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Friday, October 20, 2017

Top ten dangerous airports in the world

  7:52 AM    

Top 10 Most Dangerous Airports in the World


Top 10 Most Dangerous Airports in the World
In terms of traveling long distances, flying on an airplane is the fastest and easiest way to get to your destination. The only problem is that flat stretches of runway aren't always available in certain places. This means that pilots have to be particularly skilled to land on a runway that juts out from a mountain or one that appears in a narrow valley. Here are 10 of the most dangerous airports in the world to land at.

10. Lukla Airport in Nepal

lukla airport
[Image Source: Wikimedia]
The Lukla Airport in Nepal serves as the main airport for those visiting Mt. Everest. Part of what makes this airport so difficult to land in is how it is nestled in between mountains and the incredibly short length of runway. There are no lights and little electric power, so landing in anything other than perfect conditions becomes even riskier. There are also no air traffic controllers on site, so pilots are on their own to touch down in sometimes large aircraft.

9. Courchevel International Airport in France

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF2uS9WdxrY
Video of a landing at the Courchevel airport went viral last year as it has the shortest runway of any airport at 525 meters. Not only this but the paved runway has a downward gradient of 18.5% which makes taking off even more difficult. To add on top of the already difficult landing, the runway is built right into the Alps where pilots have to fly through a narrow valley even to prepare for descent. If aircraft do not gain enough speed by the end of the runway, they simply fly off the edge of a cliff, hoping for the best.

8. Toncontin Airport, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_z5HtME9n8
As you may be noticing, airports in mountains become very hard to land at due to the variant terrain and often short approaches. Toncontin Airport is no different. In order for planes to prepare for descent, they must make a quick 45-degree bank turn to reach the runway in a valley. After this bank, planes must rapidly drop in altitude, being careful not to scrape the terrain directly underneath.

7. Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten

princess juliana airport
[Image Source: Wikimedia]
Princess Juliana Airport is perhaps the most famous on the list, most notable for the public beach situated just before the runway. This placement often results in large and loud gusts of wind and sand to those enjoying the crystal blue water. For the pilots, hitting visitors is the least of their worries. The runway is only 2,179 meters long, which is very short considering the large aircraft that land here require more than 2,500 meters to ensure a safe landing. Princess Juliana was initially built for smaller planes, but the booming tourist industry has brought A340s and 747s into the regular traffic rotation.

6. Paro Airport in Bhutan, Himalayan Mountains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXWTqufiu50
Continuously ranked as one of the most dangerous airports in the world, only 8 pilots are qualified to land on this airstrip. The runway is surrounded by 5,500-meter peaks with a runway only 1981 meters long. Due to the fast descent that large planes need to make to approach the strip, many rank it as the most dangerous airport in the world.

5. Gibraltar International

gibralter airport
[Image Source: Wikimedia]
While this runway isn't particularly hard to land at, an interesting design feature makes it incredibly dangerous. The main street in the area, Winston Churchill Avenue, intersects the runway and has to be closed when a plane needs to land. There is a stoplight on the road telling cars to stop, but there have been a number of close calls in the airport's history.

4. McMurdo Air Station, Antarctica

air base antartica[Image Source: Wikimedia]
Not many people travel to Antartica, which means that the airport infrastructure there is significantly lacking. This runway isn't particularly short, but it is made of slick ice which can cause planes to run askew if the landing isn't perfect. Temperatures here are below freezing on average the entire year. In 1970 there as a bad crash of a C-121 that still sits off to the side buried in snow. Many months out of the year it is dark continuously, and due to the lack of lights, pilots are trained to land using night vision goggles.

3. Madeira Airport

madiera airport
[Image Source: Wikimedia]
Madeira Airport is one of the few in the world where engineers build a runway platform in order to expand. The landing strip sits between steep cliffs and the shores of the ocean. When an expansion project was planned, designers saw that the only option was to build a series of platforms on an artificial island extending from the current runway. Over 180 columns hold the runway up which have to withstand serious shock loading during landings.

