dex's (don't know yet)

My Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather’s Tall Tale

2005-12-09T01:05:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you a tale that was told to me by my father, and he heard it from my grandfather. My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was the best hunter that ever lived. He was even better than Daniel Boone and Davy Croquett combined. It all started one day when he asked my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather to go hunting.
After pleading with his dad for a week, my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was given permission to go hunting. Now, the rifle that my family own at that time was given to my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather by the king for his service in the war. The rifle was a beautiful specimen with a hand carved mahogany stock, silver etched barrel, and a diamond tipped ramrod that was the most treasured part of the gun. After getting some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother--peanut butter and jelly has been around from the time of Adam and Eve--he went out to and sat down on a small island in the middle of the river.
He sat there for the first day and the first night slowly and deliberately packing the gun powered. The more one packs the gun powered the better the gun will fire, so he just sat there packing. The second day and the second night pass as does the third, the fourth, and the fifth. As the sixth night draws near, he finishes eating his last peanut butter and jelly sandwich and decides to stay for tomorrow’s morning hunt and then return home.
That morning he was awaken from lying down to the sound of ducks quaking to his right. To his right were fifty ducks straight in a row swimming up stream. He set his sites on the first duck and begins to squeeze the triggered when he hears honking to his left. Looking to his left, he sees forty geese swim down stream straight in a row. Now, he is in a quandary, what should he shoot duck or geese as he swings his gun back and forth. Then he hears the sound that pierces through night and day to one’s heart.
The sound of rattle of rattle snake greeted his ears and heart with fear as he looked down. There lying in his lap was a rattle snake coiled up and poised to strike. As he moved his gun to shoot, it another ominous sound greeted his ear. The sound of a mad bear, disturbed from eating, raising its towering body over him rumbled into his ears. As his mind is in a panic, his eye catches the movement of a bush of a bush across the river.
There before him was the largest whitetail deer that ever lived. The antlers were the bushes he though he was seeing at first with more points than a class of kindergartners could count. He quickly makes the choice to die as a legend by killing the largest deer existed. He raised his gun and squeezed the trigger.
KaBoom!
As he came to, he sat up taking in the surroundings. There to his right were fifty dead ducks floating and the same to his left were the forty geese. The rattle snake body was withering about in his lap with no head. The bear lay on the ground dead. There in front him, lying on the ground was the deer. The gun had exploded in his arms; the barrel had split in two, half of the barrel flew to the right killing the ducks and the other half flew to the left killing the geese. The trigger guard flew down and beheaded the snake. The butt passed over his shoulder striking the bear in the head killing it. The ram rod, which was left in the barrel causing the explosion, passed straight through the heart of the deer.
Every time he clamored back on the shore from gathering the ducks and geese, he had to empty his waders of all the pan fish that lapped in over the lip of his waders onto the growing pile of fish on the river bank. After gathering the ducks and geese, he crossed the river to admire his prize kill. As he was examining it, he remembered the ram rod realizing that it had passed through the deer. Looking up, he saw a beach tree split in two and another passed it and another. After following the split trees for two miles, he found the ramrod. The ramrod was embedded in the largest oak with five quail skewered on it.
Later

Is this True

2005-12-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

You are a
Social Conservative
(36% permissive)

and an...
Economic Conservative
(61% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Centrist

Link: The Politics Test
Test

A Skookum Post

2005-10-30T23:20:00.000-08:00

In my mind I do have random thoughts and questions that surface through the layers of Dex’s math and the plethora of equations.
Like:

Why does ramen noddles taste better when I eat it with chop sticks?

And then I find those words that are striking and when they come in pairs it is a English wonder. Take for example ‘Anathema Maranatha’. When the situation calls for I could say "Anathema Maranatha" but I would get in trouble if they knew what it meant.

Just some random thoughts.

Later

PPC Conceptual Design Report

2005-10-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the outline of the report the PPC team has finished and it is due Friday the 28. The final report is 65 pages, has over 15400 words, and is more than 4 mb in size. Now I am going to get some much and over due rest.

Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
1.1 Purpose for the Project
1.2 Problem to be Addressed
1.3 Criteria for the Solution
1.4 Solution to the Problem
1.5 Means to meet the Criteria
1.6 Team Arrangement
1.7 Funding
1.8 Layout of the Report

2. Flight Components
2.1 Parachute Selection
2.1.1 Design Requirements
2.1.2 Design Parameters
2.1.3 Parachute Types
2.1.3.1 Rectangular Parachutes
2.1.3.2 Elliptical Parachutes
2.1.4 Considered Options
2.1.5 Conclusion
2.2 Propeller Selection
2.2.1 Propeller Selection Priorities
2.2.2 Power and Thrust Requirements
2.2.2.1 Regulatory Requirements
2.2.2.2 Customer Requirements
2.2.2.3 Climb Power Calculations
2.2.2.4 Cruise Power Calculations
2.2.3 Propeller Efficiency
2.2.4 Propeller Size
2.2.5 Number of Blades
2.2.6 Models under Consideration
2.2.6.1 Powerfin
2.2.6.2 Warpdrive
2.2.6.3 Conclusion
2.3 Flight Controls
2.3.1 Requirements
2.3.2 Throttle
2.3.3 Steering controls
2.3.3.1 Pedals
2.3.3.2 Steering bars
2.3.4 Conclusion
2.4 Instrumentation
2.4.1 Instrumentation Requirements
2.4.1.1 Engine Information
2.4.1.2 Flight Information
2.4.2 Instrumentation Options

3. Power Train
3.1 Engine
3.1.1 Engine Parameters
3.1.2 Engine Candidates
3.1.3 Conclusion
3.2 Transmission
3.3 Propeller Drive
3.3.1 Propeller Drive Parameters
3.3.2 Candidates
3.3.3 Conclusion

4. Chassis
4.1 Chassis Design Process
4.1.1 Engine Mounts
4.1.2 Suspension Mounts
4.1.3 Parachute Mounts
4.1.4 Propeller Hub
4.2 Chassis Styles
4.2.1 The Ladder Chassis
4.2.2 The Space Frame
4.2.3 Monocoque Frame
4.3 Chassis Conclusion
4.4 Material Selection
4.4.1.1 1018 Mild Steel
4.4.1.2 4130 Normalized
4.4.1.3 4130 Quenched and Tempered
4.4.1.4 6061 T0 Aluminum
4.4.1.5 6061 T6 Aluminum
4.4.1.6 Grade 1 Titanium.
4.4.2 Conclusion

5. Steering and Supension
5.1 Suspension
5.1.1 Problem Definition
5.1.1.2 Types
5.1.1.2.1 Dependant
5.1.1.2.1 Independent
5.1.1.3 Selection
5.1.1.3.1 Overview
5.1.1.3.2 Definitions/terms
5.1.1.3.3 Component selection and parameter
5.1.1.4 Parameter Summery
5.1.2 Shock Assembly
5.1.2.1 Purpose
5.1.2.2 Spring
5.1.2.3 Dampers
5.1.3 Shock Selection
5.1.3.1 General Trend
5.1.3.2 Research
5.1.3.2.1 Normal
5.1.3.2.2 Inverted Shock A-Arm
5.1.3.2.1.3 Dual-Spring
5.2 Steering
5.2.1 Objectives
5.2.2 Available Designs
5.2.3 Common Geometry
5.2.4 Our Choices
5.3 Wheels
5.3.1 Tires Parameters
5.3.1.1 Tire Candidates
5.3.1.2 ITP ATV Tires
5.3.1.3 Goodyear ATV Tires
5.3.1.4 CBC Tires
5.3.1.5 conclusion
5.3.2 Wheel Parameters
5.3.2.1 Douglass Wheels
5.3.2.2 ITP Wheels
5.3.2.3 Conclusion
5.4 Brakes

Pause Button

2005-10-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

I want a pause button for life. Not so I can get a head but merely catch up on all the time-consuming tasks I need to do. Now where is that big red button. . .
Later

Fall Break Update

2005-10-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

First, I should be working on my senior design report but I have not ambition to do that right now. As for being on schedule I fixed my truck Friday night, more on that later, I did not set my alarm clock Saturday morning for the first time in weeks and I was in bed at 1 am, what bliss, and I have been working on my projects through out the week.
As I suspected, the oil pan gasket was leaking in my truck. So Friday evening Keith, the president of the auto society and on the PPC team, and I started working on my truck at 3 pm. A quick over view of what I did: lift the truck, drop the exhaust system, the flywheel cover, remove the start, and then unbolt the oil pan. And then comes the fun part, we had to partially lift the engine out of the truck. We then go to SAGA for dinner and then I snaked my arm through the oil pan and removed the bad one. Buy a new one; Autozone should charge more so one feels justified for all the work it takes to replace the gasket. Install the new on and put everything back together. We finished working on my truck at 10:30. Shower, relax and go to bed.
Saturday was sleep and symphony. The symphony was excellent. Because it was fall break all of the girls that we were plan on escorting were gone and we had plenty of spare tickets. I invited Jake to go with me of which he accepted. It was his first time to attend a symphony and he was not disappointed and we are all making plans to go again in the spring already.
I went to sleep that night and almost fell asleep again in Church Sunday morning. The service was good which was on about how we view Jesus, the irony I remembered that considering I exerting my attention staying awake.
That afternoon I work on the Excel sheet for the Machine design project. It encroached on a 16 mega file. I still have work to do on the file and of which I am expecting to double in size before we are finished. We are measuring the residual stress induced by heat in a sheet of steel. O’ the fun.
My vibration project keeps getting harder and harder as I worked on it today. We are trying to do in a weekend a project on which people have written their dissertations on. The vibrations that are created in a beam from a forcing function become more complicated the more we work on it. Philip is facing a fourth order differential equation with interdependent functions. My part is a little easier. Why do I always get stuck on the some of the hardest projects but I love it.
And that pretty much sums up what I have been doing. I have the opportunity to play some video games. Soul Caliber is the lasted fad on the floor and I am decent and can win most of my matches. And when I am on the top of my game I am nearly unstoppable. But that has probably changed now.
Tomorrow brings its own challenges as I panic to get everything done for the half week of school I have left including a massive report of which you will hear about on a later date. Until then I will continue to work on the report, homework, and projects.
Later

