wtmitchell wrote:
<snip>
> We are all knowledgeable Engineers, mechanics
> or very technical people and it takes a lot to dispose of our comments in an
> offhand manner.
<snip>
Most of the time that's true, but since you recruit from the human race,
some of us have an amusing memory or two. Like the VARA tech guy who
told me, in all seriousness, that I should put something in between the
top of the radiator and the shroud to prevent it from rattling and
distracting me during a race. The shroud rattles only if hit it with
you hand, something I don't generally have the time or inclination to do
while underway.
Then there was the guy who sternly warned me of the urgent necessity (to
prevent electrical shorts) of installing a grommet around the battery
wire where it goes through the firewall... in a fiberglass car.
Last by not least is the guy who was showing a new tech guy the ropes.
He discovered that my fuel cell didn't conform with FIA specs, and his
charge inquired how could I have gotten through so many tech
inspections. The mentor allowed as to how I participated with other
clubs that had different rules, and some of the VARA tech people really
shouldn't be doing tech inspections. As a lover of irony, I found this
amusing since had the mentor paged back more carefully through the log
book, he would have found his own signature there on four previous
occasions. (He was the gromet guy, btw.)
But these are exceptional. I've always found VARA's tech to be
user-friendly and motivated by a desire to be helpful, even when some of
the recommendations don't exactly fit the particular case. And I've
tried to be cheerful about it all. I've never done the Annual Tech
because I do welcome a second set of eyes and hands. So, keep up the
good work.
Tom M.
Elva Courier #43 EP1
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