Quote:
Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob
I sure wish hydroplane designers would start with a stable ground-effect glider, and then add a water prop and rudder. Anything light and fast needs to be blowover-proof.
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I separated this part because it is in my view a different set of issues. Apologies if Im straying too far off topic but I thought this to be important and still relevant to vehicles on road.
I suspect a significant problem here is one of aerodynamic balance. Consider the Volkswagen beetle dynamics, where the center of gravity is positioned just forward of the rear wheels, we know this because thats were the jacking point is to lift both wheels on one side of the car.
With the weight so far aft, the car is only ever going to be stable while traveling in reverse! Which is one of a suite of reasons why the car had a strong tendency to go backwards when it got loose in a fast turn. And while on the way around to assume a dynamically stable position, the car was in complete loss of control and apt to rollover with potential for catastrophe.
I would be checking if a hydroplanes was capable of being dynamically trim stable. Explained another way, dynamic stability requires that the center of the vehicles mass leads the center of the vehicles resistance, because without that there will be a strong propensity to flip should some occurrence upset the stability.
