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Showing posts from June 9, 2013

The Nissan Leaf on the Farm

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With tribute to USDA and other government furnished information of the post war advice converting Model-Ts to tractors --"Doodle Bugs". I towed the resurrected rear-ended 2013 Nissan Leaf up to Berkshire, NY from Duluth, GA. It is now in field trials as a farm machine in Upstate NY. Despite the lack of current ground clearance it is performing well in dirt and mud. I will be skidding firewood very soon. https://journal.classiccars.com/2018/06/08/doodlebug-1923-ford-model-t-tractor/ https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/artifact/188731?AssetId=THF811118
Some of the earliest mentor advice I ever received was "Easy on the controls!!" Picture this- you are watching a friend of yours (maybe 12 years old) learning how to use a piece of machinery, (enjoying Man's natural lust for "Amplifier"), a tractor or a truck. He jerks the thing and the hydraulic lines strain and all the components look/sound/act stressed, maybe to the point of failure. The owner is of course very concerned with stress and potential damage. The shout comes... "Easy on the controls!" Why would we not use this comparison on our everyday life experiences? The skill in this understanding is something the pilot is constantly trying to perfect. The plane gives everything back, just like in life. We all control. The baby, the child, the adolescent, the teenager, the parent, the pilot, the executive. It is not about the control, it is about how the control --controls us. I managed to get some flying in this past weekend. I could have done bett...