Continue reading
MATCHING WITS WITH VLADIMIR STROGANOFF
ADAM QUILL, Detective-Inspector of Scotland Yard, may not have the reputation of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes, however, had only to contend with the likes of Professor James Moriarty. Quill was up … Continue reading
SON OF DIRECTOR’S CUT
I THOUGHT I was done modeling the Otto Silent Engine, thus my posting the project’s Director’s Cut yesterday (http://wp.me/p2ETap-2is). However, as mentioned then I still sensed the need to endow … Continue reading
OTTO’S FOUR-STROKE—DIRECTOR’S CUT
TODAY I offer my director’s cut of the previous two items, “The Otto Four-Stroke—Self Taught” (http://wp.me/p2ETap-2hj) and “Otto’s Four-Stroke—The Continuing Tale” (http://wp.me/p2ETap-2hL). Building a computer model along the lines of … Continue reading
OTTO FOUR-STROKE—CONTINUING THE TALE
THE OTTO engine’s four strokes (see yesterday, http://wp.me/p2ETap-2hj) involve two complete revolutions of its crankshaft, twice 360 degrees. From a timing point of view, the intake stroke is 0 to … Continue reading
THE OTTO FOUR-STROKE—SELF TAUGHT
THE UBIQUITOUS Otto four-stroke internal combustion engine didn’t originate with Otto. For instance, Frenchman Alphonse Eugène Beau de Rochas patented the four-stroke concept in 1861, fifteen years before German Nicolaus … Continue reading
THE ORACLE OF DELPHI—ON HIGH TEST
THE GREEK Oracle of Delphi was vaguely known to me. Like so many other things, I knew I could learn more if I wanted with a quick Googling. But how … Continue reading
I ♥ AVIATRICES
CALL THEM aviatrices, female flyers or airwomen (this last term making its debut in the 1910 Oxford English Dictionary). Women active in aviation hold a special place in its history. … Continue reading
CELEBRATING CHITTY-BANG-BANGS
WITH ALL the World War I reflections going on, I offer a celebration of its surplus aero engines. Specifically, three of these huge powerplants powered Chitty-Bang-Bang I, II and III, … Continue reading
MUROC MADCAPS
MUROC DRY LAKE, in the high desert about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, has a rich history in motor sport. Here are a few of my favorite Muroc madcaps, … Continue reading
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