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Leisha Peterson and Kelly Londry
were partners in Pegasus Research
Company, a firm specializing in computer-aided engineering services for
the bicycle industry. They also consulted on CAD applications for
automobile and aircraft design. Together, they built
a number of human powered vehicles for competition in the IHPVA trials,
including the 4-rider "Fusion" machine which finished first in
its class in 1984. |
| The Pegasus four person/four
wheel HPV ran at the 1983 IHPVA championships. In 1984 a descendent called
Fusion was fielded at the IHPVA Indianapolis, Indiana championships. It ran well but
and finished first in the multi-rider class. It was 182 inches long, 45 inches high, 60
inches wide and weighed 150 lbs.
Here the designers, crew, and
engines pose for a photo in front of the Indy grandstands.
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The Fusion was a four seat,
three wheel recumbent and featured an
advanced space frame design. Its weight was minimized by the use of
finite element analysis throughout. Many people though this design
heralded a new era in highly efficient electric automobile design.
You can click on these pictures for
a higher resolution image.
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| Riders prepare for a
speed run in Fusion. Note the double tires on each front
wheel. |
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Riders are sealed into
the Fusion Streamliner |
| Judging by the jackets
they picked a cool day for the speed trials. Otherwise the riders
would cook while the seams are sealed. |
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The Fusion is launched,
while onlookers and camera crews stand by. |
| Fusion had a large open
area in the tail to allow interior pressure to escape. I don't see
any forward facing vents though, and the wheels look pretty well
sealed, so the bike may have gone faster with that area sealed
off. Also it was noted that Fusion had very limited turning
radius, so while it could run at Indy, running it in a velodrome
or road race was out of the question. |
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Dave Larrington raced in
the Pegasus in 1983 at the Indy IHPVA championships. He noted:
Looking like a futuristically-styled squashed VW Beetle and
ponderously bulky, I thought the Pegasus would be sluggish and
tank-like. To my surprise, once we got the thing rolling along it
went really well. Its size gave us the advantage through corners -
nobody was going to argue with a vehicle that big (sort of an HPV
equivalent of an articulated lorry). Acceleration wasn't brisk,
but with an un-laden weight of 350 pounds and 54 speeds what do you
expect! |
| Meanwhile, fast forward
to the year 2007. Steve Fambro and Accelerated Composites (Aptera
Motors) now has a diesel hybrid powered prototype of a 200MPG
car that looks mysteriously like the Pegasus. |
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