Capitol engineers build and test fuel
Dr. Miller (above) demonstrates the functioning of the gull-wing door
Sleek lines of TWV are evidenced below
By James E. Fitzroy
Reprinted with permission of
the Sunday Pennsylvanian
A head-on confrontation with
the one-eyed, angular contraption
is like staring down a benign ver
sion of Bruce, the mechanical star
of Jaws.
Not the least bit menacing,
though, is this senior project
design class research assignment.
Donald Miller, Assistant Professor
of Engineering, who initiated the
project, has appropriately dubbed
the results the "Three-Wheeled
Vehicle", or,TWV.
The lightweight, efficient com
muter vehicle is not quite a car,
yet it's not quite a motorcycle.
"It's a combination of the best
of both," said Miller.
The TWV is the product of two
years of labor by succeeding
senior project design classes at
Capitol Campus. A score of
students have contributed to the
almost-completed work, according
to Miller.
"This type of hands-on project
gives the students the opportunity
to apply theory to something
tangible," Miller said.
"They do their calculations,
put the theory to work in prac
tical terms and then work out the
bugs.
"The whole thing was made by
students and it's usually the first
time they've tried anything like it,
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Dr. Donald Miller, assistant professor of Engineering, explains the
fuel-efficient commuter car.
so we do run into problems," he
added.
The TWV is about the height
and length of a Volkswagon Rab
bit, according to Miller. It "is
more blunt in front than I would
have hoped," but wedge-shaped
and built low to the ground.
"These features, plus the three
wheel construction, give a more
aerodynamic, therefore more fuel
efficient, design," explained
Miller.
"Besides, a forth wheel would
only .add unnecessary weight."
Partially funded by the
Research Council here, he said
the TWV was "built for almost
nothing, except for the cost of the
steel and the fiberglass. We did
what we could with our
resources."
"The rear suspension we got
from a Datsun 510, the steering
gear is from a Volkswagon and
the front wheel and spindle
assembly is from a Honda, all
taken from junked cars. We
designed and built the frame to
combine these elements," Miller
beamed.
The chassis is made of struc
tural steel tubing with integral
front and rear bumpers and a
rigid rear roll bar, according to a
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