Ride Like the Wind (only faster)

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Gizmo
Gizmo
SA
2865 posts
SA, 2865 posts
13 Jun 2010 10:48am
www.fasterthanthewind.org/


Solar power has had its share of attention. Its time for wind energy to make heads turn now, and by that, we mean heads turning in shock and amazement, as this wind powered car zips by. Now you need to catch sight of it first, watching it may be a blurry experience, taken that this vehicle travels faster than the wind itself. That’s if the wind travels that fast. The car, in a recent Californian run reached top speeds of 2.85 times faster than the wind, which at the time was blowing at 13.5mph. The car, designed by Thin Air Designs, known as the Blackbird, was built by an aerodynamicist, paraglider and kitesurfer, Rick Cavallaro, with enough knowledge of the way winds blow, to come up with this.
After a little brain-straining, he came up with the Blackbird, to travel faster than the wind, using the wind. The car, made mostly of foam, resembles an F1 car, with a propeller stuck up behind. The five meter high propeller pushes the air behind and the car forward. How quick will this one be in a cyclone? We can only guess.

And there has to be a youtube video....
Watch the streamers go from tail wind through no wind to apparent wind... good video.


bazl
bazl
WA
704 posts
WA, 704 posts
13 Jun 2010 11:24am
So is that any advantage over a wing? Greenbird got about 3x wind speed too
Hiko
Hiko
1229 posts
1229 posts
13 Jun 2010 1:08pm
You wouldnt have to tack with one of those
Straight upwind no problem!
kiwi307
kiwi307
488 posts
488 posts
13 Jun 2010 4:37pm
There has been a guy with a keelboat with a system like this for donkeys years over here, and another which was a feature of the "Amateur Yacht Resaerch Society" in England well over 20 years ago. Both worked well, but obviously fell outside "mainstream sailing"
hills
hills
SA
1622 posts
SA, 1622 posts
13 Jun 2010 7:08pm
I don't understand how that works?!?

How was the prop spinning against the wind??
cisco
cisco
QLD
12365 posts
QLD, 12365 posts
13 Jun 2010 7:42pm
Is this fan connected to the wheels mechanically or is it a thrust prop??
Gizmo
Gizmo
SA
2865 posts
SA, 2865 posts
13 Jun 2010 7:22pm
hills said...

I don't understand how that works?!?

How was the prop spinning against the wind??


From what I can work out, the yacht? is started facing down, wind the prop spins (in reverse so to speak), the prop then drives a shaft through a ratchet drive system to the wheels. With the prop now spinning the yacht drives forward when it gets to to zero apparent wind the spinning of the prop has centrifugal force like a flywheel, this then drives it forward.... then the "forward" wind then drives the prop with the yacht running on apparent wind... VERY clever
Hiko
Hiko
1229 posts
1229 posts
13 Jun 2010 6:01pm
If that is how its done it sure is clever and so are you for figuring it
cisco
cisco
QLD
12365 posts
QLD, 12365 posts
13 Jun 2010 9:30pm
Gizmo said...

hills said...

I don't understand how that works?!?

How was the prop spinning against the wind??


From what I can work out, the yacht? is started facing down, wind the prop spins (in reverse so to speak), the prop then drives a shaft through a ratchet drive system to the wheels. With the prop now spinning the yacht drives forward when it gets to to zero apparent wind the spinning of the prop has centrifugal force like a flywheel, this then drives it forward.... then the "forward" wind then drives the prop with the yacht running on apparent wind... VERY clever


That is approaching the "perpetual motion machine". Once you get it going it keeps going.

Gizmo
Gizmo
SA
2865 posts
SA, 2865 posts
13 Jun 2010 9:05pm
cisco said...

That is approaching the "perpetual motion machine". Once you get it going it keeps going.




Not at all, drag will limit top speed like the friction from areodynamic drag, wheels, bearings etc.
landyacht
landyacht
WA
5921 posts
WA, 5921 posts
13 Jun 2010 7:37pm
Silly thing is , once the machine was on the clay pan , If he'd packed away the prop, and had controls for the 2 masts, he would have gone even better.
to my silly mind the whole point of this type of machine is that it needs to aplicable to a traffic situation. it will be interesting to see how his next generation design looks and performs.
great to see people are still experimenting with this concept, not just crackpot water sailors.
mybe he needs to trial an eggbeater design ,like they had on "WaterWorld"
cisco
cisco
QLD
12365 posts
QLD, 12365 posts
13 Jun 2010 9:55pm
Feather the prop and slide out the rest of the foil.

If the mechanisms can be reduced enough in weight it would have to be a goer.

Re the mechanisms and weight, I guees NASA is not ready to release their secrets yet.
Test pilot 1
Test pilot 1
WA
1430 posts
WA, 1430 posts
14 Jun 2010 7:47pm
One would hope that as a car it has a secondary propulsion system, other wise there will be huge traffic jams when the wind "apparent or otherwise" s t o p s
kiwi307
kiwi307
488 posts
488 posts
16 Jun 2010 4:03am
I will see if the guy in Whangarei NZ is still around and get the fine details, but;
His boat certainly went upwind for miles at a time, chomping along at 3 or 4 knots directly into the wind. Yes, that's slow, but given that the other boats were doing 6 knots at 45 degrees or so his VMG was even better.
The boat was driven by a water propellor which was connected to the air prop by a gearbox. He just unlocked the blades whichever way he was pointing (any windmill faces into the wind remember) engaged either forward or reverse to get off the mooring and then set off in whichever direction he wanted to go. The prop remained facing into the apparent unless it got too strong, in which case he feathered it some. I cant see why that wouldn't work land borne too?
Arjay
Arjay
VIC
267 posts
VIC, 267 posts
16 Jun 2010 3:52pm
Wow Kiwi, that would have been a sight! To do that on a boat! even more amazing!!
Hiko
Hiko
1229 posts
1229 posts
16 Jun 2010 4:54pm
I remember seeing that boat sailing
About 1980 I think He had a mooring in Parua bay, Whangarei
The only wind powered boat I ever saw that could go directly upwind
but I am not sure how well
kiwi307
kiwi307
488 posts
488 posts
17 Jun 2010 12:53pm
Hiko said...

I remember seeing that boat sailing
About 1980 I think He had a mooring in Parua bay, Whangarei
The only wind powered boat I ever saw that could go directly upwind
but I am not sure how well


I last saw the thing about 10 years ago (I think) then time goes by faster as we become more mature. Yes Parua rings a few bells. Upwind I am sure was almost hull speed, but again memory may be playing tricks. The sad thing was that it went well, and beat more than a few conventional yachts (especially upwind) but the "normals" treated him like crap.
sn
sn
WA
2775 posts
sn sn
WA, 2775 posts
17 Jun 2010 6:11pm
I think Paul has mentioned a similar boat near Rockingham in Western Australia
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