Date: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:56:18 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: vanagon speed (was Re: Heart vs. Head
In-Reply-To: <6e95da690911272038q2e22458ctf3a7a484407ed713@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
As a pilot - I have flown the big boys at 30,000 feet doing 60o mph, and
I have flown the little guys like J-3 Piper Cubs at 300 feet. You don't
see much at Flight Level 300 going 600 mph.
There was in my younger flying days a saying amongst pilots:
"Fly lo' and slo' an' enjoy it mo'!" :-)
The Vanagons of all stripes are those J-3 Cubs - and even today - those
powered hang gliders - the ultralights.
Get off the interstates, drive 55 - and less - and enjoy the drive an
the scenery.
Even the long drives over the vast distances of the Great Plains offer a
lot to see at that slower speed. How about watching the hawks ride the
pressure wave at the edge of the highway shoulder where it rises up out
of the plains to elevate that great ribbon of asphalt that makes
interstate 70 connecting Denver to Kansas City. When you drive slower
you can watch the birds sail along the highway shoulder on that pressure
wave caused by the wind as it rises up over the highway shoulder
obstruction. The hawks ride it like a surfer on a big wave at Waikiki.
Or how about counting and watching the play of the pronghorn antelope
one encounters out west along the highways. And then there is the rare
beauty of the deer herd having a drink out in the shallows of a river
in Wyoming where the water runs under a bridge - a sight not seen by
those fly by at high speeds - they don't have time to look. Or how about
having time to slow down sufficiently to watch a Sage Grouse hen cross
the road with her brood of 12 chicks.
Yup - I'm old now, but I still "Fly slo and enjoy it mo'!" :-)
Vanagons Forever!!!
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Chelsea, AL
Joy Hecht wrote:
> Well of course vanagons are slow! They have low-power engines and they are
> heavy. They are slow on flat ground - of course they are even slower going
> up long grades. On long gradual grades, the kind you don't see with the
> eye, I find myself not going above the 50s, if that - the lack of power is
> how I realize I'm on a grade. Steep hills I do at 20-25 mph. Definitely
> you're going to climb to the continental divide in the right lane with the
> 18-wheelers while cars and SUVs rush past in the left lane.
>
> If you wanted a vehicle that would make good time on long drives, why would
> you have a vanagon?
>
>
>
> Joy
>
>
>
>
>> On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 4:01 PM, Mark Hineline <hineline@helix.ucsd.edu
>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Okay, a couple of points to consider.
>>>
>>> First, I had a '76 bus named Peregrine. Greg mentioned my trials and
>>> tribulations with Peregrine.
>>>
>>> Second, and this is really the kicker, my number one destination is
>>> the Colorado Plateau -- Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Cedar Mesa. From San
>>> Diego thats' 500 to 600 miles and an 8000 foot gain in elevation. In
>>> my GTI I can do it in 7 hours. I'm guessing that in a watercooled
>>> Vanagon I'm looking at 10 to 12 hours for the same trip.
>>>
>>> Sound right? Are Vanagons slow pulling long grades?
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
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