2. MCAS Futenma, Okinawa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adz3jyzQlgg
This airport is situated in a US Marine Corps Air Station in Okinawa, Japan. The Navy and the Marine Corps rank it as the most dangerous airport in the world where F/A-18 Hornets and V-22 Osprey continuously land. The area is strategically important to the US military, which is part of the reason it maintains operation. Part of the reason this airport is so dangerous is because high-density housing sits in an area that should be cleared for emergency situations.

1. Narsarsuaq Airport, Greenland

air base greenland
[Image Source: Wikimedia]
Similar to Antartica, the airports in cold Greenland are constantly covered in ice. At only 1,800 meters and canvassed in slick ice, this runway is the most difficult in the world. The weather is constantly stormy creating intense turbulence and low visibility on approach. Shear winds affect planes which, coupled with the icy runway, can direct them off course. The nearby active volcano also commonly erupts sending ash into the clouds which can stall and destroy engines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGc3CKxDHk

SEE ALSO: Madeira Airport: An Outstanding Structure

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Swayambhunath

  7:46 AM    


This article is about the architecture. For the Sanscrit word, see Swayambhu.
Swayambhunath
Swoyambhu Nath Kathmandu.jpg
Basic information
Location Swayambhu, Kathmandu
Affiliation Buddhism
Country Nepal
Part of a series on
Buddhism
Dharma Wheel.svg
Part of a series on
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajra
Swayambhunath (Devanagari: स्वयम्भू स्तूप; Newari: स्वयंभू; sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie: Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Singgu, meaning 'self-sprung'.[1] For the Buddhist Newars, in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice Swayambhunath occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha.
The complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back to the Licchavi period. A Tibetan monastery, museum and library are more recent additions. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, the number one (in Devanagari script) is painted in the fashion of a nose. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels. The site has two access points: a long stairway with 365 steps, leading directly to the main platform of the temple, which is from the top of the hill to the east; and a car road around the hill from the south leading to the south-west entrance. The first sight on reaching the top of the stairway is the Vajra. Tsultrim Allione describes the experience:
We were breathless and sweating as we stumbled up the last steep steps and practically fell upon the biggest vajra (thunderbolt scepter) that I have ever seen. Behind this Vajra was the vast, round, white dome of the stupa, like a full solid skirt, at the top of which were two giant Buddha eyes wisely looking out over the peaceful valley which was just beginning to come alive.[2]
Much of Swayambhunath's iconography comes from the Vajrayana tradition of Newar Buddhism. However, the complex is also an important site for Buddhists of many schools, and is also revered by Hindus.

Contents

Mythology

According to Swayambhu Purana, the entire valley was once filled with an enormous lake, out of which grew a lotus. The valley came to be known as Swayambhu, meaning "Self-Created." The name comes from an eternal self-existent flame (svyaṃbhu) over which a sūpa was later built.[3]
Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. They are holy because Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning was raising the hill which the stupa stands on. He was supposed to leave his hair short but he made it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys.
Manjusri had a vision of the Lotus at Swayambhu and traveled there to worship it. Seeing that the valley can be a good settlement and to make the site more accessible to human pilgrims, he cut a gorge at Chovar. The water drained out of the lake, leaving the valley in which Kathmandu now lies. The Lotus was transformed into a hill and the flower became the stupa.

History

Swayambhunath is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal. According to the Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī , it was founded by the great-grandfather of King Mānadeva (464-505 CE), King Vṛsadeva, about the beginning of the 5th century CE. This seems to be confirmed by a damaged stone inscription found at the site, which indicates that King Mānadeva ordered work done in 640 CE.[3]
However, Emperor Ashoka is said to have visited the site in the third century BCE and built a temple on the hill which was later destroyed.
Although the site is considered Buddhist, the place is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. Numerous Hindu monarch followers are known to have paid their homage to the temple, including Pratap Malla, the powerful king of Kathmandu, who is responsible for the construction of the eastern stairway in the 17th century.[4]
The stupa was completely renovated in May 2010, its first major renovation since 1921[5][6] and its 15th in the nearly 1,500 years since it was built. The dome was re-gilded using 20 kg of gold. The renovation was funded by the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center of California, and began in June 2008.[7]
Pratapur Temple in the Swayambhu Monument Zone of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, Nepal suffered damage from a lightning strike at around 5 a.m. on 14 February 2011, during a sudden thunderstorm.
The temple complex suffered damage in the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.[8]

Architecture

The stupa consists of a dome at the base, above which is a cubical structure painted with eyes of Buddha looking in all four directions. There are pentagonal Toran present above each of the four sides with statues engraved in them. Behind and above the Torana there are thirteen tiers. Above all the tiers there is a small space above which the Gajur is present. The stupa has many artifacts inside it.

