[bondo]

It is guys like you cons who are out building your own aerolids that are an inspiration to me. I agree with you about extending the rear of the lid past the tailgate. It has to help. Wouldn't it be great to have your own (full scale) wind tunnel!

My Aerolid was wind tunnel tested in a full scale tunnel in Michigan on August 17, 2007. I cannot tell you which American automobile manufacturer it was. That was the coolest day of my life.

The test ran for about 30 minutes at a wind speed of 80 mph. The host truck, with the Aerolid on it in the tunnel, was moving into different yaw angles as the test ran. Several computers were compiling data and there was a group of four members of upper managment who came in to watch the test.

The wind was then lowered to 40 mph. All the aero guys and the managment people went out into the tunnel. A technician broke out the smoke wand at the front of the pickup truck. Man, I wish I had it on video!

The tech hit the smoke, it flowed up the hood, over the windshield and roof of the cab and then down the Aerolid, undisturbed, in a perfect stream until it quickly separated from the lid at the very end edge of the Aerolid. The head of the aero group upon seeing this said, " That's impressive".

I almost fell over. There I was in the wind tunnel of the major American auto manufacturer with aerodynamicists who have IQ's way better than I realizing I had hit optimum aerodynamic shape in a 1200 square foot shop and a ball of clay. I was stunned. It was not ego that made me almost fall over, it was how thankful I was to have said that prayer to guide my hands as I sculpted the clay.

The techs and aerodynamicists spent alot of time at the rear of the Aerolid. They studied the smoke at the rear, how it acted as it separated from the roof end of the lid and how it acted below that, at the tailgate area.

There was one bad thing about the test. After I drove all the way from Little Rock to Detroit, the auto company told me they were not going to tell me the results, delta Cd, etc. Made me kinda mad but only for a moment. The day was magic!

The nice gal, who ran the tunnel, pulled me aside after the test and apologized to me for her not being able to share the data with me. She then said, " You saw the smoke, you know it works."

So cons your assumptions about extending the rear of your lid back, I think, is spot on. To all those who attempt to do thier own aerolids, go for it. Don't worry about getting everthing perfect, moreso do what feels right to you in the shaping of it. That is what I did and believe me, seeing I have no Aeronautical Engineering degree of any type, didn't know about the 12 degree angle or have any template to go by, I was very fortunate that what felt right to me was proven to be correct in the full scale wind tunnel in Allen Park, Michigan.

You guys can do it too!

Bondo