“Could endurance flight take place in current era? - Yuma Daily Sun” plus 4 more

Could endurance flight take place in current era? - Yuma Daily Sun
Who doesn’t want an effortless drive? - Financial Express
Special Report on Sunday: Valley food pantries in need - Post-Crescent
With rubbing sound, dealer's hypothesis easy to test - Salem News
Xcel revamping its Northeast Center - Amarillo Globe-Times

Could endurance flight take place in current era? - Yuma Daily Sun

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 12:22 PM PDT

One of the disappointing things that happened to my father, and probably a lot of other "shade tree" do-it-yourself mechanics, was the computerization of automobiles.

Prior to the installation of these onboard computers - designed to improve fuel efficiency, reduce pollution and monitor the various systems - vehicles were mostly mechanical. You know, you took a part out and you replaced it with a new one.

That's still true to some extent, but the heart of the vehicle - its engine and fuel systems - is usually much more technologically sophisticated these days. It is harder to flip the hood up in your driveway and start fixing or tuning up things - you need specialized computer readers to find out what is going on.

Prior to that, someone with a mechanical inclination and a basic knowledge of automobiles - perhaps fortified with some auto repair manuals - could actually do a lot to repair or modify their vehicles.

I was thinking about this as I read an article we published this week about the modifications made to the City of Yuma, the airplane used in 1949 to set a flight endurance record of 47 days here. The event was celebrated Saturday.

I was wondering if this would have been as easy today.

I am sure airplanes, like automobiles, have become more sophisticated and complicated over the years. It likely is not as easy to "jury-rig" modifications as it was in 1949.

Of course, the modifications on the airplane were supervised by Paul Birch, a well-respected member of the local aviation community who met an untimely death some three decades ago when an airplane crashed into a hangar at the airport. He was the head mechanic at Marsh Aviation in 1949 and was a key figure in making the endurance flight possible.

So the comparison probably isn't quite the same, but still it appears the 1948 Aeronca Sedan AC-15 airplane used in the flight was pretty basic and therefore easy to modify.

It was chosen in part for the flight because it had a large cabin to provide the space needed to install two auxiliary fuel tanks once seats were removed, said Yuma author James Gillaspie.

Gillaspie co-authored a book on the flight with Shirley Woodhouse Murdock, sister of one of the pilots, Bob Woodhouse. The other pilot was Woody Jongeward. Gillaspie also spearheaded the effort to find and return the historic plane to Yuma in the 1990s.

He recounted to the Yuma Sun the modifications made to the airplane. Once the extra tanks were installed in the cabin, a way had to be found to transfer the fuel to the main wink tank. This was done with a hand-operated pump installed in the cabin.

Depending on which way one of the pilots cranked the pump, they could put fuel in the auxiliary tanks from small cans handed up to the plane from a speeding car underneath the plane or transfer fuel from the extra tanks to the wing tank.

Another significant modification, Gillaspie noted, was the ability to change the engine oil in midflight, which was changed every 100 hours of flight. Oil lines were installed from the engine to the cabin so new oil flowed into the engine as old oil flowed out another hose.

Various other mechanical modifications were made, as well as adding needed control panel gauges to the rather rudimentary aircraft.

I find the idea of fueling and changing oil while in flight with the engine always running to be fascinating. It demonstrates the kind of determination and ingenuity necessary to accomplish the record-breaking flight.

It also underlines the risky nature of this venture. Handling fuel is inherently dangerous - imagine doing it from cans over and over again as the engine continued to run.

And transferring fuel and other items from a car to the airplane as they raced along together nearly touching each other repeatedly day after day is equally as dangerous.

Would something like this even be possible today? Could a group of community people get together and do something so spectacular and hazardous?

I can just hear all the arguments about insurance and the potential for getting sued if something went wrong and how it was just too dangerous.

It was a different era in 1949. World War II had recently been won. People thought big. They could get together and say, "Let's do it!" And there weren't a lot of "nannies" hanging around saying, "Hey, someone could get hurt!"

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Terry Ross is director of the Yuma Sun's News and Information Center. E-mail him at tross@yumasun.com or phone him at 539-6870.

