Human Powered Vehicle Design Contest

The Mission of MIDLTD

             Randall Bruce Middleton
                                     The Poor Entrepreneur in Society Today                 
 

As a child I was handicapped with the Sally, Dick and Jane method of reading. I was classified as a C student and struggled with that lofty goal all through grade and high school. I played first trombone in the T.C. Roberson High School band and played bass guitar in several rock bands.  I was so naive that I thought free love meant you didn't have to pay for it.

To escape the mediocrity and monotony of plant work I joined the United States Army in August, 1973.  After boot camp at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, we rode the bus to Fort Devens, Massachusetts to train as a morse code interceptor. When it became apparent that I couldn't type fast enough, I was assigned as a Nike Hercules missile crewman at Fort Bliss, Texas.  I was determined that I wasn't a complete failure.  I really applied myself and found I was capable of understanding complex systems of a technical nature, finishing second in my class.

While stationed in Korea, I started to develop my reading skills by reading Captain Marvel comics while studying an O.J.T course as a wheel vehicle mechanic. After I returned to the U.S.  I continued upgrading my reading skills by reading science fiction while I was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

I completed three and a half years in the Army.  I then joined the North Carolina National Guard where I was allowed to develop as a person and a professional. I retired with an honorable discharge in September 1996, with twenty two years one month and eight days of service.

In 1979, I graduated Asheville-Buncombe Technical School with an Associates degree in Mechanical Engineering. While attending Asheville-Buncombe Technical School I did the basic research for an oil-less two cycle engine where I found that new engine designs were hard to come by.

In 1985, I graduated Western Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering.  I was slightly discouraged by the economic realities of engine development so I set my sights on a more realistic goal.  I designed and built the world’s quickest human powered flywheel vehicle.

I had become familiar with the problems of idea and product development, so I formed Middleton Industrial Design to create a financial structure to facilitate the research and development of ideas.

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