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Most designers I have met have a soft spot in their hearts for the handicapped. As a motorcyclist, I have always been aware of the chances we take and the consequences...
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But it was a powered ultra-light crash in 1980 that got me thinking seriously about how I was going to get around.
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There I was with a broken right ankle and a broken left femur. It ruined my whole day. But it got me thinking about new forms of transportation. |
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A few sketches and then I scrounged aluminum tubing from my airplane |
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From quick sketches, I go to cardboard models and fuill size mockups.
From the beginning, I did not think of this design project as a wheelchair.
I saw it as a Human Powered Vehicle and more akin to the machines I saw at HPV races.
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Jim Knaub was a motorcyclist and actor when a car hit him from behind. He is one of those incredible people who continue on.
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2001 reunion with Jim Knaub - center. That's Wayne Rainey on the right. Isn't it amazing how the movers and shakers of the world seem to know each other.
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| 1981: Jim Knaub checking out the possibilities of a Human Powered Vehicle at Ontario Raceway |
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I remember thinking:
"Wheelchairs are for sick people. Human Powered Vehicles are for people who want to get on with life."
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I would design vehicles that made you noticed for the right reasons.
I would design equipment that made you as equal as possible with other folks.
I would call it:
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This page upgraded May 25, 06
Much more coming
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