Racer X

Eaten?

Do they know?

December is for cynics.

Gary Hoey is not the Grinch.

And now it is Christmas Eve. Merry Xmess everyone.

Sounds like you would make a great politician.

Tonight it is the night before the night before Christmas.

I had three orders placed the first of November, shipped the first week, that stll show arrived at the originating post office, with that same, lame excuse of a message. A investigation claim was opened by the shipper, at my insistence, over two weeks ago, with a promise of a response in one business day. I've demanded a refund, as it is clear that the merchandise will never be delivered. Oh, and these were Christmas gifts. Merry Christmas.

I'm allergic to bee stings. And I have been stung a lot. Ones and twos here and there, and a couple of times when I was stung hundreds of times at once. When I was young it was no big deal, and little or no reaction. But in my early 20's I knocked over a beehive with a tractor. I tried driving the tractor away before shutting it down and dismounting, but that proved to be a bad move, as tractors don't move very fast, so I shut it down and bailed, heading for a water hose. Got the bees away from me by hosing off, then went into the house. I started to go into shock, and the swelling started. I called the doctor, they said call an ambulance. I hopped in the car and drove to their office, as it was only a few blocks away. They gave me a shot of something, and put me in an exam room. A nurse plucked hundreds of stingers from my scalp, neck, ears and arms, then left me alone. After a bit they came in, took my vitals, and gave me a shot of something else. About an hour later the doctor came in, examined me, asked how I was, and if I knew I was allergic to bee venom. I related my life's experiences and he prescribed an epi-pen, telling me that I will always need to have a fresh one nearby, if I ever get stung again I would need to use it immediately. He also said I should have called the ambulance, that treatment been delayed much longer he would not have been talking to me then. He then asked the nurse to give me another injection, and said goodbye. So I got an epi-pen, and replace it every two years. I've been stung by yellow-jackets a couple of times recently, but didn't have the extreme reaction I did with the honeybees. Yellow-jackets don't loose their stinger, and can sting repeatedly. Each time it has only been one individual doing the stinging, and each time I had several stings. I promptly took benadryl, and the swelling and reaction was fairly mild, so I didn't feel the need to use the epi-pen, or see a doctor.

The larger of the two. The black and white one is a bald faced hornet. I've been encountering them ever since I was a boy in the mid 60's hiking around Whidbey Island. Dwarfed by the Murder Hornet. These things hitchhiked from the Orient, I believe, to the Pacific Northwet, and are threatening indigenous bees and wasps, as well as threatening public health, as their sting can pack a punch. These things are huge.

This is so messed up. Just when I thought our elected officials could do no poorer a job than they already do they lower the bar seven more notches. I want a refund.

Jimmy Carter was an anti politician. A gentleman. The world needs more leaders like him.

One of the Elders.

I removed the velocity stacks from the airbox and mounted them to the carbs, and use a pair of Uni foam motorcycle air filter socks. No trouble fussing with a bulky airbox.

Well it is more complicated that simply adding a couple of spacers and longer studs. The extra 12 or 14 millimeters the added spacer give is only part of the whole package. As I mentioned, the entire intake and exhaust stream was included in the flow bench testing, before and after the work. Port matching, smoothing everything along the way, work done around the valve guide bosses, three angle valve seat cutting, etc. Also note the short exhaust system after the exhaust manifold. There is a relationship between the length of the intake runners and the exhaust, including the headpipes and muffler. The rules require the exhaust exits aft of the steering wheel hub, and meets the maximum decibel limits. I used the largest primary pipes, joined at the elbow just before it exits from under the car, and the muffler is a Lowbak used in circle track racing. Looks like a glasspack, but it isn't. A 3/4" length of tubing runs down the middle, wrapped with a piece of flat stock wrapped in a spiral around it, inserted into the larger tubing, welded in, and then the ends are swedged down to create what looks like a glasspack. There is no fiberglass packing in the muffler. It works very well, and my car never even came close to the decibel limits. So, yes, it does add some power, and it is measurable on a flowbench. The carbs have had extensive work done too, to increase and enhance airflow through them, resulting in more fuel being drawn from the float chambers. I also cheat the cam lift some by running tighter valve lash, which gives another couple of thousandths of an inch of valve lift, and effectively more duration. A comprehensive package that results in more power output. Oh, and I don;t run a mechanical fuel pump. I have never been a fan of them. When the diaphragm fails, fuel gets dumped into the crankcase, diluting the engine oil, which is not a good thing.

Say it ain’t so! That is actually old news. Dennis Muilenburg was ousted shortly after this story was published. Now it is Dave Calhoun, the face of the new Boeing,

And our pensions and retirement plans are leveraged on the performance of Wall Street.

