In “Modelist-Konstruktor” magazine No. 11’1991 I came across a description of motonarty — a tracked snowmobile built by the Matveychuk brothers from Zavodoukovsk, Tyumen Oblast, and named by them “Mysl-2” (“Thought-2”). I liked the machine. For me, a rural resident, it looked like an indispensable means of transport in winter, and as a home builder Read more…
Enthusiasts build sidecars for all kinds of motorcycles and motor scooters! For Izh and Voskhod, for old Zündapps and brand-new Vyatka-Elektron. Owners of Tula-200 motor scooters are also happy to add a third wheel to their machine — especially since the engine power of the modern Tula-Tourist makes it quite feasible. Unlike many such trailers, Read more…
The two-seat car “Alezonnik-2” was built specifically for driving in urban conditions. Therefore, even before design work began, I formulated the main requirements the future vehicle had to meet: compact size, minimum curb weight, and high maneuverability combined with good road stability. Drawing on experience gained while building an off-roader (“Modelist-Konstruktor” No. 10, 1996) to Read more…
More and more often, the editorial mail receives bulky packages with drawings and descriptions of homemade micromotorcycles. Their principal difference from designs of earlier years is a successful combination of standard and homemade units in the construction. A second important detail is a sharply improved appearance and bold design solutions. On these pages we present Read more…
The proverb usually mentions a fifth wheel. However, some car designers use a formula reflected in the title of our article. They really do consider the fourth wheel on a car redundant. Judge for yourself: unlike a four-legged stool, a three-legged one does not rock even on uneven ground (remember from school: through three points Read more…
The mast is the foundation of the rig of any sailing tourist or sports craft, its most important unit. Its design and position determine sail area, configuration and aerodynamics, the ability to adjust sail thrust, and the design of the centerboard and the “ship” as a whole. When building a small sailboat, you have to Read more…
When designing and building the “Shmel,” the creative team “Vzlet” took as a basis the micro autogyro designed by V. Barkovsky, V. Vinitsky, and Yu. Rysyuk, described in detail in “M-K” (see: 1969, No. 6; 1970, Nos. 3 and 10; and 1971, No. 6). This very well-made machine, the first in our country of its Read more…
I decided to make this boat specifically for fishing in quiet lake backwaters — small and maneuverable. And, of course, lightweight, so I could handle it alone. The right material was already available: for several years, under the garage roof, there had been a large duralumin sheet 2700x1800x2 mm stored there, and cutting it into Read more…
This mini-tractor was built in the Pavlov family’s amateur design bureau: under the head of the family, Valery Vasilyevich, it was assembled by his sons Sergey and Andrei. All three are long-time regular readers of «Modelist-Konstruktor» magazine. The compact tractor, named SAP (S. and A. Pavlov) by its makers, was developed as a universal agricultural Read more…
In “M-K” No. 4 for 1989, an article devoted to skis-boats… was published. I read it and regretted that I hadn’t written to the editors earlier, nor shared my developments with the readers of “M-K”. Of course, the idea of float-skis is not new. But enthusiasts of this “vehicle” constantly repeat the mistakes of their Read more…