Who doesn’t want an effortless drive? - Financial Express

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 12:43 PM PDT

Shweta Bhanot
Posted: Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 2330 hrs IST
Updated: Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 2330 hrs IST

: Still In its nascent stage, Indian automobile industry is witnessing a rise in the demand for automatic transmission cars year-on-year. According to a JD Power Asia Pacific Forecasting report, the usage of automatic transmission in the country is expected to touch the figure of 12% and 18% by 2016 from 9% in 2008. Despite the expected steady growth in the demand for automatic cars in the market, experts argue on the continued dominance of the traditional manual transmission on back of low awareness, high incremental cost and serviceability.

An automatic transmission has an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually. The technology has prevailed globally for decades and is soon catching up in India. But experts point out that price sensitivity of the Indian market has not helped the technology to flourish much. Automatic transmission costs anywhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh approximately, depending on the size and segment of the car. Also, this technology is perceived as low on fuel economy and high on maintenance. Arvind Saxena, Senior Vice-president, Marketing and Sales, Hyundai Motor India, explains, One cannot repair automatic transmission. The only way out is to replace it with new one, meaning import leading to higher cost.

But, cons dont win over the pros. Hyundai Motor India has seen a spurt in demand for automatic cars, which sells the i10, i20 and Verna with automatic option. Saxena from Hyundai points out that the company manages to sell 400 units of i10 automatic per month. Hyundai has stopped selling Santro automatic in the market as it did not find the project viable. Maruti Suzuki has its WagonR with automatic transmission and will soon be adding it for SX4. Tata Motors currently does not have automatic transmission on its cars, but the company is expected to get the technology on their cars soon.

So, the automatic offerings in the market are increasing, especially in the large car segments, the teething issues of bringing down incremental cost to make it mass affordable and making serviceability easy still hovers around the auto space. This is despite the fact that India is set to become a hub for small cars and has automatic transmission technology presence on export vehicles.

There is definitely a potential for the technology in the market but one needs to cater to the...

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Special Report on Sunday: Valley food pantries in need - Post-Crescent

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 10:20 AM PDT

John Ante quietly took his place Wednesday morning among a group of people waiting in the chilly fall air outside the St. Joseph Food Program pantry in Menasha.

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He and the others came to fill cardboard boxes, paper bags and laundry baskets with loaves of bread, fresh produce and dairy products.

Ante checked in at No. 50.

The routine is relatively new to the 28-year-old unemployed auto mechanic from Kaukauna, who signed up for help at the pantry four months ago after his jobless benefits ran out and his savings account dried up.

The economy really, really sucks, said Ante, who was laid off from a small repair shop last winter. Ive never had a time in my life when I couldnt find a job before.

Ante is the new face in the crowd that Fox Valley food pantry supervisors say has surged during the economic recession, kicked out of a self-sufficient lifestyle and into a day-to-day existence that hinges on charitable help for the most basic of needs.

These first-timers are behind a startling 35 percent average increase in the number of people being served during the past year at food pantries throughout the region, The Post-Crescent found by surveying operators, who fear that things are going to get worse before they get better.

The need has increased tremendously, said Cindy Koehn, family development specialist at Advocap, whose food pantry in Neenah is serving as many as 600 families each month, up from 100 to 200 a year ago.

Read the full story in Sundays editions in print and online, plus:

Working poor swallow pride, ask for help

A by-the-numbers breakdown of demand at Fox Valley food pantries

The Post-Crescents 14th annual Stock the Shelves campaign kicks off with lofty goal of $150,000

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With rubbing sound, dealer's hypothesis easy to test - Salem News

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 02:56 AM PDT

Q: I recently bought a 2007 Hyundai Azera and have discovered a "rubbing/humming" noise coming from the front driver's side. At first I thought it might be a wheel bearing, but when I brought it to the dealer he told me it was from having different tread depth between my front tires and rear tires. The tires appear to be new, the car has 23,000 miles, and he told me there was 3/16th on the front tires and 1/16th difference on the rear. It does not appear to be a reasonable solution and I wondered if you had ever heard of such a thing.

A: I agree with you, it sounds a bit hokey to me too. However, there is a very easy way to prove the dealer's theory. Let's go ahead and rotate the front tires to the rear and rear to front. At this point the noise should change, if not go away completely if the dealership theory is right. This will be a very inexpensive way to diagnose your problem. More than a tread depth difference, I am thinking a defective tire, or a tire low on air pressure. The idea of a bearing would have been my first thought as well. Not ever hearing the noise, I can only diagnose by your description. Follow my advice on this one, you won't go wrong.

