MachinePix Weekly #17

A weird airplane engine and the world's smallest excavator were popular this week ✈️👷‍♀️

Next week’s @machinepix interview will feature David Möllerstedt, a co-founder of one of my favorite companies, teenage engineering.

The most popular post last week was the hypnotic contra-rotating propellers of an Antonov An-70.

I’m always looking for interesting people to interview, have anyone in mind?

—Kane

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The Week in Review

This past week’s most popular post. Contra-rotating propellers have made previous appearances in @machinepix. I was pleasantly surprised to learn about a type of aircraft powerplant I hadn’t been aware of: the rare propfan.

MachinePix @MachinePix

Contra-rotating propellers on the propfans of an Antonov An-70 aircraft in slow motion.

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Clever.

MachinePix @MachinePix

A laddervator by The Safety Hoist Company.

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This post took me down a rabbit-hole of industrial fire suppression equipment. My favorite piece of firefighting equipment is the “Big Wind” firefighting tank by MB Drilling Company.

MachinePix @MachinePix

Drawing a rainbow with a Williams Fire and Hazard Control Ranger nozzle.

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I am still not entirely sure this isn’t an elaborate joke, since I can’t find a current data sheet on the PC01. It’s featured at The Museum of Construction Equipment run by Komatsu, so I’m going to accept that it’s real.

MachinePix @MachinePix

Komatsu PC-01 mini excavator.

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Postscript

I saw an honest-to-god tallship in the San Francisco Bay last weekend. Turns out it’s the Matthew Turner, a 132-foot Brigantine Schooner modeled after the Galilee. It was built by educational nonprofit Call of the Sea. Very cool.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to friends (or interesting enemies). I am always looking to connect with interesting people and learn about interesting machines—reach out!

—Kane