Fall Break is Here

2005-10-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

I do not have any class till Wednesday!!!! I am skipping out of my noon class tomorrow to be at a presentation and my last class was canceled. So Fall Break has started for me. I have a full weekend line up already. Friday afternoon attempt to fix my truck. Saturday, if need be continue fixing my truck, but if that is not needed I am sleeping until supper time and going to the symphony. Sunday is Church and I will be working on my vibes project in the afternoon; for dinner, I will try to mooch a free meal somewhere. Monday is already committed to my machine design project team. And last but not least by any means is Tuesday for which I have a 1:30 meeting with the Senior design to work on the report for which I need to have my share of the small book written. And somewhere in this weekend is I am suppose to have fun . . .
Later

A Much Need Update

2005-10-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

I suppose it time I updated my blog-aside from the fact that I had a personal request to do so. School has been happening for about a month now. I have six classes so I will give a break down of them in a day-by-day sequence.
Monday I start out with Power Transmission at 11:20. So yes, I do get to sleep in and depending of if I go to chapel determines when I wake up. Baney is the instructor of the class. I think that Power Transmission is the one the easiest yet most applicable to my field. The purpose of the class is to teach us how to chose the right motor, power train, and power source for the project. There is no homework or test in the class and you only have to give a small presentation every Friday. I would recommend this class to other engineers.
After lunch is Machine Design with the esteemed Dr. Lee. This is perhaps the most important class I will take this semester. It could be call Mechanics of Materials II. I just spent over 6 hours completing the homework which is due Wednesday. Normally I postpone the homework til Tuesday night, but we have a test this Wednesday and I want to study that night instead of doing homework.
The last class of Monday, and it hurts me to say this, is English review. Do a self passed class assignment and write a 1 to 1.5 page paper about some random topic. I am going to try to get out of this class with doing as little work as possible. But I am actually leaning how to write better so I think this class with be good for me in the long run.
Tuesday I have to wake up at 8ish for my first class, Vibrations. This could be the hardest class that I take in my undergrad career. A lot of equations and math that I was not taught well. We are all basically ‘dancing’ around the homework problems til someone figures it out and then we all try to understand why the solution worked. But it is another Dr. Lee class and Dr. Lee is the one of the best, if not the best, professor here.
In the afternoon is Senior Design with is another blog for another day. Lets just say I am the team leader of a team for which in short we are designing and building a flying go-cart. Read some earlier blogs for more information on this project.
Wednesday is the same as Monday but I do not have English review. In the evenings I have team meetings with PPC team. So spend the afternoon setting the agenda for that evening and making some contacts.
Thursday is the same as Tuesday and it has the one more day til the weekend feeling so for some reason there is some energy on campus. And to make it better I am flying in the pilot seat. So all fear and tremble as I take to the sky with a prayer and a wing.
And Friday is Friday and I am done with classes at 2:30. And then on to meetings and who know what. This is enough for now. I shall write about the weekends when I have time on the weekend to write about it. And God only knows what I will be doing next Saturday at this moment even though I have a vague idea of some ‘stuff’ I will be doing.
Later

P.S. Little Sister, let Mom know I have updated my blog and she can read it now.

The Cut

2005-08-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

I almost escaped summer without it happening. But tonight I finally cut myself worth noting. It is embarrassing how it happened so I will leave it up to your imagination. Lets just say it involved a large serrated knife and two of my fingers.

