Tricks that old racers get up to after retirement

To Gene and all other pilots, I readdress the advantage of the longer rotor shaft on a Robinson Helicopter.

Center of Gravity relative change with regards to vehicle’s length. Additional added passenger weight effects the CG less with a longer distance between a helicopter ‘s cabin seats to the rotor hub, and also a boat’s longer hull length.

Another way of looking at length + angle + force is a man trying to bend a treetop over, by his force pulling down on the attached rope. The man has less effect on bending the taller (longer) tree, then the shorter tree within the same measured distance from the tree’s trunk (only the rope’s angle changes). The man’s force (like an occupant’s weight inside a Robinson helicopter cabin) is pulling at a different angle.

This is why the Robinson Helicopters have a longer rotor shaft (distance between cabin and the rotor hub). Adding additional passengers has less movement of the CG, and therefore, on the piloting adjustment by the R.H. pilot.


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Been at it like a demented Gippetto all day. Bringing stuff back to life that i thought was long since dead but not buried . Cleaned up shop is a treat to work in again

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Hows the decals coming along for the F1 v8 boat?

Done and dusted — sorry about that Pilgrim — Little Jeff did me two sets which i put on immediately —but that was six months ago, did i never tell you ???????????
AMBERJACK [CHARLIE O’NEILL] has one i took down to Florida last november just before i received the decals. Think the two I have left are one for you and damned if i can remember who the other is for —————-but it’ll come to me .
Need a postal —-email —-and cell phone number before i can post.
last count i have 35 concepts in the shop———ALBERT SCROOGE simply cannot hold a candle to me !!

Just had a shoulder scan —— father ——shoulder and baby are all doing well !!!!!!!!
Torn ligaments and arthritis do not make great bedfellows for 91 year olds !!!!!!!
Did not get out of the hospital until 3-30npm so thats another lost day.
Boy will i beat the crap outa friday——- hope to get all 3 concepts up and running, so i can concentrate on the next ones ——————The GORDON MURRAY————-THE COSWORTH——and THE KEITH DUCKWORTH + if i get Time THE GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED 2032 ????????

PICKED UP FIVE SUPERCARS AT THE CAR BOOTYESTERDAY !!!!!!!Unfortunately they were all LAMBORGHINIS —. Doesn’t really matter as the next three concepts all feature supercars .
What’s not general knowledge is the fact that “COSWORTH ENGINEERING” developed motors for such outfits as MERCEDES——AUDI——BMW——ROLLS ROYCE—-MACLAREN——-GORDON MURRAY——and a whole load of manufacturers . Most famous of course was FORD.
made components such as valves and pistons turned out of solid billet——one piece cranks and all sorts of components.
I think KEITH DUCKWORTH deserves his own concept trophy——and i do have a few little grey cells working on the idea !!!!!

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Just five of the 24 supercars i will be using in the next three concepts.

Afraid ambition and enthusiasm overtook the very common sense approach i have been adhering to of late. Just could not resist the idea i had of some very special trophies, these are way beyond the pale so i needed to set to immediately.
What I’m telling you, is, i kinda deviated from the finishing, to the exciting world of the new way out creative thinking that takes off when common sense goes out the window.
I have all next week [next five days to be precise] to concentrate on the next three concepts without fear of interruption.
workshop is in a reasonable state of repair and i have room on both worktops to start creating !!!!!!!!!
I have the materials——-and ambition !!!!!!!! Do i have the ability ??????? Next ten days will tell.
Pilgrim never did answer with his address —- but then again, he does go years before surfacing again.
Sainted mother used to tell me i was full of piss and wind at times ——— maybe she was right—- but i never agreed with her anyway !!!!!!

Was saddened to hear of the demise of RICK WELCH—- he was WILLABEE’S younger brother !

