Can we please stop hotlinking pics?

lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:

What do you mean the timing is off?
 

I rebuilt a transmission that looked just like that in the summer.

It's one of about two dozen gearboxes in a German made all mechanical industrial machine that's been running pretty much 24/7 since the early 70's

If it looks stupid, but it works, is it stupid?

In reply to Mr_Asa :

function over form people: no, not stupid

form over function: stupid

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I'm at a loss for finding an example of excellent function that's not beautiful in form...engineer; working great = beauty.

Peabody said:

lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:

What do you mean the timing is off?
 

I rebuilt a transmission that looked just like that in the summer.

It's one of about two dozen gearboxes in a German made all mechanical industrial machine that's been running pretty much 24/7 since the early 70's

Man, hard to imagine what it would look like in the winter then!

(Sorry, cannot figure out hotlink on phone)

RX Reven' said:

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I'm at a loss for finding an example of excellent function that's not beautiful in form...engineer; working great = beauty.

You were saying?

Testing photo uploading....

Any idea why the Bentley badge has 9 feathers on the left wing and 10 on the right?

914Driver said:

Any idea why the Bentley badge has 9 feathers on the left wing and 10 on the right?

Damn good question I'd never noticed.  From the official Bentley website:

"Before the first mascot was created, the Bentley Wings existed in a two-dimensional form. When W.O. Bentley started his car company in 1919, he needed a logo that summed up his quest to push the boundaries of performance. He turned to his friend F. Gordon Crosby, the most famous motoring artist of the pre-war years, who brought distant motor races and continental tours to life for readers of The Autocar.

Crosby created the original Winged B – with the ‘B’ of Bentley inside a pair of wings chosen to represent the exhilaration of motion – and perhaps also a reference to W.O. Bentley’s background as a designer of engines for fighter planes in the First World War. Crosby gave each wing a different number of feathers to make it completely unique – and stay one step ahead of fraudulent imitations."

Photo becasue much want.

914Driver said:

Any idea why the Bentley badge has 9 feathers on the left wing and 10 on the right?

Dunno how much of this is BS, but it reads well

https://1000logos.net/bentley-logo/

Then there's the official site, which leaves some gaps https://www.bentleymotors.com/en/world-of-bentley/the-bentley-story/history-and-heritage/heritage-cars/history-of-the-flying-b.html

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

RX Reven' said:

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I'm at a loss for finding an example of excellent function that's not beautiful in form...engineer; working great = beauty.

You were saying?

To be realistic, that is not form following function, that is form following rules restrictions.

The cars, I am sure, would look wildly different if the engineers didn't have to follow the restrictions.

This, apparently, is what they might look like (Redbull x2010)? :

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

RX Reven' said:

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I'm at a loss for finding an example of excellent function that's not beautiful in form...engineer; working great = beauty.

You were saying?

I'm not completley clear- Is that highly functional that's not beautiful, or is it beautiful that doesn't function well?  Assuming its a 2020 Ferrari...

Came back from subway and found this in the breakroom.

Mr_Asa said:

If it looks stupid, but it works, is it stupid?

 

aircooled said:

Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) said:

RX Reven' said:

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I'm at a loss for finding an example of excellent function that's not beautiful in form...engineer; working great = beauty.

You were saying?

To be realistic, that is not form following function, that is form following rules restrictions.

All engineering is done to restrictions. Cost restrictions, regulatory restrictions, the laws of physics, etc.  Take away the restrictions and you're just left with fantasy thought-exercises.

Take the x2010.  Why is the wheelbase what it is? Why is the track what it is?  Why is there wasted space in the middle for a driver when it could be computer controlled?

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

RX Reven' said:

In reply to Dieselboss15 :

I'm at a loss for finding an example of excellent function that's not beautiful in form...engineer; working great = beauty.

A-10 Thunderbolt II. It earned the nickname Warthog naturally. Exposed rivets, exposed landing gear, Hershey bar wing. It is complete function, totally dictated by requirements. That and being able to fly. (Not to say that it's to ugly to love, though.)

In reply to Appleseed :

I think the 'hog isn't so much about "function", compared to overarching Purpose.

The landing gear is asymmetrical, because the Purpose is to carry that cannon.  The cannon is off-center so that the firing barrel is on the craft's center.  Etc.

Regarding the P38:

 

I met Kelly in about '82 or '83 at a seminar in Norman, Oklahoma. I asked him about the P-38 props turning outboard at the top, giving two critical engines.

I though I knew the answer: because the spiral flow off the props was opposite the tip vortices, the ship should be cleaner. And it is. But that wasn't the reason he gave....

He just said "it made a better gun platform".

That was it. The entire purpose of the airplane was to shoot, and anything that made it do that job better was the deciding factor in all decisions like the prop rotation, etc...

He said they actually tried it in every possible combination of prop directions, and that's the one that worked best and gave the highest gunnery scores.

That day I learned to *focus*.

In reply to P3PPY :

Duh. I'm in Canada. It's currently covered in ice and snow.

Good call.

Point taken

lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:

Oh sweet baby jesus