The whole Story of
THE TALCOTT GOAT
Of course, the whole incentive behind this project is the universal problem of the “GRAYING “ of the hang gliding community,,,, and me too. I was in my mid 50s when I broke a bone in my foot only because of the glider load I was hiking uphill through the woods. According to my doctor, it is normal to see the reduction of skeletal resilience from aging. It cost me a flying season. Many of our New England sites require a hike-in to the launch. For some time,some of our club members have toyed with this idea; to create a motorized cart to assist this ascent.
Previously, two of our members, Deane Williams and Mila Jungman made carts but also discovered design pitfalls including, how much power?, too high center of gravity, size , weight and portability. I didn’t put my ideas on paper until these guys tested, evaluated and abandoned their designs. In true creative fashion, my first sketches were done on table napkins during one of our meetings. Before it was done, I had made four versions.
((insert picture of sketches))
For the lightest frame, I recycled two pairs of downtubes, a basetube and kingpost and reworked cables / fittings from my old Olympus 160 (rodents got the sail!) The base was two pieces 0f 1.5" x 1.5" x 36” wide Al angle with a block of nylon sandwiched at each end and bored out to carry an axle, wheels and the engine / drive. (commercial pillow block bearings could also be used here.)
The first version was powered by a used weedwacker motor, which I adapted to a worm gear unit from a truck wiper motor. But, the motor never ran. (I Should have learned that from “Junk Yard Wars.)
Second attempt: I bought a new weedwacker with a 32cc, Ryobi 4 cycle motor which was pretty quiet and all emission certified for the new California laws. This version made it to the driveway, test area but destroyed the plastic gears in the box rather quickly. Also, this configuration had the drive in the middle. The glider was in the way when it was time to pull the starter cord and the centered chain drive messed up the ground clearance. I was sworking with 10"OD wheels/tires and did not have much too clearance to start with.
While looking for a decent reduction unit, I offset the frame to the right side of the base and put another 12volt truck wiper motor to the left side and a marine battery in the center. It was a slick setup and the Appalachian Club would love it, but it didn’t have the power for the task.
The drivetrain breakthrough came when the weedwacker makers started making more accessories for these engines. A Sears rototiller gearbox was a perfect match for my motor and left only a small chain reduction to get the speed just right. Another feature I installed was roller clutches in the wheel hubs, which allow the wheel to grab in only one direction and run free in the other. It can be parked on an upslope without rolling backward, can roll free forward with the motor off for the return and has a differential effect when turning as the outboard wheel rolls easily ahead of the driving wheel. The long rear handles needed a real long throttle cable so I made it in two sections with a helper spring in the junction. I finished it off with a swing-up third leg for parking.
REVISION D This’ll be da bomb for sure
The first test in spring of ’04 was pretty good, even when I came on a tree across the trail. It was so light that I could easily lift it over and continue. Too bad it was blown out. The walk down, with the cart loaded, made me wish I had put on some kind of brakes, but I think I did set a new record for the descent. It also appeared that the drive train was slipping a bit. I later discovered that the pushed-in bushing I made to carry the roller clutches was slipping inside the wheel hub. No problem, I brazed it in. Good solid pull now. It’s great, having just the right amount of power to do the dirty work of getting up the trail. I kept the marine battery box and found a soft cooler to fit inside. Yes, ice cold drinks at launch! The frame folds up and the extendo-handle comes off so the whole thing slips easily in the back of my compact station wagon. Setup only takes 3-4 minutes
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A month later, the next trial was flawless, even the tree was gone. And in no time, there I was at the Talcott launch, breathin’ easy instead of sucking wind, enjoying a cool drink instead of laying against a tree for a half hour while my heart rate calmed down, and painlessly ready to use my energy for flying instead of playing sherpa. This year (05) I will turn 60 and I am looking forward to flying Talcott as often as I can and really enjoying it !
(Update '06 / Halfway up Talcott , I lost the set screw tension on the drive sprocket and it slipped too bad to go on. Found it was only pushing a dimple on a sleeve I used, because the sprocket ID was bigger than the shaft OD. I stole a bolt off the handlebars and fixed it tight enough to finish the trip. I now have replaced the sprocket with the correct ID and a set "bolt" into the shaft. I also now, carry a repair kit with some wrenches and spare nuts & bolts, tucked under the cooler bag.)
There are no formal plans for the “goat” but I’d be happy to share more details with anyone interested.
SURFSKYGUY@comcast.net PeterBrockett USHPA 29196
Connecticut Hang Gliding Association
