For many years I have been a regular subscriber to “M-K” and find in it a great deal that is interesting and useful. I hope my experience will also be of use to other readers: I want to share my thoughts and practical recommendations on making and operating a tandem bicycle. I built such a Read more…
It is no exaggeration to say that the most important part of a glider-autogyro is the rotor. The autogyro’s flight qualities depend on the correctness of its airfoil, on mass, centering accuracy, and strength. True, the unpowered craft on a car tow rises only to 20–30 m. But even flight at such a height requires Read more…
For more than a decade G. Malakhov has worked as the chief mechanic of the tool shop at one of Moscow’s aviation plants. But he has spent even more time (since the age of 13) on amateur technical creativity, without which he cannot imagine his present or his future at all. His record includes aerosleds, Read more…
Ecology and environmental protection are becoming increasingly relevant topics worldwide. Requirements for harmful emissions from vehicles are constantly being tightened. That is why major manufacturers are developing and starting to produce electric and hybrid cars. These trends are also reaching our country. And while the evolutionary direction of automotive development has been defined and is Read more…
The bicycle is probably the most widespread means of transport. And there is no doubt that it is also the most economical: two buttered sandwiches are enough to pedal for two hours. But can the efficiency of the human “engine” be increased? Reducing “fuel” consumption will not help. Friction and the weight of the machine Read more…
If you recall that cross-country racing skis are designed mainly for travel on a prepared track, while wide hunting skis handle any snow, it becomes clear how the proposed homemade sled design differs substantially from store-bought ones: above all, it does not require packed snow slopes. Even the fairly popular three-ski snow scooters “Chuck and Read more…
Improving drive efficiency is a problem that concerns not only bicycle designers, but also the owners of these machines. Since the invention of the bicycle, the pedal drive has been brought, one might say, to perfection. Increasing its efficiency without complicating the mechanism is hardly possible. On sports and touring bicycles, for example, multi-speed transmissions Read more…
A universal trailer for a passenger car. My wife and I often go on short trips in our car — sometimes fishing at a lake, sometimes into the woods for mushrooms. And on these trips we always lacked a trailer, a kind of compact camper where we could sleep peacefully and have a snack regardless Read more…
Having become a pensioner, I took up breeding nutria (swamp beavers, or coypu) and became convinced how profitable this business is. With low costs for keeping these herbivorous and, moreover, very unpretentious animals, I get not only tasty meat (on average 2—3 kg from each animal), which is in no way inferior to rabbit meat Read more…
First, a few words about myself and the situation fate put me in. It all started when, during a motorcycle accident, I suffered a severe spinal injury with damage to the spinal cord. Unfortunately, I was not operated on immediately, but two months after the injury. The result was complete paralysis of the body, from Read more…
