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Starting at the Guenther’s Marina Complex, in 1986, including a Marine Dry Storage and repair which also also included a Design and Build machining operation, Suncoast Engineering the genesis for boat transportation began as they designed an  overhead boat carrying device connecting salt and freshwater communities over several roads in Hernando County, Florida, USA.

In 1994, after several engineering system improvements in the marina,  Suncoast Engineering desired to verify its findings and engineering concepts for transportation design. Armed with that task, Mr. Guenther made appointments and took his concepts to several Universities.  Included were University of South Florida, Illinois Institute of Technology and Florida Institute of Technology.  As anticipated, all three verified the validity of Mr. Guenther’s engineering designs and concepts suggesting grants. 

 Subsequently, Mr. Guenther closed his manufacturing and machine shop to expand his work and objectives on pursuing the new Transportation Technology Concepts on a full time basis. The company’s name was changed to Sky Train Corporation in 1995 to reflect the mission at that point.Today the firm is also doing business as STC-International to further embrace and describe the evolving Superior Transportation Technology, some of which  has been built as an operating model and patented. The photo above was taken in Silicon Valley after STC was Accepted as an Energy Conserving System. The acceptance paper was published and is available below.

November 8- 9, 2006 Energy Venture Fair VII,  Incorporating Clean and Environmental Technologies, Hyatt Regency, Santa Clara, CA.  Karl Gunther's presentation was accepted as STC's Energy Saving submission for approval allowing it to display information to investors.    For full view click 

Link for full review

Highlights below

Our Vision Of Energy (VOE):

The first rule in saving energy is to reduce the weight of the transportation system to its lowest value as this constant number is accelerated and decelerated continuously. This is at the forefront of our VOE and is best attained using composite construction and other light materials.

The next important issue is creating a vehicle that is light enough so that maximum energy reuse is feasible. Our model constructed in 2003 uses regeneration, the reclamation of the energy of stopping. Devices such as flywheels, capacitors and batteries are limited as to how much energy can be quickly saved. Present vehicles by legislation are too heavy and only a portion of the savings can be recycled at varying loss levels. Our lighter vehicles use regeneration. Rule: the more stops per hour/day the greater the savings, taxicabs, short distance rail and busses should be a public focus reducing the community carbon footprint.

The running surface interface is a major problem in today's societies. While rubber tires allow rough road construction they consume up to 10 times, 1000% more energy consumed even on smooth roads compared to steel wheels on steel rails. This will always keep the US as the greatest energy per capita consumer. Our VOE identifies the steel rail wheel/track interface as a large bearing running on a linear bearing race. It is also true that tires are manufactured for specific surfaces as for race tracks.

Another large destroyer of energy are the mechanical systems such as transmissions and differential gearing. The electric motor's speed reducer on a rail vehicle uses 5% to 7% of the transmitted energy over the acceleration and energy recapture cycles. These deficits occur at every start stop cycle and is a major issue. One solution is the use of direct drive motors or motor wheels.

For high speed transportation wind resistance becomes a consumer of energy. Flight consumes two times the energy of slower speed rail transportation.

The use of conversion to energy through means such as piston engines, micro or other turbines each have efficiency ratings and can generally be accomplished more efficiently at stationary power plants where co-generation can occur.

A hidden consumer of energy is transmission losses due to the conductors used. Long transmission lines supplying cities loose about 10% of the original power through resistance of conducting materials. Subway vehicles using the steel tracks for both signaling and power return see losses in sparking and poor conduction of steel versus copper or aluminum. Superconducting electricity transmission is a future solution.