I shot some pictures of the fuel delivery setup on my race Z with the stoopit phone the other day. The rules require a flame retardant bulkhead between the fuel cell and the passenger compartment, so I built one with aluminum sheet picked up at Boeing Surplus in Kent, Washington (now closed and only available online - I used to go there a couple times a year, and bought lots of materials and abrasive supplies there). It also makes a great place for the dash plaques from the races I have competed in. The supply lines start in the rear corners of the fuel cell, there is a sump about 4” square to ensure an ample supply of fuel under acceleration and cornering. Passing through the access plate the lines then go through 10 micron screens, the Carter fuel pumps, check valves, then are joined up, passed through the floor bulkhead and connected to the steel tubing going to the engine bay. There a short flex line connects to a red Holley fuel pressure regulator with a gauge. The regulator has two outlets, so I ran one to each carb. The engine is prepped to ICSCC Production Car rules. Cylinder head to to manifold port matching, and necessary blending is allowed. Although never on a dyno, the guy that ported and flowed the head, manifolds and carbs estimated a theoretical 230 horsepower. Notice I mentioned the entire intake and exhaust path was on a flow bench. We realized huge gains with some creative work, including altering the length of the intake runners by using two isolators between the carbs and manifolds (gasket type and thickness is free by the rules). More important was with the the increase in airflow over a “stock” setup, with my “stock” setup, along with the increased demand for fuel. This dual pump and pickup configuration supplied fuel adequately for the rigors of racing, so it would certainly be a decent setup for a street driven Z, especially one that has been breathed on a bit.

I don't know what the problem is with people and masks. So many dopes walking around with the things on their chin, nose and mouth exposed. Nothing more than a chin diaper. Losers spreading germs, and this virus. Idiots. I don't like having to wear one in public any more than the next guy, but I suck it up and move forward. I do dislike the disposable procedural masks, so I have picked up a bunch of the cloth type. About 30 or so. I wear a clean one each day at work, and when they have all been worn once I wash them, so each day I have a clean mask. Some of the many faces of Racer. Covid Selfies by Racer, on Flickr Covid Selfies by Racer, on Flickr Covid Selfies by Racer, on Flickr Covid Selfies by Racer, on Flickr Covid Selfies by Racer, on Flickr Covid Selfies by Racer, on Flickr Covid Selfies by Racer, on Flickr

Well first, I don't know enough about the circumstances on the two planes that crashed to make any comments, or come to any conclusions. Second, because I am an employee of the company that produces that airplane, I am prohibited from commenting. I can say this. There have been enough people working on a solution, at Boeing, the FAA, the TSB, etc, that the 737 Max is probably the safest commercial airliner to fly on now. And @Av8ferg is spot on with his observations.

Nice to hear the pilots who fly our airplanes like them, and yes, FedEx is currently buying more 767 freighters than any other company. We just finished up the 101st FedEx freighter forward body section, it is going through shake and will be off to seal and paint by the first of the year. I was reassigned to the 767 program last September, having worked the 777 (legacy, metal wings) program for nearly 6 years, first in wing majors (the wing final assembly shop) building the upper trailing edge of the wings, and then the 777 (again, the legacy plane) spars, on the front spars for a few months, then rear spars for 4 years. With the 777X going into production, the production rates have slowed as they integrate the two lines (when I started the rate for 777 was 2.5 days, then dropped to 3 days, then 6 days, then 7 days, and last winter it slowed to 14 days), coupled with the 737 issues, and this Covid 19 thing the company has been trying to avoid layoffs by shifting labor to other programs where staffing needs a boost, so quite a few structures mechanics have been moved from 777/777X to the 767 program. They have moved me 5 times since last February, including spending the summer on the flightline doing refurb work on a 777X that was built last year and has been in storage, and a short stint as a provisioner for the 777X systems integration final assembly, and been sent home 3 times for Covid contact tracing quarantine. I wasn't too enthusiastic about having to work bodies on the B deck, as my knees don't tolerate the crawling around on the stringers and floor frames, but the crew I landed on is a great bunch of guys and gals, the work isn't as physically demanding as the wing structures work, and the actual work packages are not as demanding with respect to the time given to complete the jobs (the 767 program is at a 7 day rate at the moment). Add to that the privilege of working on the KC-46 tankers, and that I only have about 8 months to retirement, I feel I can manage and be content there. And I really like what I do, which makes it less like work, and more enjoyable. It is awesome being part of the teams that create these fantastic airplanes. The best of the best. Every time I see one taking off or coming in to land I have to stop and watch it. Airplanes are second only to cars for me, magnificent machines that look great coming and going, or just resting quietly on the ground. In three and a half months I have seen more FedEx planes than UPS, and every second plane is a KC-46. So there is variety to the daily routine.

UPS, or FedEx? I’m currently helping to build another FedEx 767.