Once upon a time, there was a popular TV show “You Can Do It” where craftsmen talked about the designs they had created. Perhaps it was there that information about air-cushion vehicles first appeared. And publications in the “Modelist-Konstruktor” magazine pushed many enthusiasts, including ours from Angarsk (mainly amateur fishermen), to build such machines with Read more…
The watercraft we would like to introduce to readers can quite rightly be classed as a small vessel. After all, what else would you call a pair of versatile self-propelled floats that can easily be used both as water skis and as a two-seater pleasure catamaran. As can be seen from the drawings, each float Read more…
This two-cylinder engine, designated DD-700/40, was designed and built by Georgy Dorfman, head of the public design bureau “Aerosam”. The motor turned out to be exceptionally successful: reliable, relatively simple, and quite lightweight. The motor was exhibited at the IV All-Union Review-Competition SLA-87 and was approved by the technical commission of the rally. To date, Read more…
The prototype of the gasoline-powered tiller built by students of the Moscow region school of the “Gorki Leninskie” state farm was based on a machine of the same purpose produced by one of the Latvian factories. It is designed for soil preparation for sowing and planting and for tilling soil in the inter-rows of forest Read more…
In gardens and vegetable plots, at dachas and school grounds — everywhere where there is a need to cultivate small areas of land, universal walk-behind tractors (UWT) are widely used. Including homemade ones, often created with maximum use of standard units and parts. One such design was developed and successfully tested by young technicians at Read more…
For tourists and skiers in “large” mountains with complex terrain and significant elevation differences, chairlifts are usually installed. On their traction-carrying cable, they have special suspensions with one or two chairs. The length of such lifts is limited to 1.5—2 km: experience has shown that an ascent exceeding 10—15 minutes in time can lead to Read more…
More than once I had to dig through waterlogged clay soil on the plot. Soil stuck to the shovel in such amounts that working without cleaning it became simply impossible. Removing the soil from the tool was no easy task either and took more time than the digging itself. Having suffered enough with that kind Read more…
Many motorists, especially owners of domestic cars, have experienced all the “joys” of winter operation of their beloved “steeds” firsthand. A particular “pleasure” is bringing the heart—the “fiery engine”—back to life after a frosty night. I own a giant of Russian automaking—the Oka—so all my thoughts and efforts went into developing a system that would Read more…
Last spring I built myself water skis. But I rarely got to ski on them, since the tow was provided by… a motorcycle with a sidecar. Building a dedicated boat would have meant considerable expense, powerful engines, and above all—time. So I thought: why not design one large ski, fit it with an engine and Read more…
With the help of articles in the magazine «Modelist-Konstruktor», I built myself a universal power tiller based on a Minsk motorcycle. It turned out to be a good, hard-working mechanical helper. Its basis, of course, is the standard motorcycle frame, shortened (as recommended by the magazine) and fitted with the power unit and a two-stage Read more…
