I've had Dave Hough's "yellow book" manual for months now, but only today have I found a paved area large enough -- and lonely enough -- to practice his exercises without annoying the locals. It was early on a Sunday morning, still cool enough for comfortable riding. My practice area is a parking lot for a local fishing site, and it was deserted -- nobody to worry if I was going to crash into their pickup.
(Where were the fishermen? Maybe they were already done for the day. Dunno.)
So I practiced flying the car. It's scary, but I was determined to log some flight time. I found out quickly that what Mr. Hough says is true -- you fly the car by steering, not by speed. I also found out that once the car is off the ground you are back to riding a motorcycle, albeit one that is VERY off-balance. You turn by countersteering. My reflexes understood what they needed to do.
Intellectually that is a comfort. It is good to know that once the car lifts you still have lots of opportunity for control. You don't have to just topple over like that guy on the tricycle on 'Laugh-In'. (God, how old am I?!?)
I also found out that my low-speed wobble, typical of sidecar outfits, is in effect when I get the sidecar airborne at parking-lot speeds. That makes control difficult. Just the same I was able to keep the sidecar wheel off the ground long enough to see it slow down.
After trying some lifts while running in a circle, I tried some going straight ahead. A quick turn of the handlebars, changing direction maybe 10 degrees, got the sidecar up.
I am a long, long way from doing Joie Chitwood stunt driving (HOW OLD AM I?), but I think I can see how to get there. Lots more practice.
Not that I'm the daredevil type. But I like the idea that I could develop the reflexes to handle a flying car without experiencing a true Ex-Lax moment.
Best,
Ed Bianchi
'87 K75C/Dauntless "Lady Carol"
Ed, remind to train it,
In my lightweight Jawa toy, nearly each time I have to overtake a bus or wave arround a sudden obstacle that s/c comes up.
A flipped over toaster obviously is heavier and more dificult to lift, but your muscle reactions and butt sensor need to know what is happening and how to react.
Keep on training and enjoy. Your 3 cheese tall passengers will enjoy it and talk about their flight in the carrusell for a long time.
Sven
Once I learnd to fly the chair, I've had more fun then you can imagine. I've gotten where i can ride a good 1/4 mile in a "straight" line. One good thing about my rig is it's a goldwing with a rear bumber. With the bumber, it can't flip by going to far over. I drag the bumber first.
Don't kid yourself, it can flip.
Have fun.
Lonnie