Symbolism

The dome at the base represents the entire world. When a person awakes (represented by eyes of wisdom and compassion) from the bonds of the world, the person reaches the state of enlightenment. The thirteen pinnacles on the top symbolize that sentient beings have to go through the thirteen stages of spiritual realizations to reach enlightenment or Buddhahood.
There is a large pair of eyes on each of the four sides of the main stupa which represent Wisdom and Compassion. Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye. It is said that when Buddha preaches, cosmic rays emanate from the third eye which acts as messages to heavenly beings so that those interested can come down to earth to listen to the Buddha. The hellish beings and beings below the human realm cannot come to earth to listen to the Buddha's teaching, however, the cosmic rays relieve their suffering when Buddha preaches. Between the two eyes (also called Wisdom Eyes), a curly symbol, symbolizing the nose, is depicted which looks like a question mark, which is a Nepali sign of number figure one. This sign represents the unity of all things existing in the world as well as the only path to enlightenment through the teachings of Buddha.[9]
There are carvings of the Panch Buddhas (five Buddhas) on each of the four sides of the stupa. There are also statues of the Buddhas at the base of the stupas. Panch Buddhas are Buddha in a metaphorical sense in Tantrayana. They are Vairochana (occupies the center and is the master of the temple), Akshobhya (faces the east and represents the cosmic element of consciousness), Ratna Sambhava (faces the south and represents the cosmic element of sensation), Amitabha (He represents cosmic element of Sanjna (name) and always faces the West) and Amoghsiddhi (He represents the cosmic element of confirmation and faces the north).
Each morning before dawn hundreds of Buddhist (Vajrayana) and Hindu pilgrims ascend the 365 steps from the eastern side that lead up the hill, passing the gilded Vajra (Tibetan: Dorje) and two lions guarding the entrance, and begin a series of clockwise circumambulations of the stupa.

Swayambhu Purana

Main article: Swayambhu Purana
Swayambhu Purana (Devnagari: स्वयम्भू पूराण) is a Buddhist scripture about the origin and development of Kathmandu valley. Swayambhu Purana gives detail of all the Buddhas who came to Kathmandu. It also provides information about the first and the second Buddhas in Buddhism.
These eyes are known as Lord Buddha's eyes

Gallery

  • Stairs to Swayambhunath stupa
  • Buddha's eyes of Swayambhunath stupa
  • An evening view of Swayambhunath stupa
  • Close-up of Swayambhunath stupa
  • Ajima Temple
  • Shikhar style temple erected by king Pratap Malla
  • Girls spinning the prayer wheels
  • View on Kathmandu from the Swaymbhu hill
  • Swayambhunath stupa
  • Buddhist gompa, Swayambhunath
  • The hillock of Swayambhu
  • Statue of Vairochana Buddha at Swayambhunath
  • Swayambhunath at night
  • Sunset view from Swayambhu height
  • Stupa at Swayambhunath
  • A monk at Swayambhunath
  • Swayambhunath
  • Shop
  • Monkeys at Swayambhunath stupa
  • A view of Cafe Restaurant at Swayambhu
  • A view of Swayambhunath stupa

See also

Footnotes


  • Allione, Tsultrim (1986). Women of Wisdom. London: Arkana. xxxiii. ISBN 1-85063-044-5.

  • Allione, Tsultrim (1986). Women of Wisdom. London: Arkana. xiv. ISBN 1-85063-044-5.

