PAL-V...i want one....

No matter how many attempts litter automotive history, the temptation of a flying car just won't go away.






The latest to float the idea is the PAL-V, which stands for Personal Air and Land Vehicle.
What makes the PAL-V stand out is that there are no bulky wings, just some neat rotors on the roof that fold away when not in use.



Instead of trying to make a car that flies or a plane that drives, PAL-V has come up with a gyrocopter than can do a bit of both.
On the road, the three-wheeler uses a normal car engine that can also run on biofuel. But if congestion looms, you pop up the rotors.
They act like a wing to provide lift, but forward motion is generated by a propeller that unfolds from behind the cabin.



Designed to fly at heights of up to 4,000ft, the PAL-V can reach speeds of 125mph on land and in the air, and it only needs a very short strip to take off and land from.
With a range of 340 miles, the PAL-V could take you from London to Newcastle in one hop.
No prices have yet been announced for the PAL-V, but its Dutch builder reckons it should be on sale within the next two years.
At which point, presumably, pigs will fly. With an accompanying farmer, of course.






This practically fits my dream of wantng to fly. Now i can do it in my own car. One cant help but to wonder if in the future, vehicles such as these become aplenty, whether there'd be floating traffic lights. Worse still, does this mean we'd have to retake our drivers..oops..i mean pilots license?

If i had a choice and were given the luxury of having to pick only one of these...A Carerra GT, an LP640 roadster , a Bugatti Veyron and the PAL-V...


I think you pretty much have an idea of which one im gonna be choosing...



Dougie signing out..

Minutes to Midnight

Trailer for LPTV 2007 and Linkin Parks latest album...Minutes to midnight.

To be released on the 15th of May 2007.

Initial G : Genting Run

The car club and i finally managed to get our first major run together. The destination? Genting Highlands via the old road that cuts through Ulu Yam.

The intial meetup point was at aman suria. A hot spot for car clubs and car enthusiast gatherings alike. Ample amounts of parking space and a nice open location...
My punctuality in recent days has been over-efficient.... and as much as id like to think its a good thing, it hardly is because everyone else seems to adhere by the malaysian timing rule which is about half an hour later than stated... I used to be like that once but made it a point to be more punctual....now im having thoughts of returning to my malaysian timing ways....hehehehe

So my baby and i sat and awaited for the rest to arrive... first on time was Desmond a.k.a Deongster a.k.a Conekiller a.k.a guy who won GRA who brought along his girl friend and im embarassed to say that i forgot her name.... One by one they came and soon we filled up 2 tables, paid for our drinks, had a short spell of car watching and then headed off....

Im gonna tell you how small a world it is.... There was this guy who was a friend of desmonds who drove a super fast fire breathing proton tiara which he totaled some time ago.... and then there was this guy who i saw on the road a couple of weeks back driving a very potent looking Corolla LE sporting a paint job ala Initial D's AE86 whom i waved to and acknowledged how nice his car was....Turns out...their the same guy... and i didnt even know it till i saw his car come rumbling past where we were seated.... 20 valve silvertop.... Petrol head jargon i know, but mention it i must... Its a remarkable engine built by toyota... the guys name is Eric by the way... and at first glance, you wouldnt think he's a petrol head...

The plan was to leave by 9:30... but we left at about an hour after.... headed off to fill up erics fuel tank whiles Deongster and Tezt decided to give an Annoying Proton Putra a lesson in driving....Guess when the Putra driver saw charades and an old starlet he mustve thought .... "easy meat..."

... his funeral....

Finally... at about 11pm...we started our journey....

Traffic was heavy that night... we were all split up when it came to the toll and were divided into 3 pairs.... Myself and Deongster, Dave and Eric, Tezt and Noel in his very potent Waja....

and so the first "highlight" if i may say so...occured.....Deongster and i were crusing whiles waiting for Tezt and Noel to catch up along the MRR2 when my baby noticed a JPJ cruiser creeping up our rear end, pulling up beside us and taking a good look at our cars... Now bear in mind my car looks pretty much like it belonged to a granny with a nick for bodykits whereas Deongsters starlet had sponsorship stickers from Q8 adorning the sides of his car... his cars name is phoebe by the way...

