In article ,
G&M wrote:
Yes. A planetary gear may be changed under full power with no distress -
car autos have been doing this for years.

A car type synchromesh system wouldn't last five minutes without the
clutch.

Only on changing down. And even then you can reduce wear to very low
amounts if you listen carefully.

Under full power? Not so. When changing gear without the clutch either up
or down you remove the power near completely. If you didn't the revs would
go sky high as soon as you got into neutral. And that's assuming you
actually could under power - the gearchange would become very stiff.

An epicyclic auto changes gear by means of a clutch or brake band. These
can handle the maximum power output of the engine.

--
*If vegetable oil comes from vegetables, where does baby oil come from? *

Dave Plowman London SW
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