  • Shaha, Rishikesh. Ancient and Medieval Nepal. (1992), p. 122. Manohar Publications, New Delhi. ISBN 81-85425-69-8.

  • Lonely Planet Nepal (2005). Swayambhu.

  • Gutschow, Niels (1997). The Nepalese Caitya: 1500 Years of Buddhist Votive Architecture in the Kathmandu Valley. Edition Axel Menges. p. 92. ISBN 9783930698752. Retrieved 8 April 2014.

  • Shakya, Hem Raj. (2002) Sri Svayambhu Mahacaitya. Kathmandu: Svayambhu Vikash Mandala. ISBN 99933-864-0-5

  • Utpal Parashar (June 14, 2010). "Oldest Buddhist monument gets a makeover in Nepal". Hindustan Times.

  • "Nepal earthquake damages Swayambhunath temple complex". BBCNews. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.

    1. Omnipotent Eyes of Buddha

    Additional references

    • Swoyambu Historical Pictorial. Edited by Richard Josephon. (1985). Satya Ho. Kathmandu.
    • Psycho-cosmic Symbolism of the Buddhist Stūpa. Lama Anagarika Govinda. (1976) Dharma Books. Berkeley, California. ISBN 0-913546-35-6; ISBN 0-913546-36-4 (pbk).

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    Sunday, October 15, 2017

    Royal enfield ( the most powered offroading bike)

      4:36 AM    

    1. Royal Enfield


      This article is about the defunct British motorcycle and bicycle manufacturer. For the Indian motorcycle manufacturer, see Royal Enfield (India).
      The Enfield Cycle Company Limited
      Public Listed Company
      Industry Motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers, cars
      Fate 1955: Enfield India Ltd.
      1993: Eicher Motors
      Successor Royal Enfield (India)
      Founded 1901
      Founder Albert Eadie and Robert Walker Smith
      Defunct End Date 1971
      Headquarters Chennai, India, Indian
      Key people
      • Albert Eadie
      • Robert Walker Smith
      • Frank Walker Smith
      Products Royal Enfield Clipper, Crusader, Bullet, Interceptor, WD/RE, Super Meteor
      Website Royal Enfield
      Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire[1] sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which they had manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name Enfield without Royal.
      The first Royal Enfield motorcycle was built in 1901. The Enfield Cycle Company is responsible for the design and original production of the Royal Enfield Bullet, the longest-lived motorcycle design in history.
      Enfield's remaining motorcycle business became part of Norton Villiers in 1967 and that business closed in 1978. A former subsidiary continues to manufacture Royal Enfield motorcycles in India.
      500

      Contents

      Eadie

      George Townsend set up a business in 1851 in Redditch making sewing needles. In 1882 his son, also named George, started making components for cycle manufacturers including saddles and forks. By 1886 complete bicycles were being sold under the names Townsend and Ecossais. This business suffered a financial collapse in 1891. [2] [3] Albert Eadie, sales manager of Birmingham’s Perry & Co Ltd, pen makers who had begun to supply components for cycles and Robert Walker Smith an engineer from D.Rudge & Co[4] were chosen by Townsend's bankers to run the business and in 1892 a new company was incorporated named Eadie Manufacturing Company Limited based in Snow Hill, Birmingham.[5][6] In turn in 1907 after serious losses in their newly floated Enfield Autocar business Eadie Manufacturing and its pedal cycle component business was absorbed by BSA.[7] Years later the BSA chairman was to tell shareholders the acquisition had "done wonders for the cycle department".[8] Eadie still retained a separate identity when Raleigh bought BSA's cycle interests in 1957.[9]