Forging

2005-08-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

An old barbeque pit, a 1 hp blower, some high carbon steel, plenty of charcoal and wood, and an engineering student along with his dad equals a backyard blacksmith shop. Earlier on this summer I assembled the parts and researched some metallurgy and today realizing that school was nigh attempted to forge a knife today.
I started a small fire in the pit and waited for it be somewhat blazing and then stuck a piece of an old saw blade into the fire and turned on the blower. The fire soon reached a high temperature even thought the flames were small but the charcoal was glowing a bright read and metal started to assume a redish glow. I tried to reach into the pit to grab it with my pliers but was thwarted by the intense heat. My dad made himself a aluminum heat shied and along with wearing a leather glove was able grab metal; I am guessing the flame reached a temperature of about 1200 Deg F, we would get near the flame and would start heavily perspiring.
We fold the hot metal and beat it with 2 lb hammer on the head of a sledge hammer and place the metal back in the flame. But alas we could not reach the temperature required to forge the metal but only high enough to do heat treatment.
So in all I lost some hairs on my hard and suffered one negligible burn and decided to pursue the project over Christmas with it is cooler outside and I have more time besides I will have a nice hot fire to warm myself by. We did not get anywhere close to making a blade but we learned a lot and it was fun and I would and I am going to do it again. I enjoy making my own creations with my own two hand and the learning that come with the creation process

Frisbee

2005-08-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

I my right hip is bruised. My calves are throbbing and my rest of my thighs are aching. My shoulders are sore from striking the ground. But I love the aching feeling from a good workout. I played ultimate frisbee this evening as I have been doing every Wednesday for the past couple of weeks. I enjoy the lunging and diving trying to catch an errant frisbee. And all the running up and down the field with up to two defenders on you as are cutting a crossing trying to find an opening. The anguish as you or someone your teams misses a catch but complementing them on the effort and now playing defense and running again to the other end of the field. And the thrill as a beautiful play is made that results in a point. And then you toss off again and so it starts again. Win or lose it is all good and you start a new game.

On another note: Zack is sick and will not be returning to school this semester. He has leukemia. To check up on how he is doing click here. So be in prayer for him and for the senior design team as we continue to move forward with the project.

Later.

Stereograms

2005-07-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

I remember when they first game out and I loved them. Do you see what I see?

2005-07-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Focus

2005-07-31T22:13:00.001-07:00

Final Satin

2005-07-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sphere

The Good Food

2005-07-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

I started cooking the chili this morning. I browned two pounds of ground venison, every pepper available at HEB, an onion, and some spices together. I mixed that with four different types of beans. And then came the hard part, letting it simmer all day long. But it was worth it. Now I am stuffed and do not want to move. The chili had that good smoldering burn, plenty of flavor, and it was very filling.

Mom-mom is Coming

2005-07-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

Mom-mom, my grandmother, is coming to town this Tuesday. Panic and jubilation ensue my home now. My Mom has been having us cleaning the house and we have a million projects to complete that we have started or have thought of to do before she comes. I have to vacate my room and move in with my brother. I do not mind living with Sean, but I do mind the vacating. Packing all my things into even smaller places. The worse part is all those random papers that need to be filed into a file that does not exist. Or those things that do not fit under a bed but I have been sitting on my floor. The game room and garage are already full of random things so I can move anything more out there. My room is already small enough so it is hard to move about in it gathering things. I place one thing on the floor or the bed only to have to move it a moment later to do something else. Most of it things I have to take care but I keep procrastinating from doing. So this Saturday I need to lock myself in my room and do it all without getting distracted, but we shall see. I know I am good at doing things at the last moment and pulling those late nighters. Ahhh . . .

Project Status Report

2005-07-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Zack,

I met with Dr. Austin and other university officials last Thursday and
it was positive. Dr. McDowell is now doing some final checking with the
insurance company to make sure how we can proceed. So... at this point
it I am pretty sure that it will be allowed. Of course, this is with NO
flight testing by students as we have discussed. We will hopefully
understand all of the insurance requirements before the school year
starts.

God Bless,
Tom Hellmuth

I just got this E-mail from Zack. Keep praying.

Swimming

2005-07-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

While I may whine about my job sometimes, I do enjoy most of it. Some of the benefits aside from the pay are the free workouts, heaving sand and concrete bags about, the tan, but I must do something about my back and chest being white, and I get to paid to go swimming. Yes, I get paid to go swimming sometimes or should I say more diving. Yesterday, Friday, I had the pleasure to plug the bottom drain on a swim pool. Change into my bathing suit, strap a 10 lbs weight belt on, and put the mask on. With 10 lbs I sink straight to the bottom of the pool which makes it is easier to work. Swim to the bottom of the deep and take off the drain cover which involves unscrewing it. The problem is I start to spin instead of the screw because I have nothing to brace my body against. This also applies to pounding or sanding something under water, you move more than the tools. Before I have even broken a screw lose I am out of breath. Lunge for the surface to tread water with 10lbs of metal pulling me down or swim to a wall to cling. Dive again to try to undo the screws; come back up for air and the process repeats. After I have the cover off I simply screw a cap over the pipe and replace the cover with the screws. At a job like this I may spend 30 minutes under water and 15 gasping for air. But the worse part is getting back into the truck all wet. I know I am going to miss this job after school, but not often.

