When building amateur aerosleds, gliders and hovercraft, the greatest difficulty is usually choosing the right engine. Standard production engines often fail to satisfy home‑builders in many respects, particularly in terms of specific power. The most radical way to solve this problem is to build homemade engines using parts from serial motorcycle engines. Readers of “M‑K” Read more…
The first homemade motorized helper appeared in our family almost 20 years ago. We built it according to V. Ilyichev’s design, published in one of the issues of the “Modelist-Konstruktor” magazine. And we were convinced how good it is to have a universal motoblock in the household, which won’t let you down in any task, Read more…
In recent years, foam catamarans have begun appearing on the water bodies of the Urals. They are unsinkable, convenient to operate, durable, and simple to manufacture. The figure shows the design of such a catamaran. Its dimensions: 3750X1600 mm, plate thickness from 40 to 150 mm, float height 200 mm and width 400 mm. The Read more…
Many youth technical clubs and stations (КЮТ and СЮТ) have karting sections. The small machine not only helps kids learn the general concept of how a car works and master the basics of driving, but also paves the way for many of them into big-time motorsports and reveals their potential in technical creativity. The karting Read more…
For more than a year, Stepan Ivanovich Gorshkov has been perfecting the bicycle design. His efforts, however, are not aimed at achieving high speeds. No! Let the racers do that! Comfortable seating while riding, easy transportation on trains — that’s what his efforts are aimed at. The main principle of all improvements by S. I. Read more…
When setting off on a long journey, a skier typically relies only on their own strength. However, it’s quite possible to call on the wind for help by building a sailing tug for this purpose. Assembling such a tug is quite simple, using rigging from a sailboard — a mast, wishbone boom, and sail with Read more…
Maneuverable, compact vehicles are vital, especially in snow-covered and forested areas. In some countries, such as the USA, Canada, and Japan, this problem is solved by producing compact machines like snowmobiles. Our industry has also started producing such equipment: snowmobiles “Buran”, “Amurets” and others have appeared. However, these machines are more for recreation; they don’t Read more…
At the X All-Union Week of Science, Technology and Production for Children and Youth, held in January 1983 in the capital of Uzbekistan, many interesting developments from many cities of the Soviet Union were gathered. Including from Tashkent itself. Specialists, participants and guests of the week remembered the samples of transport equipment presented by the Read more…
There was a time when artistic design pursued purely decorative goals. Artists worked only on the form of machines. This explains the presence of a large number of decorative elements in the designs of automobiles of the not-so-distant past. Now the tasks of artistic design have expanded significantly. A modern designer (artist-constructor), trying to make Read more…
Snowmobile technology is finding increasingly wider application today. Industry and amateur craftsmen create the most diverse machine designs, specifically intended for winter operation. But then spring comes, and the powerful “Buran” goes to the garage for storage — waiting for the next season, while its owner switches to another “steed,” most often — a motorcycle. Read more…
