Aerokarts

Some exciting things are happening in the world of Cyclekarts.

Kelly Wood, who many would know as the admin of the North America Cyclekarts group on Facebook, and the builder of many unique Cyclekarts, has come up with a great idea to help encompass Cyclekarts that fall outside of traditional design constraints. He has devised a class of Cyclekart based vehicles called 'Aerokarts'. Inspired by his own creation, which resembles a cross between a Cyclekart and an aeroplane, Kelly identified that there exists a need for a class that encompasses such designs and has put together a group and basic outline of what an aerokart is, or can be. Kelly is welcoming all not-quite-cyclekarts into the fold with a broad set of 'rules' that try to be inclusive of all that share a similar design aesthetic.





Kelly has a better description on the Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/aerokarts/permalink/24375675398793725/

Of course, we welcome all builds here, so if you have an Aerokart, or want to build one, you will find a newly created category for 'Aerokarts' in the build pages section.


If you are not a Facebook user, here's Kelly's post...

For now, the AeroKart Guidelines: (It will evolve)

The AeroKart... What is it?
The AeroKart is the spawn of the original CycleKarts. The Cyclekart was originally invented by Peter Stevenson in the 1990's. Along with his son, Michael Stevenson, they dropped the idea on the world in the early days of the internet.
Now, some 30+ years later the hobby itself has now become very similar to what they said it would.

This isn't a bad thing. It's simply evolution and a human condition doing what it does.

However with evolution... comes evolution.
What does one get when you mix CycleKart gear, possibly hints of your favorite Airplane, watch mad max, throw in a dash of vintage car crossed with Diesel Punk (and probably star wars speeders too) , sit at tea talking about your creation at burning man... and a mess of creativity... then tip your odd hat to your chat partner proudly displaying their creation as art you can drive? (I'm sure I'll have a better description one day)

It's a mess... unless you're an artist.
You get a new class of cyclekart. It's a wondrously artistic realm for the super creative folks and outright creative license to do whatever you want... within the simple rules of course. There must be a few of course.
It's called an AeroKart. It refers to a retro futuristic existence and style. It is vast in the artistic realm and draws on original thoughts from the early days of vintage cars except a different evolutionary path. That's when some idiot strapped an airplane motor to their vintage jalopy and deemed it an "Aero Special." It's that ingenuity that drives parts of this, thus... it's not super new. So, Aero means different, new and not just the "usual."

Combined with the public approval of Michael Stevenson, (one of the creators of the cyclekart idea itself) here it is.
The AeroKart steps a bit outside the norm and doesn't hover in any certain period of car. It exists in fantasy land. The reason to veer off the path is in the hopes of bringing back one thing that's now nearly forgotten in the cyclekart realm.
That being... the "Art" part of the Cyclekart.

I did say "nearly" however. Let's remember that. There's some wonderous builders in the cyclekarting community at times.
But... as of late, most new folks in the common cyclekart enthusiast sites these days miss that part entirely. Most, see one thing. A slammed down race car, often resembling a 1950's hot rod. They rarely read the history of this wonderful art. No, many splash 1950's crap all over it, then go and try to win every race and car show they attend.

The AeroKart is an artistic expression like many of the REALLY well done cyclekarts you'e seen... but mixed with other various queues (like Diesel Punk). Add to that, a sort of industrial/military/alternate retro futuristic tinge to them. (this includes steam punk) They might be pretty, they might be dirty and rusty, they might be all brass creations that drop your jaw to the floor. They're a unique thing. One should understand dieselpunk, the victorian era, steam punk & the retro futuristic ideas before doing this. This is a specialty niche of the cyclekart world. Do a little research ok? It's right next to steam punk and sky captain, the world of tomorrow. (that's a movie)

It is not for everyone.. nor will just anyone build one. This isn't elitist or snobbery. In fact, the same thing we just said, was part of the original cyclekart ethos... and some people still got pissed about it.

It's a simple fact. Not everyone is an artist. I should elaborate on that as to why because there is always someone out there, that will not like being told they can't be anything they want, and get a trophy for nothing. Example: Now, most have a phone with picture editing capabilities. Now, that makes everyone an artist just because they turn it black & white or add effects. We don't think so. Artistic comes from the mind & eye of the builder.... not the easy way out where, when everyone is "super," no one is.
Inspiration car is of course welcomed, but not the point as it is in Cyclekarting general circles. The inspiration should come from many sources and form in the mind. Be it a favorite car, a cyclekart, an airplane, blimp, train... a toy... some spiritual journey perhaps... maybe staring at your hot dog thinking... whatever it is. It's the fun part of it allowing all kinds of creativity.
General Guidelines:
Power. (none of which we'll check anyway and people cheat all the time)
Stock: (stock cyclekart power) Any 226CC or less, single cylinder, 4 cycle gas engine. The governer cannot be removed. Valve springs, cam, etc. must be stock. Jetting allowed, carb must be stock appearing. Must have stock flywheel, muffler and stock air filter with the stock airbox and gas tank. No shifting gear boxes. Must run on pump gas. Must use a typical TAV. (basically, it's the predator/clone industrial engine out of the box minus Jetting... you can't do anything else) Basically, the harbor freight predator, right out of the box.
Modified: Any 226CC or less, single cylinder, 4 cycle gas engine. Governer can be removed. Carb can be any carb you dare to put on it. Muffler can be open, any air filter you want. Stiffer valve springs allowed. NO cam modifications allowed. Flywheel may be replaced with better. Flywheel Key MUST remain stock. No porting or polishing allowed. Also acceptable: The harbor freight Ghost engine with its accessory bundle. (NOTHING ELSE CAN BE DONE to the ghost motor but Jetting. It must remain, as you bought it otherwise) Briggs LO206, as sealed with SR 4 slide. No shifting gear boxes. Must run on pump gas. TAV NOT required, it's optional. Basically, a standard Sr. 4 Cycle Race Kart engine.
Unlimited: That's any 226CC or less, single cylinder, 4 cycle gas engine modified in any way your devious mind can manage. No shifting Gear boxes. TAV not required, Drive it any way you want. (e.g. Direct clutch drive, etc. Must run on pump gas.
Electric: Do what you want. We don't care. We're not racing, we're creating rolling art.
Width: 44".
Wheels: 14 through 18" wheels. Numbering 2 to 6. Yes, 2 through 6. That means one could do that weird motorcycle here and fit in. (they can be spoked... but do not have to be. This doesn't hover in a period, it hovers in an idea/universe. Make it work with your creation, it's an artistic extension)
Tires: The max tire width is 3.50. Sure, bend that rule... the stress might be a bit much though.
Weight: Do what you want here.
Cost: Like the Cyclekart, Don't break the bank, but... alternately, do what you must. We're not trying to prove a thing. Scavenging is highly recommended. This isn't some class that's built with all new stuff from some manufacturer of ready made parts. You should make most of it yourself. None of these, should look like each other at all. (that includes the front axle)
Classes:
Warbird Class: I can't count how many hot rodders have thrown in old airplane effects... thus, I believe a natural progression for this particular idea. You're going for something that looks like it FLYS, kind of scary, dirty, race car-like but grungy, etc. Or, yes... some old looking plane. How neat would it be to see that P51... the Fokker... the A10... or your favorite bird recreated in rolling form with many other touches? Warbirds are the intentional mix of aircraft in the build. The car should have aerodynamic elements to it. We'd suggest down-force fins to keep your butt somewhat safe if your car realy does go fast. The take off speed of a small plane is around the top speed of some cyclekarts. Do keep that in mind. Get it? It should have sizable fins or wings, somewhere... and faux guns.
The wheelbase of the warbird class MUST be 70" or more. No exceptions. This includes 2 wheel creations.
Racer Class: This is an Aerokart that adheres to the typical cyclekart dimensions, mainly in wheelbase. Otherwise, it should exist in the same basic universe of creationism, retro-futuristic stuff here with obvious queue's depicting a race car. This includes 2 wheel creations.
Community Class: An AeroKart that don't fit anywhere else, and is not a racer. (yep, it could be a bus folks, a luxury ride... or other weirdness) Do what you want here.

Fighter Class: It's the normal cyclekart out there that appear at times designed like a dog fighter. They usually have the paint job, a small fin and some airplane adornments of a favorite plane but aren't overshadowing the fact it's a normal cyclekart.. (look for that mouth with TEETH painted on the front... People love that. This is the only cyclekart that could possibly exist in both realms. The normal cyclekart groups accept them, and so do we. If they want to call it an Aerokart, so be it.

Designs: Try not to offend anyone. While you may be inspired by some image on a historical plane or something... might be a good idea not to put that swastika on it even though the origins of the symbol were actually good. (or do it... we don't care. )
Now it's play time.
Costume: Yes, come up with something that goes with your ride. Let's see it you creative ones. You're painting a picture of sheer coolness.
It is its own thing. The freedom, the art, and creativity is the game here in the hopes of re-igniting an ART... that was the Cyclekart beginnings.

In the end, Aero's are cars that didn't exist, and have never existed. We're making art our way... and at heart... is the Cyclekart. (hey, that rhymed!) Say it again: We're making cars that didn't exist, never have existed, and not recreating any of them. We're making our own things.

The unspoken Rule: IF... your car goes fast that is... Never post publicly (video or text) how fast your car goes. It's to be kept among us only. Showing the general CK world speed in a cyclekart is really a bad idea and will ultimately wreck the hobby and future public meets.

Ultimately: We don't need trophies and we don't look for them. We pass them to 2nd place when we are offered them... we only build and make neat things that some like to look at. The art speaks for itself, and is the reward.
End of story.
WHEN DONE, you should:
1. Name it. Be creative. (means make up something fun, imaginary things, fake back stories, etc.)
2. State the sources you took queues from in its creation. The more the better.
Now go look at these pictures, and others here. You should get the idea.

Thoughts on AI: We didn't think of this in the beginning, but having AI draw some creation is neat & all... but it's kind of cheating... OR is it? The idea was that you're supposed to design it yourself, not copy the work of something or someone. Yet, this is the land of creation & new.... so....

Now, on the off chance one did do it, then more power to you because building something generated by AI would take a lot of work so... Not saying no, but... something to think about or not... Hm...

After we used AI to modify things and.... well.... Hm.

We say Do it. We can't be the new, if we don't use the new too.