The Mall

2005-07-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

Monday I had some time to kill. It was one of those situations where I could spend 20 minutes driving home and then spend 25 minutes and gas driving back out to where I was at. So I went to Wal-mart and CompUsa to start. And then I went to the Mall! No one was with me and being a man without a mission along with sensory overload I went into fight or flight mode: Muscles tense, eyes darting, ear intently listening, quickly scanning everyone and everything. So I decided to look for orange camo shirts for hunting. The ones that we have are old and torn. I looked at a map and started my hunt. But alas that shirt is out of style now and I could not locate any. After burning up enough time I headed out to guys nights.

Shooting Accident

2005-07-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

My dad had a shooting accident this afternoon. The funeral is this . . . no, he survived but it sounds so much better this way. Dad went to shoot range this afternoon as he always does. After watching a guy trying to teach his girlfriend how to shoot. She was jumpy and complaining about the recoil from the 9mm gun. He went back to his own shooting, drilling the center orange full of holes. Then it happened. While shooting, the spent cartridge ejected and hit him in the eye cutting it. I drove out with my younger brother to meet him and take him to the emergency clinic. After a large bill and an eye patch, we were on our way home. Much to ado about nothing.

Far Flung Dreams

2005-07-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

What dreams are made of.

Laundry

2005-07-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have lived most of my life out of a basket. Well, maybe not most of my life but wardrobe resides in a basket for the most part. Aside for clothing I hang up, most of it is in a basket. Until today, I have folded and place into empty dresser drawers all my clothes save the dirty ones. I put my cloths away once since I have returned from school but from then on they have been in the basket. But I know in about two weeks when I do my laundry and all my clothes will once again be in the basket again where they will stay until they are used.

Still living

2005-07-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

It seems thought quite a few of my post have been about how I have risked life and limb. Well, this is another one of those. It is not the I am careless but when one is involved with the thing I am there is some risk. If you just look at what I do for work and the equipment I work with just think about what I like to do for fun.
The fourth past with out any dangers. We set off a few rockets and went to bed because we were saving the rest of our fireworks for the fifth when the kids would be at the hanger. That evening we went out behind the hanger and set off a dozen rockets and half a dozen 5 shot mortars. Little Jakey did not like them. The fireworks were too loud so I gave him my ear protection which were oversized for him, he look humorous with big red ear muffs over his ears. One of the mortars was a dud.
After Jess left with his children and told us that what ever happens was our doing. I ran into the hanger and grabbed gasoline and brought it out to Zack. After finding a suitable location we looked at each other and had second thoughts. Almost went back inside but Zack said basically we are out lets do it. Pour a little gasoline over the dud and into the tub, light a match on the end of broom stick, light the gasoline and we ran behind a trailer and a van to wait for the inevitable. Wait. Nothing, just burning gasoline. I run in side and grab a fire extinguisher and bring it back out. A few puffs of the extinguisher and a couple gallons of water and it is all over. No explosion, no big fire, bummer, I think.
Yesterday we went out to fly the powered parachute. Lot of fun. Zack went up first and flew a couple of a approaches. I went up next. Flew my approaches. After that I was learning how to do turns. The engine humming behind me. WrrrrrWrrrrr. And then. WrrrrrWrrr____. The engine quit while I was 200+ feet in the air looking down on the tree tops. I recalled everything that I had read said that if the power quit you would be fine. I am thinking I am fine now but what about when I land. Obviously I survived because I am writing about it now. We began to descend. Right before we struck the ground we flared the chute and wheels softly touched the ground. It was probably one of the nice lands of that evening. The engine quit because it ran out of oil. Refilled the oil container and off Zack and Galo went again. I will be flying aging tomorrow.
Summer had been fun so far and should continue to be so. Be in prayer for my senior design project because it will be present to Dr. Austin hopefully next week for approval.
Later

Time is broken

2005-07-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

I broke my watch today. It was a sad moment. I was given the watch by my parents my freshman year at college.
The my last Friday in Longview I finally got the band fixed. All I need was a pin, which I lost in Mexico over spring break, and lady at Wal-mart gave it to me. That evening while at a friends house the battery went dead, the irony.
So today I went to Wal-mart to get a new battery. The lady was not able to put it in so I bought the battery and tried to install at I-tec’s shop. I was able to get the screw out that she was struggling and put the new battery in. But while clamping down the back I shattered the crystal.
What a loss. I liked that watch with the digital display behind the analog face, stylish but practical.
So I ordered a new watch which should hopefully meet me back in San Antonio.