      Enfield

      Eadie had won contracts to supply precision parts for fire arms to the government's long-established Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, Middlesex, now the London Borough of Enfield with its offshoot in Sparkbrook and had assumed the brand name Royal Enfield.[citation needed] In 1896 they also incorporated a new subsidiary company, The New Enfield Cycle Company making complete cycles as well parts for other assemblers took all the cycle assembly work from Eadie.
      Enfield diversified into motor cycles, 1901 and motor cars, 1902. The motor department was put into a separate subsidiary, Enfield Autocar Company Limited incorporated in 1906 and established in new works at Hunt End, Redditch.[10] However Enfield Autocar after just 19 months reported a substantial loss and, aside from Eadie himself, shareholders were unwilling to provide more capital so in early 1907 Eadie sold his control of Eadie Manufacturing to BSA. Albert Eadie and Robert Walker Smith had been appointed directors of BSA before the proposed sale ha been put to shareholders. The new combined BSA and Eadie business manufactured "military and sporting rifles, (pedal) cycle and cycle components, motor-cars etc."[11] "BSA and Eadie cycle specialities".[12] But there were still minority Eadie shareholders alongside BSA in 1957.
      The business of Enfield Autocar, that is to say the plant and stock, was sold to Birmingham's Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering.[13] Enfield Cycle Company took over the Hunt End premises.
      In 1955, Enfield Cycle Company partnered with Madras Motors in India in forming Enfield of India, based in Chennai, and started assembling the 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle in Madras. The first machines were assembled from components imported from England. Starting in 1957, Enfield of India acquired the machines necessary to build components in India, and by 1962 all components were made in India.
      Frank Walker Smith (1888-1962), eldest son of Robert Walker Smith, joined Enfield Cycle Company in 1909. Appointed joint (with his father) managing director in 1914 he took over the full responsibility when his father died in 1933.[14] After his death Enfield was bought by investors E & H P Smith who sold Enfield for £82,500 to Norton Villiers in 1967.[15] While Norton Villiers acquired 33 per cent of Enfield India the assets of Enfield's diesel engine division and pedal cycle and spares divisions were not picked up.[16]
      Royal Enfield produced bicycles at its Redditch factory until it closed in early 1967. The company's last new bicycle was the 'Revelation' small wheeler, released in 1965.[17][better source needed] Production of motorcycles ceased in 1970 and the original Redditch, Worcestershire-based company was dissolved in 1971.[18]
      Enfield of India continued producing the 'Bullet', and began branding its motorcycles 'Royal Enfield' in 1999. A lawsuit over the use of 'Royal', brought by trademark owner David Holder, was judged in favour of Enfield of India, who now produce motorcycles under the Royal Enfield name.[19]

      Products

      Royal Enfield Quadricycle
      By 1899, Royal Enfield were producing a quadricycle – a bicycle modified by adding a wrap-around four-wheeled frame, retaining a rear rider-saddle with handlebars – having a front-mounted passenger seat, driven by a rear-mounted De Dion engine.[20]
      After experimenting with a heavy bicycle frame fitted with a Minerva engine clamped to the front downtube, Enfield built their first motorcycle in 1901 with a 239 cc engine.
      1907 Enfield 15
      A light car was introduced in 1903 powered by either a French Ader V-twin or De Dion single cylinder engine. In 1906 car production was transferred to a new company, the Enfield Autocar Co Ltd with premises in Hunt End, Redditch. The independent company only lasted until 1908 when it was purchased by Alldays & Onions.[6]
      In 1907, Enfield merged with the Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Co. of Birmingham, and began manufacturing the Enfield-Allday automobile.
      By 1910, Royal Enfield was using 344 cc Swiss Motosacoche V-Twin engines, or large-displacement JAP and Vickers-Wolseley engines.[21]
      1913 Enfield 425cc
      In 1912, the Royal Enfield Model 180 sidecar combination was introduced with a 770 cc V-twin JAP engine which was raced successfully in the Isle of Man TT and at Brooklands.

      First World War (1911–1921)

      In 1914 Enfield supplied large numbers of motorcycles to the British War Department and also won a motorcycle contract for the Imperial Russian Government. Enfield used its own 225 cc two-stroke single and 425 cc V-twin engines.[22] They also produced an 8 hp motorcycle sidecar model fitted with a Vickers machine gun.

      Inter-war years (1921–1939)

      1923 Royal Enfield 225cc
      In 1921, Enfield developed a new 976 cc twin, and in 1924 launched the first Enfield four-stroke 350 cc single using a Prestwich Industries engine. In 1928, Royal Enfield began using the bulbous 'saddle' tanks and centre-spring girder front forks, one of the first companies to do so. Even though it was trading at a loss in the depression years of the 1930s, the company was able to rely on reserves to keep going. In 1931, Albert Eddie, one of the founders of the company, died and his partner R.W. Smith died soon afterwards in 1933.

