The Dragon powerchair by dragonmobility

My name is Charlie and I have used a Turbo and later a Dragon for the last 20 years.

I am a postgraduate student at the University of Sussex, reading for a PhD in climatology and atmospheric sciences. I graduated last year, from the same university, obtaining a BA (Honours) in Geography and Environmental Studies with French. My research is investigating rainfall variability over the southern African subcontinent, identifying regional rainfall distribution patterns and then using a numerical model to predict how rainfall might be affected under the anticipated scenarios of climate change and global warming. I won't say more about my work, as people tend to fall into a coma after five minutes of me talking - if anyone else really is interested, they can contact me on the e-mail address at the end of this piece. As to why I use a wheelchair, at 15 months I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (categorised, at that time, as severe Type II) resulting in an almost complete lack of voluntary muscle strength. I should stress, however, that my disability and associated difficulties are not often on my mind - I employ a number of full-time PAs, and now consider myself to lead a completely normal life.

History

By way of a caveat, it should be mentioned that the following history is based entirely on my memory, and so there may well be chronological inaccuracies. I first drove Turbo (Mk V) at the age of 3 years, after trying various NHS indoor chairs. Even at that age, I remember being less than impressed at NHS machines. I must have looked particularly ridiculous in one of them as the control was too stiff for me to turn to the right, resulting in me continually going round in circles to the left. Consequently when the Turbo came along with its incredibly light control system, custom-made seating, and the ability to leave the house without overloading, there was no hesitation.

Details of the rest of my early years are slightly blurred, but I remember that after various seating sessions Turbo became the main chair. I used it through nursery, primary and middle school, continually delighting the other children who had never seen such a small car. There were a few glitches, but looking back this was probably to be expected given that it was a new machine and it was the mid 1980s.

At some point during the early school years, Turbo was upgraded to a Mk VI, and later, due to various part replacements, upgraded further. I don't believe it was ever officially a Mk VII, but a kind of hybrid lying somewhere between the three versions. I continued to use Turbo during the first few years of high school, before the Dragon Mk I came along in 1995. The Turbo had always been designed to be a child's chair, and it was only my light weight which meant I was able to use it into and through my teens.

The Dragon however was designed to be a chair suitable for both children and adults. Although inherently different from Turbo, the Dragon still had the same features such as its shape, manoeuvrability, and feel, and so for several years I ran both chairs together. I would have one at home and leave the other at school. This seemed to work fairly well, as there was always a backup chair if a problem occurred in the other. Turbo, at this point, was beginning to feel its age as it had long outlived its supposed shelf-life, but still it kept going after numerous replacements to almost every mechanical and electronic part.

This continued all the way through high school and the first few years of university, by which time Turbo had been almost entirely replaced by pieces from other Turbos.

Advantages of the Turbo and Dragon

Turbo

As mentioned above, in comparison to my very first NHS chairs the Turbo was far ahead, both technologically and aesthetically. It was designed to be both an indoor and outdoor chair, and so it had far more power than my earlier machines. The other major factor was the control system which I could actually use - unlike some other wheelchair companies at that time, the Everards had more personal experience in this issue and so recognised that a stiff control may well be completely unsuitable for many users. The feel of the driving was also much smoother than other chairs, as was the manoeuvrability.

Another major advantage of the Turbo was its lift-shaft. The ability to adjust my height was a distinct bonus, as its made usable virtually any table. In the early years when, as children, we played on the floor, it also meant that I could be on the same level as everyone else. At that time, few chairs were able to adjust their height and so this was a big consideration in going for the Turbo.

The shape of the chair was also attractive, with the unusual configuration of being frontwheel drive and with a fairly large flat-topped back. This back has proved to be incredibly useful over the years, carrying schoolbags, heavy items, and (when I was much younger) various friends.

All in all therefore, the Turbo was far more advanced than anything else at that time, and so was a large part of my early life. The fact that it could cope with most terrains at a reasonable speed - fields, offroad countryside, gravel, etc. - meant that joining in activities was never a problem and that I would often get tired before the chair.

Dragon

The nice thing about the Dragon was that it continued all of the good aspects from the Turbo, and then provided more. Consequently I can say less about this machine, as I have already listed the benefits above. Although completely redesigned, the Dragon still had a similar feel in terms of power, manoeuvrability, and fluidity.

The main advantage for me of Dragon over Turbo (and bear in mind that I was in my early teens when I first got Dragon) was its speed. Whereas the Turbo had a top speed of approximately 4 mph (fast walking pace), the Dragon could go up to roughly 7 mph (jogging pace). For a lad of 13 years, this was important.

The other very important advantage, which I benefited from a few years later, was a much larger lift-shaft. My father always used to refer to my contemporaries as "your little friends", however as the years passed they ceased to be so little. Consequently, the ability to raise my height to over 5 ft was a distinct bonus. Not so much for when I was with friends (as I never considered that I needed to be tall to be important), but more for things like seeing over a bar or shop counter. This is all-the-more important in my present situation, now that I am taking my own seminars, giving lectures and attending conferences. This was (and is) therefore an important factor in my mind.

Concluding remarks

Over the years, the Turbo and Dragon have most probably played an important role in my development. I have always disliked the 'box-on-wheels' type wheelchair, for no other reason than shallow vanity and prejudiced snobbery. No-one is perfect. Technology has moved on a great deal since the early 1980s, and undoubtedly the new Dragon Mk II will reflect these advances.

Charlie JR. Williams