My Truck Is Broken - Again

2005-06-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

The truck was acting strange sometimes. It would drift and pull some times but nothing consentient enough to trouble shoot. Then today I decided to check my lug nuts because perhaps that could be the problem. Checked the front left, the front right, and the rear right. Nothing. Almost walked away to get the supplies I needed, but it was only one more tire so I looked. The lug nuts were coming off and the lose rim had been eaten away by the nuts.
Trying to fix it tonight after work we destroyed the brake cylinder but we were able to replace the lugs bolts. Oh well, I get to wake up and start working on it again so I can go to work or more so I can go work without being tied to my Dads truck for transportation.
Later

Florida Here I Come

2005-06-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

I am going to Florida this Thursday for mission work! I am going to do preparation for Senior Design. Zach is meeting me at the Orlando airport where we will be picked up and taken to I-tec. We are going to help build a plane and fly powered parachutes. Next year we shall build our own power parachute for school. What I am getting myself into?
Later

Please Critic

2005-06-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

I want all my english major friends to critic this for spelling, syntax, and grammar. Everyone else please read over it and give your suggestions. This is part of a 17 page document, Proposal to Start Powered Parachute Mission Project. If you want to see the whole document just e-mail or leave a message for me and I will gladly send it to you.

Calculations
Abstract
The force to lift and propel the vehicle come from the engine and the propeller. The minimum thrust is what is required to over come the drag of the parachute and the fuselage along with the thrust need to create stead flight. Any excess thrust is used in lift off of the vehicle.

Drag
The drag and the thrust to provide stead fligh is given by the parachute manufacture. For the Thunderbolt E340 the required thrust is 24 hp. The drag of the fuselage is more difficult to find without preforming test. The basic formula for drag is Fd = ½*Cd*A*ρ*v^2. And work is F*v, therefore, work of the drag is Wd=½*Cd*A*ρ*v^3. Cd is the coefficient of drag and is found experimentally. The Cd is assumed to be 0.43 for the calculation to find the drag induce by the fuselage 1. The cross sectional area is A and is assumed to be 18 ft^2 for the fuselage to be 4 ft high and 4.5 ft wide. The density of air, ρ, is 1.29 kg/m^3. The vehicle will be flying at 45 mph for stead flight. For this velocity the drag of the fuselage is calculated to be 5.06 hp 2. Therefore, the propeller will only have to produce 29.06 hp to create stead flight.

RoC: Rate of Climb
Rate of climb, RoC, is given by the equation RoC = (Paval-Preq)/M. Where Paval and Preq is the available power and the required power to maintain steady flight from the propeller. According to Stuart Gort, the president of Powerfin Inc, the minimum thrust that one could expect from 3 to 4 bladed 72 propeller with our configuration would be 500 lbs which would be 60 hp of thrust. From these numbers the RoC would be 14 ft/s or 850 fpm 3.

Take Off
Taking off and maintaining stead flight is feasible for the current configuration. The take off distance will be a little long than normal for power parachutes but the final length is dependent largely on the skill of the pilot and field conditions. To take off the vehicle must reach a speed greater than the velocity needed to create steady flight. One of the secondary objectives of this project is to obtain the short take off length.

Conclusion
From these calculations and conversations with experts in the field this project is feasible. It can be concluded that with a 72 in propeller and a 100 hp engine the vehicle will achive a speed great enough to create lift and maintain steady flight.

1. In 1983 the typical Cd for new cars was .43. http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=200121020289MT

2. Wd = ½*Cd*A*ρ*v^3 5.06 hp = ½ * .43*18 ft^2 * 1.29 kg/m^3 * (45 mph

3. RoC = (Paval-Preq)/M (60 hp - 29.06 hp)/1200 lb = 14.2 ft/s = 850 fpm (ft/min)

Batman: The IMAX experience

2005-06-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

Batman is a good movie and I would recommend going to it. The IMAX is an experience worth having. Combine the two and one has a great combination.

I went and saw Batman Begins this evening with my Dad at the IMAX. Needless to say it was an enjoyable time.