      Second World War (1939–1945)

      Royal Enfield 250 cc, type 11F
      During World War II, The Enfield Cycle Company was called upon by the British authorities to develop and manufacture military motorcycles. The models produced for the military were the WD/C 350 cc sidevalve, WD/CO 350 cc OHV, WD/D 250 cc SV, WD/G 350 cc OHV and WD/L 570 cc SV. One of the most well-known Enfields was the [ designed to be dropped by parachute with airborne troops.
      In order to establish a facility not vulnerable to the wartime bombing of the Midlands, an underground factory was set up, starting in 1942, in a disused "Bath Stone" quarry at Westwood, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. Many staff were transferred from Redditch and an estate of "prefabs" was built in Westwood to house them.
      As well as motorcycle manufacture, it built other equipment for the war effort such as mechanical "predictors" for anti-aircraft gunnery: the manufacture of such high precision equipment was helped by the constant temperature underground. After the war the factory continued, concentrating on engine manufacture and high precision machining. After production of Royal Enfield motorcycles ceased, the precision engineering activities continued until the final demise of the company.

      Postwar Model G and Model J and ex-military C and CO (1946–1954)

      Postwar, Royal Enfield resumed production of the single cylinder ohv 350cc model G and 500cc Model J, with rigid rear frame and telescopic front forks. These were ride-to-work basic models, in a world hungry for transport. A large number of factory reconditioned ex-military sv Model C and ohv Model CO singles were also offered for sale, as they were sold off as surplus by various military services.[23]
      Royal Enfield in Madrid, Spain
      In 1948, a groundbreaking development in the form of rear suspension springing was developed, initially for competition model "trials" models (modern enduro type machines), but this was soon offered on the roadgoing Model Bullet 350cc, a single cylinder OHV. This was a very popular seller, offering a comfortable ride. A 500cc version appeared shortly after. A mid 1950s version of the Bullet manufacturing rights and jigs, dies and tools was sold to India for manufacture there, and where developed versions continue to this day.[23]

      500 Twins, Meteors, Super Meteors and Constellations 1949-1963

      In 1949, Royal Enfields version of the now popular selling parallel twins appeared. This 500cc version was the forerunner of a range of Royal Enfield Meteors, 700cc Super Meteors and 700cc Constellations. Offering good performance at modest cost, these sold widely, if somewhat quietly in reputation. The 700cc Royal Enfield Constellation Twin has been described as the first Superbike. [24]

      250 cc models

      Royal Enfield Crusader
      The 250cc class was important in the UK as it was the largest engine which a 'learner' could ride without passing a test. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Royal Enfield produced a number of 250 cc machines, including a racer, the 'GP'[25] and a Scrambler, the 'Moto-X', which used a modified Crusader frame, leading link forks and a Villiers Starmaker engine.[26][27] The Clipper was a base-model tourer with the biggest-seller being the Crusader, a 248 cc pushrod OHV single producing 18 bhp (13 kW).
      RE GT with flyscreen
      RE GT with Avon Speedflow nosecone fairing
      In 1965, a 21 bhp (16 kW) variant called the Continental GT, with red GRP tank, five-speed gearbox (which was also an option on the Crusader), clip-on handlebars, rearset footrests, swept pipe and hump-backed seat was launched. It sold well with its race-styling including a fly-screen resembling a race number plate which doubled as a front number plate mount.[28]
      RE Turbo Twin
      The Avon 'Speedflow' full sports fairing was available as an extra in complementary factory colours of red and white.[29]
      Other variants were the Olympic[26] and 250 Super 5, notable for use of leading-link front suspension (all the other 250 road models had conventional telescopic forks) and the 250 'Turbo Twin', fitted with the Villiers 247 cc twin cylinder two-stroke engine.
      The Royal Enfield GP production-volume racer was first raced in the Manx Grand Prix in September, 1964. Developed in conjunction with Royal Enfield Racing Manager Geoff Duke[25] the first public appearance was at Earls Court Show in November, 1964. Using a duplex-tube frame, leading link forks and one-piece tank and seat unit, the 250cc two-stroke single engine was similar to other small capacity race machines offered from rivals Greeves, Cotton, DMW and particularly Villiers,[30][31] which provided the engines for these marques and many other manufacturers and bike-builders including the 'Starmaker' competition engine used for the Scorpion racer and Sprite scrambler.[26]