The JPJ pulled ahead of me, and with the assistance of a torchlight, waved down deongsters car and pulled him to the side of the road...

Tezt and Noel finally caught up and the next thing i knew, blinking blue lights blinded me through my rear view mirror as i guided the rest to a halt a petrol station about 150m ahead where Dave and Eric were parked... Bummer... Deongster had been stopped...

So we waited and waited and finally he arrived... and burnt a RM50 hole in his wallet....

waiting for deongster

snapped some pics

Turbo fest...

Deongster in action

We were getting restless as the night wasnt getting any younger and i was pretty sleepy by the time, so we made haste and left the petrol station hoping that there wouldnt be a road block up ahead... i was shit scared actually...

But after that... it was pure adrenaline fuelled precision driving all the way...

We had to endure some bumpy roads as we drove through ulu yam town for a good 10 minutes and then we finally made the last right turn to start the climb...

Deongster was leading the way as he was pretty confident of the way up, followed by Tezt, Eric, Dave, Noel and Myself at the rear... i dont think it was a good position as i was getting a first hand smell of their burnt fuel and exhaust gasses.... through the early part of the climb i was taking my time when i noticed that everyone seemed to have sped up a notch and as much as i convinced myself i wasnt going to push too hard.... I had to...it was too tempting to finally test out my car on the windy uphill stretch...

Our line was broken up due to heavy traffic on the way up.... and so dave and i ended up at the back but managed to keep some pace although i didnt really push very hard coz my baby was in the car.... But hell yea it was fun...

Its good to see that even with such a modest suspension setup, i managed to negotiate the numerous S curves, hairpin turns and long sweeping corners.... But of course the rest were far ahead.... and i could see them really pushing it... Couple of ball shrinking moments for tezt pulling some risky maneuvers which i would not even have thought of pulling....there are some things u just dont try tezt..hahaha....

i think i was doing pretty well keeping it fast but not too fast at the same time... getting a feel of where charlottes limits lye....

Throughout the whole climb... the sound of turbines spooling filled the cold night air.... The pitch black surroundings were overshadowed by the sound of blow off valves and roaring engines in the distance.... The road seemed to come to life with every apex.....tyres screaching with every bend negotiated.... Heavy but controlled understeer..... sliding rear ends.....ahh... bliss...

Something of a Tokyo Drift-esque picture came to my head...only that we were driving much cheaper and not so attractive cars and we werent really going sideways....

Hair raising moments nonetheless....

Then of course there was that small setback that i faced.... All that high revving really got the engine heated and the water in my radiator had dried up.... so i pulled over for about 15 minutes, topped her up with some fresh cold water, cooled the engine down and continued to drive up where the rest were waiting....

We did some analyzing and came to realize that my radiator does in fact seem smaller as compared to the radiator on Dave and deongsters 4E's respectively.... but well, if i dont push her, theres no problem....

Finally we reached the top.... here are the pics of our line up...

Tezts Gtti Joan

Noel's super waja... proof that wajas can go fast with modest modifications and a good driver..

Daves Samantha monster 4E

My Charlotte and my baby at the back

Deongsters Champion Starlet Phoebe

Erics Corolla LE ala Initial D AE86

Had some food and drinks at the mamak and i was feeling the effects of the change in altitude...stomache wise....and head wise.... all i had was some hot water and a bit of Tom Yam soup, burnt my throat a little and then left for the drive down... by then, i was feeling much better...

Dumbo feeling sick...

In the car park..with Deongsters car..

From left... myself, my baby, Noels bro, eric, Noel, Tezt, Dave, Desmond, something Leng... (sorry...)

Dave and I..

Tezt and i..looking gay

My baby and i

Then we lined our cars up at the bus parking area and snapped some pictures...

The charades

Full line up..

Then we made our way down and back via the new road where Tezt and I trashed some mat rempits...

What a way to end the night....

Dougie signing out...

Gentings, Noise and a Policeman

What do the 3 items in the title have in common? Absolutely nothing apart from the fact that their related to this post....

Lets start of with noise which will then lead to the police man....