Later

GO SPURS GO

2005-06-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

The SPUR are the NBA campions again.
4-3

Nuf Said
Later

Shocking Concrete

2005-06-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

I have just been working for the past week, nothing new. Almost got electrocute Thursday again, well, I have been shocked a couple of times this summer. Saturday I participated in a scavenger hunt with the college group. The car I was in took second place. I cut and bruised my head jumping backing into the truck after retrieving the clue. I did not know I was bleeding til Rach in the front seat turn around and notice blood streaming down my forehead. The driver gave me napkin and that was the end of that.
As for shocking myself, I can say that 120 V (volts) does not hurt too much, now I would not recommend sticking one finger into light socks or probing in outlet with metal sticks and key (but the spark show for the later would be interesting til the house caught fire and burnt to the ground). I shocked myself the first week back from school. Dad sent me to replace the blower in a heater. He told me that it was all 12 V and I also knew this to be true from past experience. 12 V is harmless for me and will not even penetrate the skin for the most part, let alone hurt me. So I went out. The heater came apart easily. I opened the housing for the wiring. There was sets of wires inside, strange, took the wire nuts off and reached in to move them to try to see where they ran. WHAM, I touched one of the exposed wires and instantly knew that the blower was not 12 V but 120 V. Check the writing on the motor and sure enough: 120 Volt 60 Hz, which also agreed with my voltmeter reading. The only thing that really stunk on that job, other than being shock but that comes with the work, is I had the wrong replacement part.
The second time this summer, I think, was a few weeks ago. I was removing a sand filter. I was cutting it open with the grinder to remove the sand and make it possible to move. As the blade of the grinder sliced through the fiber glass water came spewing out of the cut. The water completed the circuit between the switch, my hand, and the ground. Hence, I got zap. This was the first time I have been shocked with a power tool. Later on that week when cleaning out a pool to paint I got shocked by a pump a couple of time. The strangest one was I put the pump into a bucket and was sponging water into the bucket, a couple of time without getting shocked, and I reached into the water one the ground to grab something and wham. Just a small shock.
Thursday, I was replacing a pump. The pump was a two speed and it was my first time to replace one. I opened up the housing and I knew I was in trouble no ground wire (the green one), two red ones, and one blue wire. I killed the power, or at least I thought so, check for current across all the terminals: nothing. Unscrew the wire and reach in with needle noses to disconnect the wire and I saw a small spark show. Then I spend 15 or more minutes to find the breakers and additional 45 minutes to rewire all the switches and the pump correctly for which I charged extra.
Friday I had the fun job of mucking out two pools. These pools were neglected and full of leaves and junk. So we drain them and shovel out of the grime and power wash the walls and floor. The first one was not to bad other than about a quart of oil had been dumped into the pool. The second one was fun to say the least. The pool had about 4 or more inches of leaves and rotting leaves on the bottom of it and even more in the spa. The puddle of water still on the floor looked like the primal soup from which life came and smelt like it to. After moving all the leaves into the compost pile, which doubled in size, and having trouble with the pump Carlo and I start to wash the pool. The power wash was a nice 3500 PSI one and easily blasted of the calcium deposit, paint, and algae all over the operator which was normally me.
Today started out slow, namely having to run around for tools. We bought a rotary chipping hammer. And I got to be the one that christened with work, meaning I got to use it first. We have a contract to bring three swimming pools at an apartment complexe up to date. I had the job today of cutting out the concrete to put the new deck makers in place. I like the new hammer along with a new chisel cut right through the concrete. The best part was I swept the mess I made right into the pool because the crew is preping to be plastered tomorrow and will clean it all up after they make more of a mess.
That is all for now. It is late and I need a shower before I go bed. I still have piece of concrete in my hair. At the bible study we had some of the largest hamburgs I have ever eaten which explains my lateness at getting a shower because I went there straight from work and did not get home till 11.
Later

Wayside

2005-06-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

I went to Wayside Chapel again Sunday. I think I am going to be going there for the rest of the summer. It is a big change switching churches from one that I have been going to from middle school and on through highschool. But it is time to move on.
The college group at Wayside is larger and more vibrant. I found out today that there is another student from LeTu attending, a BME. There is a large mixture of students/singles but a good number of computer programers and such which makes me feel at home among the nerds again. There was a college men’s bible study tonight that I attended. I think it is going to be good and I will only have to possibly miss the last one due to school. They also serve a hearty meal for $2 before the study. I hope that I get the opportunity this summer to at least to do some ministry with the church this summer but we shall see.
Later