      Royal Enfield Interceptor

      Royal Enfield Interceptor motorcycle
      Main article: Royal Enfield Interceptor
      During the onslaught of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers in the late sixties and early seventies, the English factories made a final attempt with the 692cc Interceptor[32] in 1960[33] –1961[34] followed in 1962–1968 [35] by the 736cc Series I and Series II Interceptors. Made largely for the US market, it sported lots of chrome and strong performance, completing the quarter mile in less than 13 seconds at speeds well above 175 km/h (105 mph).[36] It became very popular in the US, but the classic mistake of not being able to supply this demand added to the demise of this last English-made Royal Enfield.[37]
      The Redditch factory ceased production in 1967 and the Bradford-on-Avon factory closed in 1970, which meant the end of the British Royal Enfield. After the factory closed a little over two hundred Series II Interceptor engines were stranded at the dock in 1970. These engines had been on their way to Floyd Clymer in the US; but Clymer had just died and his export agents, Mitchell's of Birmingham, were left to dispose of the engines. They approached the Rickman brothers for a frame. The main problem of the Rickman brothers had always been engine supplies, so a limited run of Rickman Interceptors were promptly built.[38]
      As far as the motorcycle brand goes, though, it would appear that Royal Enfield is the only motorcycle brand to span three centuries, and still going, with continuous production. A few of the original Redditch factory buildings remain (2009) and are part of the Enfield Industrial Estate.

      Enfield Indians

      From 1955 to 1959, Royal Enfields were painted red, and marketed in the USA as Indian Motorcycles by the Brockhouse Corporation, who had control of the Indian Sales Corporation (and therefore Indian Motorcycles) and had stopped manufacturing all American Indians in the Springfield factory in 1953. But Americans were not impressed by the badge engineering and the marketing agreement ended in 1960, and from 1961, Royal Enfields were available in the US under their own name. The largest Enfield 'Indian' was a 700 cc twin named the Chief, like its American predecessors.[39]

      Enfield India (since 1949)

      Main article: Royal Enfield (India)
      Enfield India 350cc- Madras
      Royal Enfield motorcycles had been sold in India since 1949. In 1955, the Indian government looked for a suitable motorcycle for its police and army, for use patrolling the country's border. The Bullet was chosen as the most suitable bike for the job. The Indian government ordered 800 350-cc model Bullets, an enormous order for the time.[40] In 1955, the Redditch company joined Madras Motors in India in forming "Enfield India" to assemble, under licence, the 350 cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle in Madras (now called Chennai). Under Indian law, Madras Motors owned the majority (over 50%) of shares in the company. In 1957 tooling equipment was sold to Enfield India so that they could manufacture components.
      Enfield of India continued producing the 'Bullet' long after the UK factory's bankruptcy, and changed its branding to 'Royal Enfield' in 1999. The 'Royal Enfield' name and rights had been purchased by Matt Holder of Aerco Jigs and Tools, at the bankruptcy sale in 1967.[41] The business passed on to his son, David Holder, of the Velocette Motorcycle Company of Birmingham, UK. The Holder family has produced spares for Royal Enfield motorcycles continuously from 1967 through to the present, but did not trade under the Royal Enfield name.[42] While David Holder objected to the use of 'Royal Enfield' by Enfield of India, a UK court ruled in favour of the Indian company, who have now assumed the trademark, and produce motorcycles as Royal Enfield.[19]
      Royal Enfield India manufactures and sells in India, and also exports to Europe as well as the Americas, South Africa and Australia. They recently entered the Indonesian market.[43] Recently Royal Enfield has undergone a major retooling particularly in the engine department going from carburated cast-iron engines to twin spark unit construction engines on all its models, with Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) available on their flagship 500 cc model. The major redesign has sparked such a demand for the bikes that Royal Enfield have started double shifts at their plants.
      In August 2015, Royal Enfield Motors announced it is establishing its North American headquarters and a dealership in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the intention to offer three bikes, the Bullet 500, Classic 500 and Continental GT 535 Cafe Racer as they feel this engine size represents an underserved market. The dealership will be Royal Enfield's first company-owned store in the U.S., according to Rod Copes, president of Royal Enfield North America. The company wants to establish about 100 dealerships in American cities starting with Milwaukee.
      Royal Enfield Classic 500 in Belgium
      "I live here, so I am biased. But in my mind, Milwaukee is kind of the center of motorcycling in the United States," said Copes, a former Harley-Davidson executive. "We view this as kind of our first flagship dealership," he added.[44]

