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Bicycle Bob · 07-26-2017, 02:15 AM

Thanks, Ray. I hadn't gotten any feedback on the X-4 for years, despite this re-cap last year: The Flexible Flyer: How composites made velomobile history : CompositesWorld Re-posting that on BentRider got me one request for plans for a stitch 'n' glue velomobile chassis. I'm getting a round tuit, I hope, and thinking of one with a Honda Cub engine for me. It is an hour to the nearest traffic light from here.

I didn't meet Craig Vetter or Ned Ryan Doyle, but I got Craig's movie. I read almost everything, including the 3VG story. Would you like a rather select library? We old fogies need to pass the torch. How about a 500 cc flat four from an aircraft APU? (Not recommended for max economy.)

I'm surprised at your extreme truck wake problems, but I seldom got to 50 MPH downhill on the X-4. Having seen various blowovers, though, I am convinced that any fast, lightweight vehicle should be stable as a glider if used as a stunt gap-jumper, and able to cross a section of wet glare ice in a crosswind with only sideways displacement, no yaw. I suspect you are suffering from a cp too far forward of the cg, amplifying all disturbances. That was the Achille's heel of the Tatras, and the wonderful Pillbug. Vetter's problems mostly went away with nose ballast, so I now draw front engines when I doodle. Why not stick a big, cheap, hackable tail fin on it, Bonneville style, and see how it runs?

If you want to run zero toe, the trick seems to be to make sure that braking forces give toe in, not toe out. My most thrilling test was the one with accidental toe out. :-) You should be able to hack the LMA-3 to get great coast-down data - I'm looking forward to that.

Has anyone actually investigated glass-bending at home? The stuff goes plastic at surprisingly low temperatures if you have time, and we do. If you start with a compound curve, you can slump it into another compound curve far easier than starting from flat. If you are heating a space anyway, it is really cheap to build an oven using drywall or concrete/fiberglass panels with metal corners and maybe some fiberglass insulation. You can use any kind of junk stove elements, etc. The key is to include a vigorous fan or blower, assembled with its motor outside to stay cool.

One easy tip: The roof over my child seat is just painted on. One clear sheet with square corners forms that section of the body, and the side windows were masked to that shape.

One radical tip: Why do cars use downforce? Why not use big rudders over the CG to make them turn, stay up, etc?

One engine tip: Why do we use throttle plates? Why not use an electric supercharger and run it as a generator?

07-26-2017, 02:15 AM	#37 (permalink)
Bicycle Bob EcoModding Apprentice Join Date: May 2008 Location: N. Saskatchewan, CA Posts: 1,805 Appliance White - '93 Geo Metro 4-Dr. Auto Last 3: 42.35 mpg (US) Stealth RV - '91 Chevy Sprint Base Thanks: 91 Thanked 459 Times in 327 Posts	Thanks, Ray. I hadn't gotten any feedback on the X-4 for years, despite this re-cap last year: The Flexible Flyer: How composites made velomobile history : CompositesWorld Re-posting that on BentRider got me one request for plans for a stitch 'n' glue velomobile chassis. I'm getting a round tuit, I hope, and thinking of one with a Honda Cub engine for me. It is an hour to the nearest traffic light from here. I didn't meet Craig Vetter or Ned Ryan Doyle, but I got Craig's movie. I read almost everything, including the 3VG story. Would you like a rather select library? We old fogies need to pass the torch. How about a 500 cc flat four from an aircraft APU? (Not recommended for max economy.) I'm surprised at your extreme truck wake problems, but I seldom got to 50 MPH downhill on the X-4. Having seen various blowovers, though, I am convinced that any fast, lightweight vehicle should be stable as a glider if used as a stunt gap-jumper, and able to cross a section of wet glare ice in a crosswind with only sideways displacement, no yaw. I suspect you are suffering from a cp too far forward of the cg, amplifying all disturbances. That was the Achille's heel of the Tatras, and the wonderful Pillbug. Vetter's problems mostly went away with nose ballast, so I now draw front engines when I doodle. Why not stick a big, cheap, hackable tail fin on it, Bonneville style, and see how it runs? If you want to run zero toe, the trick seems to be to make sure that braking forces give toe in, not toe out. My most thrilling test was the one with accidental toe out. :-) You should be able to hack the LMA-3 to get great coast-down data - I'm looking forward to that. Has anyone actually investigated glass-bending at home? The stuff goes plastic at surprisingly low temperatures if you have time, and we do. If you start with a compound curve, you can slump it into another compound curve far easier than starting from flat. If you are heating a space anyway, it is really cheap to build an oven using drywall or concrete/fiberglass panels with metal corners and maybe some fiberglass insulation. You can use any kind of junk stove elements, etc. The key is to include a vigorous fan or blower, assembled with its motor outside to stay cool. One easy tip: The roof over my child seat is just painted on. One clear sheet with square corners forms that section of the body, and the side windows were masked to that shape. One radical tip: Why do cars use downforce? Why not use big rudders over the CG to make them turn, stay up, etc? One engine tip: Why do we use throttle plates? Why not use an electric supercharger and run it as a generator?