NACA 66 Special A/BGS

[Blue]

Seriously??  Standing on the back of the car?!?!?!    I think I would have come unglued even if it wasn't my car.  That shows absolutely no respect for other peoples property.  :x

That was me, the person that designed and helped build the composite structure with the rest of the team.  A while back, Rob and I were taking a little bit of concern from some in the tech community who thought composites would be too weak to take the several thousand pounds of load we were designing for.  The dynamic pressure at our design speed is over 500 psf, so if someone can't literally jump up and down on it it's not strong enough.

It's Rob and my design, and yes, I can jump up and down on it.  The crew did a great job.

I would caution anyone dreaming of 500+ that if they can't do the same, the bodywork simply won't survive the air loads.  All weekend I was asked many questions about our composites.  I often responded by whacking the side of the car as hard as I could with my fist.  Never left a mark.

[Stainless1]

Eric, that must be because your fist is tuff... oh you meant no marks on the car    You guys did an outstanding job, waiting to see the assault on the number... this could be the year it happens, by somebody

[tauruck]

Composites are way stronger than the average person thinks.

Rob, check out Basalt fibres.  I got a few samples from Belguim.
Nice stuff and strong too.

[Finallygotit]

Seriously??  Standing on the back of the car?!?!?!    I think I would have come unglued even if it wasn't my car.  That shows absolutely no respect for other peoples property.  :x

That was me, the person that designed and helped build the composite structure with the rest of the team.  A while back, Rob and I were taking a little bit of concern from some in the tech community who thought composites would be too weak to take the several thousand pounds of load we were designing for.  The dynamic pressure at our design speed is over 500 psf, so if someone can't literally jump up and down on it it's not strong enough.

It's Rob and my design, and yes, I can jump up and down on it.  The crew did a great job.

I would caution anyone dreaming of 500+ that if they can't do the same, the bodywork simply won't survive the air loads.  All weekend I was asked many questions about our composites.  I often responded by whacking the side of the car as hard as I could with my fist.  Never left a mark.

Hi Eric, It was post #1017 that made it seem like an outsider was taking liberties with the liner.  I did not mean to disrespect.  I have been in too many car shows where there will be the "one" that will disrespect a builders dream car.  You have no idea how that irks me.

Take care.....

We now return you to your regularly scheduled car thread. 

[gkabbt]

Rob and Brandon, Looks like your car was a BIG hit at the GNRS!         

Looking forward to seeing you guys at Wilmington this year!

Gregg

[robfrey]

Update:
We are currently building a new mold for the wheel pants. They will be 1" higher and 1" lower before the cap start. (21" between caps is now 23"). This will allow us to make the wheel well ID 36" vs the current 34".
This has all been a ton of work but we can't have the ID of the wheel wells limit out speed.
I also have a goal to make the pants lighter and stiffer. They will also have strakes and extended trailing edge to add to the aero stability.

[robfrey]

We figured there had to be an easier way of molding small composite parts. This is the interface fairing mold plug for the wing to wheel pant interface fairing. Fred Murch, team member and CNC machinist has been building his own 3D printer.
We had to make it in two pieces to fit on his machine but it glued together fine. Can't wait to layup fairing. Hopefully within the next couple of days.

[Peter Jack]

Technology continues to blow me away .................... and I'm not exactly light!!! 

Pete

[streamliner]

Very good, even better would be to tie the string on it and swing it around you and work it out to 10 to 15' of line.  This gets it into much straighter air and gets the speed up well above a fan.  I spent hours doing this with model rockets when I was kid.  No BS, I admire anyone who tests.

I've been re-reading this great thread and I can't stress how amazingly well it has all come together.  Simply stunning! 

The quoted post sparked a neuron that had seen Alex Tremulis doing his aerodynamics on a shoestring and I finally found a photo of it in process with his wife, Chrissie, doing the poor man's wind tunnel test.  This was about 50 years ago when all his calculations were drawn out on graph paper, long hand.  Eerie coincidence as to the model he was testing.  His models didn't just look good, they proved his streamlining philosophies were headed in the right direction (I assume counterclockwise in this case). 

Anyway, I can't wait to hear and hopefully see your future success.  All the best to you!

[robfrey]

We have decided to build a new engine this year. We are now building a 540 ci Dart block, BMF headed BBC 2650hp mill.
This shoul give us a bit of reserve power and much more durability.
Started ordering parts a few week ago. Things are under way. Yeeeah Haaaaaw!

[sabat]

We have decided to build a new engine this year. We are now building a 540 ci Dart block, BMF headed BBC 2650hp mill.
This shoul give us a bit of reserve power and much more durability.
Started ordering parts a few week ago. Things are under way. Yeeeah Haaaaaw!

Whew, 2650hp and added durability, that's amazing. With your drag numbers, what is a realistic target speed with this engine?  Thanks, Dean

[robfrey]

Realistic numbers require better than realistic salt conditions. LOL!
It will really depend on how early we can start the hard acceleration.

[jl222]

Realistic numbers require better than realistic salt conditions. LOL!
It will really depend on how early we can start the hard acceleration.

  That's why I like those adjustable spoilers

          JL222

[Rex Schimmer]

During one of my visits to Rob's place he told me that with full flaps they could develop 3000 lbs of down force at 180 mph. If you assume that the coefficient of friction for the salt is about .25 ( low end of the scale) and the rear wheels carry 3000 lb of aero down force and 2000 lbs of car weight for a total of 5000 lbs, then at 180 mph they can apply 600 hp to the salt, at 360 it is 1200 hp and at 450 it is 1500 hp. If their aero numbers are close, and I certainly believe that Eric's (Blue) numbers are probably pretty accurate, their aero load at 450 is probably going to be in the 1500 hp range which they can easily apply to the salt, so they certainly appear to be a real contender for the 500 mph speed.

One of the really neat things about their design is that they can develop 3000 lbs of down force at 180 mph which could literally be by the 1-2 mile mark! With 2600 hp on tap we might see 400 by the three!!

Can't wait!!!

Rex

[7800ebs]

Have you ever seen this?