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driving with a jerk

On Wed, 10 Nov 1999, Hugh Haskell wrote:

During my years as a Naval Aviator, I spent some time flying
transport aircraft, and I recall that we spent some time practicing
stopping the aircraft so that the passengers would not realize we
were stopped (judging from my recent experiences on airliners, this
skill is a lost art).

Hey, that's how I normally drive! Once as a kid this happened to me while
riding with someone (the acceleration went to zero and car stopped without
me realizing it). Decades later I realized that this could be done
intentionally. I played with it so much it became habitual. I don't know
if my adult passengers usually notice, but I suspect that the kids might.

One part of the trick: take your foot off the brake just BEFORE the car
comes to a complete stop, so that the vehicle remains drifting very
slowly. On level ground the remaining acceleration naturally falls to
zero "jerklessly." However, often I'll find that I'm on a slight downhill
slope, and the drifting motion needs a touch of the brakes.


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William J. Beaty SCIENCE HOBBYIST website
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