Fishing

2005-06-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

Work was slow this week. Finished painting the pool and really did not have anything more to do along with my Dad. So we decided to take the remainder of the week off and go fishing.
We chose the lake and made the shopping list, we picked two new lakes, Lake Corpus Christi and Alice City Lake. Dad had some meetings and bids to do while I got to the shopping. First stop was Academy to buy some fishing gear. They where having a fishing gear clearance, half off of selected clearances items, which of course I had to check and I found some flies that I like, that was it. But you know, one just hast to check. . . Then on to HEB, the grocery store, which was not crowded. Grab a cart and get out as quickly as possible while remembering to get everything. We left the house later than expected 6:30ish.
On the road we stopped to help a family who had ran out of gas. They were less than two miles from the gas station but so close but so far. We got to our camp site at about 9 o’clock and made camp. Did a little fishing and went to sleep. The wind where high along with the humid but because of the winds it was pleasant.
Woke up the next morning at six and drove to Alice only to find that the park was closed and only opened on the weekends, so we lost 1.5 hours to driving, major bummer. Went back to Corpus Christi lake and did not check a thing due to the high winds. The winds were 25 to 30 mph and it is nigh to impossible to cast any light lure into them. White caps where on the main part of the lake so we could not take the canoe beyond the bay and even in the bay it was hard to use without being blown to shore.
After supper, chicken and corn, we went cat-fishing. This involves setting up the chairs and propping our feet up on the canoe. After about an hour or so a white bass ate my dad’s worm and the hook. At about 11:30 we where thinking of heading to bed so we flayed the fish and put some of the left overs on the hooks. Shortly thereafter a small blue cat was reeled in by Dad. I decided to swap over to the fish after my hook was stripped of the worm I had on it. Tossed it out and just settled down to read again when by rod jump into the canoe. Grab the rod and jerk to set the hook. I reeled in a nice yellow catfish the first yellow that we have ever caught. No more bites after that and we called it a night.
The next morning we woke up late, 7 am. Check the lines. We had a large redearslider turtle on one which we promptly cut lose. And went fishing. I caught one small white bass while trawling, dragging a line behind the boat while moving, which was too small to keep. The winds were picking up again and decided to head home.
I do not recommend going to Lake Corpus Christi unless you have a guide and boat large than a canoe. The state park was small and not the cleanest. A good lake to fish is Choke Cannon near Three Rivers, a lot more cover and better fishing.
Over all I enjoyed myself and hope to some more fishing and hunting before the summer is out, maybe go the ranch some time soon. Until then.
Later

2005-06-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

It just takes a little know how, Ludwig

An Update

2005-06-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

I did not start bloging to be come more a nerd. I have that under control. I am a nerd and there is no denying it. But instead I started this blog to hopefully help my writing skills. I figure by writing in it semi-daily I shall become more proficient and clear in my writings. So therefore I make no claim in the spelling, syntax, or grammar in this blog.
Well, I am home for the summer. I did not get the engineering job I hoped for but at least I have a job. I am working for my Dad again this summer for his Pool construction/remodeling business. The best title for my job is Trusted Grunt. I basically do small jobs such are replacing equipment, some touch up concrete work, and some rock work along with anything else I am capable of doing. My days normally start at 8:00 am when I leave the house and return home at about 6:30 pm. On average I am putting about 100 miles a day on my truck running and to and from fro jobs and such. The work is hard but I enjoy it for the most part. The benefit are great such as a tan and a work out plus I get paid.
Not to much more has happened yet this summer. There are some plans in the making of which I will write of on another day. But that is all for now and I am looking forward to returning to school once again in the fall. Well that is all for now so until then. . .
Later

A Normal Summer Work Day

2005-06-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

It took longer than expected to create this blog and the hour draws late. At least it is late for a non-school day and I have work in the morning again. So I will give a quick overview of the day and head of to bed.
The alarm, not my Dad like normal, woke me up at 7 AM. Get dress, eat, check e-mail and go over the plan for the day with my Dad. Out the door at about 8 ish to pick up Larry and head over to the job.
The morning job today was prep work for painting the pool tomorrow. More cleaning the sides of the pool, I power washed it Friday, inject silicon into the cracks, and do some other odds and ends in the pool. I also ran to Home Depot for supplies: rags, exylen, rollers and brush, etc. The pool was weeping, water coming up from the ground through cracks in the plaster into the pool, so we plugged the cracks and the guys went home because we can not paint unless the pool is completely dry. We also ate lunch while waiting for the water plug to dry. I had my usual, a Junior Bacon Cheese Burger from Wendy’s.
After this I went home to pick up a pump and my tools for the next job. At this job we have already replaced the filter. The old one was from 1959 and was solid metal tank full of rock and sand which was a pain to remove, I got crink in my lower back tossing it into the dumpster. Easy job, or at least should be: unwire the old one, cut it out, wire in the new, plum it back in. The first two parts where easy. Well that is another story. . .
Came home from work at about 6:40 and did the following: eat supper, lounge around the house, went out and bought a Boston Creme pie, come home and get a shower, eat some of the pie, set up the blog, blog, and now head to bed.
Later