      See also

      Notes

      References


    2. Royal Enfield. The Times, Wednesday, Oct 02, 1912; pg. 27; Issue 40019

    4. "2017 ROYAL ENFIELD HIMALAYAN – TAKING IT EASY".

    6. "Royal Enfield Background".

    8. W. F. Grew. ‘’The cycle industry, its origin, history and latest developments’’. Sir Isaac Pitman, London, 1921

    10. The Irish Times 17 July 1897: 11

    12. Worthington-Williams, Michael (September 1989). "The Enfield-Allday story". The Automobile. 7: 10–13.

    14. The Motor Industry. The Times, Friday, Sep 02, 1910; pg. 8; Issue 39367

    16. Birmingham Small Arms. The Times, Tuesday, Sep 30, 1913; pg. 16; Issue 40330

    18. Business Changes. The Times, Friday, Jul 12, 1957; pg. 16; Issue 53891

    20. Prospectus. The Times, Wednesday, Mar 07, 1906; pg. 15; Issue 37961

    22. Important Cycle Trade Amalgamation. The Times, Wednesday, Feb 13, 1907; pg. 12; Issue 38255

    24. B.S.A. display advertisement. The Times, Wednesday, Oct 02, 1912; pg. 26; Issue 40019

    26. Enfield Autocar Limited. The Manchester Guardian 18 Jan 1908: 11

    28. "Major F. W. Smith." The Times 27 Apr. 1962: 13.

    30. WCycle Company Sold. Daily Telegraph, 9 Mar. 1967, p. 2.

    32. The Guardian, 09 Mar 1967: 12.

    34. [1] Royal Enfield Revelation (retrieved 26 August 2013)[better source needed]

    36. Millers's Classic Motorcycles Price Guide 1995 Volume II, p.78. Judith and Martin Miller, general Editor Valerie Lewis.

    38. Trade mark decision, Patent Office, UK Government. Retrieved 12 March 2016

    40. [2] Grace's Industrial Guide 1900 advertisement Retrieved 2013-12-31

    42. "Royal Enfield". Retrieved 2009-04-04.

    44. "The History of the Marque". Retrieved 2009-04-04.

    46. "Royal Enfield By Miles the Best" book by Gordon May

    48. "Royal Enfield By Miles the Best", book by Gordon May

    50. Motor Cycle, 9 September 1965. p.371 SLIM and LOW by David Dixon. Track test at Oulton Park of RE GP with Racing Manager Geoff Duke. Accessed 2013-08-18

      52. Motor Cycle, 19 November 1964. 'Earls Court Show Guide'. p.847 "Geoff Duke demonstrates the riding position of the new Royal Enfield racer..." and p.860. [images]:caption:" Britain's newest racing two-fifties, the Scorpion and...Royal Enfield". [Royal Enfield stand] "The preliminary range announcement brought an interesting newcomer in the leading-link fork Olympic sportster....a highly potent super-sports (the Continental GT) and a very tough looking Starmaker scrambler....off came the dust sheets and there stood a two-fifty production racer with a Redditch-built power unit!".Accessed 2013-08-18

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