How do you know someone is a pilot?

They tell you. Again, and again, and again…

Today I managed to convince a different instructor (Peter Swift) in a different plane (1946 Aeronca Champ) at a different airport (Harvey Field, S43) that I’m highly unlikely to kill myself in a plane. So unlikely, that he hopped out and let me fly it myself for a half hour!

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I start a lot of projects that don’t reach completion. I’ve become emotionally attached to the parts that I dragged around with me so I’m loathe to part with them, but I thought I would start documenting them.

Back when I lived in San Francisco and had full use of my arms I bought a Rong Fu RF-31 Mill/Drill from Enco:

I finally finished my data acquisition for the bike. I used an Arduino with an SD Shield to capture the TTL serial data as output by the Cycle Analyst.

I actually took the bike out to run some errands. One of the annoying things is that I’m using the current and speed control on the Cycle Analyst. It uses a PID loop to do this, and the defaults are tuned for a bike with less power than mine. That means it oscillates. If you look at the image below, this represents me running on flat ground with the throttle wide open. You’ll see the PID loop cranking the amps up and down and the speed oscillating about 3mph. I’m trying out Tableau so you should be able to play with the data.

I had a great time giving a talk at dorkbot-sea about my build. Lots of great questions.

A couple of people asked how the motor is attached to the controller. Here’s a close up that shows the torque plate machined out of 1/4" mild steel along with the motor wires with a drip loop.

Instead of writing the blog, I went ahead and actually put together the bicycle.

Pictures: http://chrisnart.smugmug.com/Hobbies/ebike/17646403_trW5zv#1345159639_VnHHPt4

After an obscene amount of time reading the forum at: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=20 I went ahead and ordered parts.

What do I have enroute?

Direct from Ping Battery (Direct from China):

• A 15Ah, 48V LiFePo (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery.

From ebikes.ca:

• 9 continental 9x7 wound motor, rim, and spokes (2807). This guy has 23 poles!
• 35A Infineon motor controller (yes, this is too much for the battery pack, I’m going to current limit with the Cycle Analyst
• Cycle Analyst (tool for speed, voltage, amp-hours consumed, etc)
• Throttle
• Brake Handle with switch to cut out motor
• Freewheel

From Amazon:

• Mini-Ape hanger handlebar

From Recycled Cycles:

• A set of thumb friction shifters to replace the 8 speed index shifter (which won’t work with my new freewheel)

From Gregg’s Cycles:

• Grease
• New bearings for my front wheel
• Cone wrench
• New cables
• Lubricant

From Stoneway Hardware:

• 5mm Fender Washers (first time I’m ever using fender washers on actual fenders)
• 5mm button head socket head cap screws

Ow.

The bike has seen better days. It spent much of last winter our in the rain, tucked in the corner of my backyard in some mulch.

I spent some time this weekend cleaning the hubs and repacking the front bearings. I also picked up some nice new tires at REI. I got a pair of Michelin City 26x1.85 tires with reflective sidewalls. Better rolling resistance than the old ones, less mold stained, and have reflective sidewalls. I did not want to tempt a blowout after adding 50+ pounds more of crap to the bike.

Since I’m doing all the design on this bike, the number of choices is a little overwhelming. To clarify things, I decided to set the mission I’m trying to accomplish. This is a big thing in the private pilot world because everyone wants the big fast plane, but realistically you are better off choosing your mission and buying a plane to fit it.

My primary goal with the bike is to get to and from work. While I can take a bus, the 28 local is routed through downtown and past the stadiums. This means if there is an event at the stadium, or just regular friday traffic, I can spend over an hour waiting for 3 busses to come at once. I hate at-grade public transport. I grew up outside of Boston (Newton) riding the T which is mostly separate from traffic and it set my standard for efficiency. San Francisco was similar, but Seattle really is the pits.

While I’m writing about the legal stuff first, that’s actually the last thing I did.

An Electric Assisted Bicycle must:

• have working pedals * motor of 1000 Watts or less * 20 MPH or less * Can go anywhere a bicycle can go except the sidewalk. No riding on the sidewalk. * Just follow bicycle laws regarding helmets and such * Bike paths (like the Burke Gilman) are OK.The next class of vehicle up is a moped:

Two things conspired in 2010 to finally push me off my bicycle for good.

1. My right hip continues to slide downhill. While I had surgery on it back in 2006, it wasn’t enough and the hip is having arthritis again. Bicycling makes it sore, pop funny, and occasionally stabby.
2. Having my heart rate hit 110 or above for more than 5 minutes kicks in my chronic fatigue syndrome and I feel like crap an hour later for 3-24 hours depending on how long my heart rate is elevated. More here if you are interested: http://www.cfids.org/cfidslink/2007/030704.asp.

But I love two wheeled vehicles. I can’t remember when I rode my first bicycle, but I remember my first moped ride very clearly. It was David (blank)’s moped and it looked a little like this: