LMT July 23 2018

Last Mountain Times • Monday, July 23, 2018 • lmtimes.ca
A Lamborghini, a paper airplane, and
a VW Beetle roll Into a wind tunnel...
15
Sounds like the start of the worst joke ever, right? Trust me, it makes sense.
Anyways, I was watching an eighties movie the other day, and a couple of cocaine
dealers stepped out a Lamborghini Countach. The epitome of the eighties, what
the Lamborghini Countach lacked in practically and rear visibility, it more than made
up for in style and stigma. In reality, the Countach is a terrible choice for a drug dealer,
as nothing draws more attention. Why not a Chrysler Magic Wagon, or a little station
wagon? They’re affordable, blend into traffic, and don’t scream out “I’m so expensive
that you have to be doing something illegal to afford me”. Alas, the eighties were all
about drug dealers in exotic cars. That, and aerodynamics. The wedge shape was
strong in the eighties. The third-gen Camaro/Firebird was a wedge, as was the fourthgen
Corvette. The Mustang was a sharp-edged box, but the Dodge Daytona certainly
had that wedge shape to it. It made perfect sense, really, as wedges are aerodynamic,
CAMSHAFT
CORNER
KELLY KIRK
NOKOMIS
and cars that are aerodynamic are fast. The Plymouth Superbird was just a Roadrunner that came to a
point, and it was fast. A piece of paper is just a wobbly mess, but fold it into the correct wedge shape, and it
becomes an airplane capable of flying across a classroom, or into an eyeball. Aerodynamics really caught
on in the eighties, but it wasn’t a new idea, as Tatra was focussing on them half a century earlier.
Who are Tatra? I thought I could tell you, but honestly, I hardly know myself. They’ve been around well
over a century, and they’re still going strong in Czechoslovakia today. They’ve built trucks, military equipment,
civilian automobiles, and some really cool aerodynamic streamliners. Pictured is the 1934 Tatra
77. It may not look like much, but even as early as 1934, they were focussing on aerodynamics as a way to
increase performance. From the front, the 77 resembled a Volkswagen Beetle, before one actually existed
as a basis for comparison. One might say the Beetle in fact resembles the 77... From the rear, the 77 has a
long, flowing fastback design, more like a blimp or a submarine than an car. With a tiny little three litre
engine mounted in the rear, and the liberal usage of magnesium for weight reduction, the 77 had a lot of
the right ingredients for speed. By 1938, the Tatra T77A was equipped with a larger three-point-four litre
engine, and a more aerodynamic body yet, featuring a giant shark fin on the back. The changes seem minor,
but this made for a top speed of over one hundred and fifty kilometres per hour, and I would imagine
some decent fuel economy. Imagine what your daily pickup could do with the four hundred and some odd
horsepower it has, if it weren’t a big heavy brick with the aerodynamics of the garage door that it hardly
fits through.
Have a question or comment for Kelly?
Email it to: inbox@lastmountaintimes.ca and we’ll print Kelly’s response in an upcoming issue
Crop Report
For the Period July 10 to 16, 2018
Crops across the province are advancing quickly,
according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly
Crop Report. Eighty per cent of the fall cereals, 78
per cent of the spring cereals, 76 per cent of the
oilseeds and 78 per cent of the pulse crops are at
their normal stages of development for this time of
year. Crop conditions vary widely based on moisture
levels but the majority of crops range from fair
to excellent in condition.
Many areas of the province have seen another
week of wild weather that brought hail, severe wind
and crop damage; however, it also brought some
much-needed moisture. Rainfall ranged from trace
amounts to 103 mm in the Glaslyn area. The Turtleford
area reported 61 mm of rain, the Broadview
area reported 18 mm, the Shaunavon area 48 mm,
the Lumsden area 10 mm and the Saskatoon area
52 mm. Some areas in the west-central and southwestern
regions are still in need of a significant
rainfall to help crops fill pods and heads.
Despite this week’s weather, livestock producers
have continued with haying and now have 22 per
cent of the hay crop cut and 47
per cent baled or put into silage.
Hay quality is rated as seven per
cent excellent, 65 per cent good,
25 per cent fair and three per
cent poor. Many swaths are smaller than normal
and hay yields are below average overall.
Estimated average dryland hay yields at this time
are one ton per acre for alfalfa and alfalfa/bromegrass;
0.8 ton per acre for other tame hay and 1.5
tons per acre for greenfeed. Estimated average irrigated
hay yields are 2.1 tons per acre for alfalfa; 2.2
tons per acre for alfalfa/bromegrass and 2.7 tons
per acre for greenfeed. Pasture growth is limited
in some areas and a significant rainfall would be
beneficial.
Across the province, topsoil moisture conditions
on cropland are rated as two per cent surplus, 57
per cent adequate, 30 per cent short and 11 per cent
very short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is
rated as two per cent surplus, 45 per cent adequate,
35 per cent short and 18 per cent very short.
Producers have seen crop damage this week from
a variety of sources. High temperatures and strong
winds throughout the province continued to stress
crops. Storms brought localized flooding, hail and
strong wind. There have been some reports of high
numbers of grasshoppers in areas, along with some
disease issues caused by fusarium head blight, root
rots and leaf spot diseases. Due to recent high temperatures,
there has been some damage due to heat
blasting in flowering canola crops.