As you all know...my dear charlotte does not run on any form of exhaust system and therefore makes quite a bit of noise whiles i drive her around.... And also, for your information, there've been an influx of police patrols and road blocks in recent months in and around OUG, Old Klang Road, Happy gardens etc...
So my little incident happened yesterday as i was on the way to BRJ mamak after sending my baby home...
On the way to the mamak i have to climb a slight slope before proceeding to a sharp left turn which leads me to the mamak area.... This slope is pretty much a blind slope as you cant see whats on the other side till you actually get to the top.... Normally the road blocks that the Cops set up is further down along the left hander, but this time, they set up shop just before the left hand turn and well, i got stopped...

The malay cop dude waved me down with his fluoroscent red stick and pulled me to the side of the road... then this indian cope dude came to the passenger side window and so we had out little conversation...

Kenapa you punya ekzos bising?

Sorry sir, i punya exhaust kat depan tu dah bocor...i tak cukup duit mau repair la...

*gives me a believable look and checks the front of my car possibly for an intercooler...

Kasi IC dan lesen...

*so i pass him the stuff...

Douglas Robin Tan Hiok Thien....nama panjang eh...u cina ka?

Yes sir...

Kristian a?

Yes sir..

Full gospel is it?

No sir..im catholic....

Oooo..Catholic... hmm...okok...

*Passes my license back...

Brother... fix the exhaust ok?...god bless you

*he shakes my hand..smiles and lets me go

Well..considering their the cops, they normally dont look out too much for conversions and stuff... but nevertheless, i really really really need to lower charlottes profile...the noise she makes is like going to a gay bar and taking of ur clothes and expecting no one to notice... sorry for the vulgarity...
But YES...i need to get that exhast system done As Soon As Possible....


My car crew and i have organized a drive to gentings... tomorow night...should be fun...at the moment there shud be about 6 or 7 cars in the convoy.... and i havent been to gentings in a while so this should be fun...also i have never driven there before this...in charlotte...

My automotive life aside....

I managed to watch 2 recent movies the past week... The Holiday and the pursuit of happyness.... both of which were really good shows i have to say... Especially in the pursuit of happyness... very powerful show....do watch it..

Theres been this craze for creating tests on other people....useless i must say...but nevertheless... i do it and ive created 2 already.... do take them if you're too free.. better taking my test than reading a book.... hahahaha..... its sad though... my baby got 100% for both my tests... and me with my stone for a brain, only got 66% and 70% for hers... sad but true... hehehe....love u baby...

Dougie signing out....

Frustrations

I sent my dear car in for her long awaited air cond system fix up... and looking at the weather recently, its an essential part of owning a car in malaysia.... Horsepower aside, comfort is a major factor as well...

So yea..i sent her in on saturday.... and predictably i couldnt get her back on that day itself... theres some major reworking mind you....
On sundays the accesory shop doesnt work... and so i was informed that she'll be done by monday afternoon...of which i requested for a half day at work hoping to pick up charlotte by 1pm...
Heck, today is monday.... and i woke up this morning, greeted by the old and heavily influenced chinese - english accent of Mr.Tan, the owner of the accesory shop , informing me that my car wouldnt be ready by the afternoon and instead i had to pick it up after work....

So what a waste of half a days pay... Met my baby, kev and shane for lunch in a borrowed Daihasu Mira 660 a.k.a kancil which is owned by my aunty... Drove the little thing to work at 70kmh on the NPE and drove back eagerly hoping that i'd be able to pick charlotte up....

Unfortunately, my hopes came crumbling down when i called Mr.Tan at about half past seven.... Unfortunatly theres some welding work left to be done and only tomorrow will i be able to pick her up.... sigh...one mroe day of driving in the mira.... which i am extremely thankful for eventhough its one of the slowest cars ive driven... Heck, it brought me to work and back....with air conditioning as well...so why the heck am i complaining...

SO yea.... Hopefully ill be able to have her back by tomorrow night....


Frustations aside....
My trip to perhentian seems to be getting somewhere, we got essential info for our trip and i think we'll be abel to close all reservations by the weekend...although we'll need a credit card to do soem of the bookings.... so yea..anybody generous enough to lend a credit card...do let me know....
But of course ill pay you back...hahaha.... and sorry, no interest.... just asking a favour....