!970 was a stellar year for DON ROSS and me —-we campaigned a 17foot Molinari around Europe and won just about everything we entered . Most of the major races were either three or six hour durations [Berlin and Paris were six hour]. 24 hours at Chasewater and three hours in Milan and Amsterdam . To do this successfully it needed two drivers .
Don and i were more than just a team , our two families just grew up together . Don was a car dealer in Bristol [HARRY ROSS MOTORS], he always paid a lot more than his fair share of things —-and he had a ford transit camper van !!!!!!! So he did all the towing and the gas, i just looked intelligent.
Don was world famous for his tea making——TYPHOO WITH IDEAL TINNED MILK——on the hour -every hour . Always pissed me off when we were either “going to or coming from” a race meeting and Don insisted we stopped and made a cuppa.
We had gone to Havasu in ‘69 and decided we would compete in 1970 —after all , a two day distance race was what we were good at and right up our street. What could possibly go wrong ????????
Was at the Amsterdam 3 hours EVERYTHING was about to change forever. ——-i took the first stint and had established a two lap lead after 45mins when Don took over. Boat was full of fuel and the rig was hauling asse Two laps later I saw the yellow flags out and Don missing . Don had a bad accident, Tore his hip out . Never raced again .
Paris race was next . Garbrecht teamed me up with Renato ——- Dull armchair ride in a very safe and stable boat which ran faultlessly on rails . Nobody ever passed me ——Renato said the same thing — but we still officially finished three laps down in second place .
I let PRUETT drive my boat which was ready to race and sat on the dock empty——-he was lying in third place until he threw a blade off my best prop.
This led to a huge falling out between Renato and me and Garbrecht ——- rest is history.
Decided i would do Havasu without Don who was still in hospital.
America is a fecking big country when you are on your own. I was used to having Don around ALL the time, i just never realised just how much i needed him for a multitude of reasons until he wasn’t around any more.
Thats where WELCH [WILLABEE] comes along . He was crew chief under Garbrecht and in Charge of just about everything . The whole Mercury family . Because in 1970 Mercury was a family —- you would crap yourself if i mentioned just some of the names in that family ——-Garbrecht—Merton——Welch—Wyrabeck——Biers——-Powers—SIROIS —-La Morte——Seebold——Fountain—-BENTZ ——STICKLE-Downard——STONEY—KABASTA—Chunks —Gene— Bill Allen—-Don Clarke—-Billy Don Pruett and a hell of a lot more .
I made a mess of the race but i did make a hell of a lot of lifetime friends —and amongst them just a few that are still alive 53 later .
Welch is one of the few remaining still alive ——today he lost his young brother —- I can understand just how he feels, i lost my younger brother NIPPER many years ago and it still hurts.
R.I.P. RICK WELCH.

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First of the sweet peas this year and its still middle of may—- we dont usually get anything until well into June. Wind blew the iris over , this is one that Jill brought back from France as she thought it was something special.
Been thinking about “tricks old racers get up to !!!!!!” —-​ we exist ——-trick is to do something memorable every day and make folk remember you { HAM MAMGURGER- MERCURY 1967] — i never did forget him !!!!!!!!!

My son Mark just called me from LAKE COMO— he was with TULLIO ABBATE junior, son of LEGENDARY boat builder TULLIO.
He found the very boat i had HODGES build for my daughter KIM ——- a ten foot Cat . I had no idea what happened to the boat and did not ever take a photograph myself.
Tullio has Gifted it to Mark and will be on Show at the OFF meeting in November —then down at KEY WEST in the poker run VIllage.
Life definitely is—- “​JUST LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES”. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW—-???????

Nearly cleared my main workbench, should be all done and dusted and ready for production .
would be easy if i just binned everything on the bench and started afresh but mean old bastards like me simply cannot do that !!!!!!!!!
Shop is definitely looking better —- should have two worktops ready for play by Tuesday.
Bought myself some Milwaukee shooting irons [should have done it before] tried all the best known names —- DE WALT—-MAKITA—BOSCH—-BLACK AND DECKER—- RYOBI . None of them lasted , so i bit the bullet and started with the Milwaukee Rattle gun and the drill with 5/6 amp batteries .
Then an angle grinder and will see how we go from here.
Hospital for eyes testing on wednesday —- still trying to stay ahead of the game —-15 Years since i had the cataracts done —— time for maintenance apparently ——- 33 since the triple by-pass !!!!!!!
What the hell , I’m still here . Still managing to fall out with folk—- seems like no one has a sense of humour any more !!!!!!!!!!!
Last holiday break before the august bank holiday —- next up for us originals would be Christmas !!!! Jesus wept, its almost 2024 !!!!!!!!

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YEAR was 1962 . Man throwing his weight about was JOHN MAY—-
he was on leave from doing his national service . He usually ran a Swift Big D.hydro.
Chasewater on a wet—wild and windy day. Duchess of York trophy. Index of performance through all classes is usually the winner .
We won the class, but not the DUCHESS . 60 years ago since i had the phoggie made into a tile for the bathroom. Only broke it a couple of years ago .