Clarification of “cell design”
As I promised in my last post, here is an image of the canopy opening and “side impact bars” which will keep the frame strong and protect the driver. The bars (one either side) are drawn as lattice in grey, and fill the gap between points A and B when vehicle is in use. Front mountings are big roller bearings and rear “catches” are normal automobile “ant-burst” door locks. This allows driver to get in and out as easily as average sports car, and from either side. I hope that illustrates how it works. I used this design on my first prototype, with gas-strut assisters from a station wagon tailgate and its really easy to use. Its designed to work within a normal room ceiling height and the only drawback that I can see is the “sail area” of the canopy when open on windy days. To counteract the forces that may occur I have used a very wide (1m) stand.
Other points
The crash of first prototype was NOT intentional, just learned two important lessons during first trials.
Also – before going back on the fab bench after photos, I decided to put it on the cornerweight scales. A mildly disappointing result – total weight 127kg (70f, 57r) is heavier than I expected at this stage. I estimate 180kg finished, so this isn’t going to win any drag races.