Oh yea..before i forget which i probably will.... Wynton's bday is coming up...so i think it'd be nice to wish him now....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FATSO DESTRUCTO...


Btw...heres a video fo a murcielago doing a speed run...
Bear in mind that the Jun Skyline does 0-100 in 2.8 seconds.... so this is something...but slightly nothing....



Dougie signing out..

Hamster Dyno Test...

I just thought this was so darn funny...hahahah

Of late..

I honestly cant remember when the last time i blogged was.... although i do know its not too long ago, but it seems kinda long.... Just been too caught up with life to even find time to write about it.... ironic.... and for some reason, i notice my chatbox has been deleted.... and it says that its nonexistent???? shaitz....

AAAnnnyywayy...

Been having to work late since yesterday, company was facing some major backlogged work that we had to clear up before the end of the week, hopefully i dont have to stay at work for 12 hours after this.... Takes its toll on the brain....hahaha.... makes me wonder how workaholics do what they do....

My baby has been having some trouble with the life of our hamsters. One of which we just bought to keep the other company, but turns out that bummie doesnt want any company.... by the way, the other hamsters name is tum tum..... and not only are the hamsters giving trouble, my baby's mother is giving trouble about the hamsters.... this is a really good example of the saying "i never saw this coming".... for my case, its applied to me buying bummie for valentines day.... hahaha.... but the smile on my baby's face when she plays with the little fellas make up for it all.... eventhough it cost me one session of futsal...hahaha.....

Speaking of which....i've really regained that passion for football that i lost for a while.... Sunday nights are like, a major event of my weekly routine..... and its good coz its the only form of exercise i get anyway....






Couple of days ago i had a battle of the bands (as u can see in the picture above)
Played alright although i had some trouble with the drumset that was provided, just hoping that we at least get through to the finals.... We played in Universiti Malaya and it seems like a pretty big event with big sponsors so at least i know its worth a shot...
Also with regards to the band, i managed to get some prospective gigs with rebecca...who seems interested in getting my band to play at their mass comm events.... good experience nonetheless..... but thats in april, so i'll just have to wait and see if it matrializes....

Oh yea... my baby and i have finally arranged a date for our trip to pulau perhentian... and after some declined efforts to invite the rest to join us, it seems like its just gonna be my baby and i... which is of course a good thing because we've never been on a trip together before.... really looking forward to it... how i miss that clear, calm ocean water.... gona set aside about 500 odd bucks for the whole trip, pretty worthwhile considering it includes food and lodging and boat fares....

On to the more inferior things in life.... my car...hahaha....
FINALLY...im gonna get the air cond fixed up properly this weekend....gonna cost a bomb but HOPEFULLY it will prove to be money well spent.... and i got new rims as well YAHOO!.... for abour RM300 bucks, a set of 14" OZ rims..... now aint that a good buy... i didnt realize they were OZ until i saw the engraving a couple of days after i fitted them..... good stuff.....

Speaking fo good stuff.. United 1 - 0 Liverpool .... as much as Liverpudlians would like to say it was luck, i have to comment that it all came down to the goalkeeper... who are part of the team and their contribution cannot and should not be seen as luck..... Van der Sar denied crouch superbly, whereas Reina didnt do his job too well when he spilled a ronaldo free kick only for O'Shea to blast it in the roof of the net.... GOOD STUFF...

Shanes birthday is coming up in a while and the guys and i are providing a little bit of entertainment for the night.... things arent looking too bright at the moment coz we basically have done NOTHING in terms of preparation together.... individually maybe, hopefully we can pull this off.... never performed in front of my friends before, haha.... and unfortunately ill be on guitars and not drums... ah well..... Oh yea..by the way, i thought of a new name for the band..instead of the very mundane and awkwardly sounding MIXED BREED, i thought the name SHANES BEST FRIENDS has a nicer and more modern ring to it...hahaha..

So yea, nothing phylosophical about this post, its merely a way of curing the itch for writing which i have come to realize i enjoy doing very much...

SO much for this post..

Dougie signing out....