Q: I recently took my 2008 Honda Accord in to the original dealer for some basic service and brake pulsating at highway speeds at 23,000 miles. They corrected the pulsating by replacing the pads and rotors under warranty but also told me that the rear brake pads were frozen inside the retainer clip, pads were worn metal to metal and the rotors were grooved. They replaced the pads, rotors, retainer clips and lubricated the slides. They could only guess what caused this major brake failure at 23,000 miles. My wife drives the car and did not hear the metal-to-metal noise due to a hearing loss. Needless to say, I am very disillusioned with this Honda at this point. Can you speculate what might cause the pads to freeze inside the retainer clips? Is there any history out there of this being a problem with 2008 Hondas?

A: Your problem is very rare on the Honda. There are no technical service bulletins listed in the All Data Repair information center. And no similar problems listed on any other resources that I regularly use. So either this is a one-time fluke, or there is a cause for this problem such as if either you or your wife is a two-footed driver. By that I mean you accelerate with your right foot and brake with your left. This not totally uncommon. The worst case would be if you drive while resting your foot on the brake pedal. If you find you are doing this, now is the time to correct the action before it costs you big bucks out of your pocket.

Car Care Tip: Any leakage of oil or antifreeze under the car is unacceptable and should be corrected in its infancy stages.

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Larry Rubenstein is a master technician who owns a North Shore service station. His column appears every Saturday. Write to Larry at The Salem News, c/o Auto Scanner, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915, or send e-mail to scanauto@aol.com.

Xcel revamping its Northeast Center - Amarillo Globe-Times

Posted: 10 Oct 2009 12:48 AM PDT

Xcel Energy is laying a foundation for tomorrow, working to modernize the facilities housing workers and materials that will allow it to upgrade electrical service. There are several projects on tap in the Panhandle.

SPS modernization projects

Northeast Service Center: Third Avenue and Nelson Street

Demolish existing office area

Construct new 10,000-square-foot building to accommodate office and meter shop

Occupancy scheduled for January

Amarillo Technical Center: former Amarillo Auto Auction on East Interstate 40) - leased October

Create a facility for classroom, lab and field training

Consolidate work locations for four departments, transmission construction and maintenance, substation construction, supply chain operations, and safety and technical training

Occupancy scheduled for mid- to late December

Other Projects

Carpet replacement - Amarillo Call Center, Roswell, N.M.

Lighting retrofits - Amarillo Construction Services; Amarillo Substation; Transportation Center; Borger; Carlsbad, N.M.; Clovis, N.M.; Levelland; Lubbock Garage; Pampa; Perryton; Seminole; Southwest Service Center (Amarillo)

Infrared heaters - Clovis, Plainview, Southwest Service Center

Roof replacement - Pampa

After six decades, it's time for Xcel Energy to give its Northeast Service Center at Third Avenue and Nelson Street a makeover - a $1.5 million one. Some of the activities at the center will move to the Amarillo Technical Center to be located on the site of a former auto auction east of town. It will cost the utility about another $1.2 million to redo that facility.

"It will be minor things like moving a few walls," said Jeremy Melton, facilities manager.

The company's subsidiary, Southwestern Public Service has already begun adding to one of the core buildings at the Northeast Center prior to demolishing an aging building housing everything from meter testing and storage areas to a spartan breakroom.

The utility will finish a 10,000-square-foot addition so all the operations in that older building, constructed in the 1940s, can move into the new building. It will then demolish the older structure during the first quarter of 2010, Melton said.

Local contractors are doing all the work.

The 1940s structure is showing its age with uneven floors, inadequate space and no accessibility for the disabled.

A warehouse attached to the south end of the older building will remain and be attached to the north side of the new building. SPS plans to use the foundation of the older building as a pad to store items like power line poles.

More modest changes will include more efficient lighting fixtures in remaining buildings.

The buildings are part of a complex of facilities covering acres of land adjacent to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks near East Amarillo Boulevard.

An interchange, like a giant substation, delivers high-voltage power from the Harrington Station generators to the SPS system that covers parts of the Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico, said Alan Bellinghausen, substation manager. It also delivers lower-voltage service to homes and businesses in most of the eastern parts of Amarillo.

SPS also stores its transformers in the center and tests those that are taken out of service to determine if they can need repair.

There is also a building for SPS construction across all its service area. The building hosts meetings and training of far-flung workers.

"They don't all live in Amarillo, but they report here," Bellinghausen said.