Quote:
Originally Posted by rschlegel
I am wondering whether wheel size or wheel cover (with a smooth design, like a moon) has the greatest impact on fuel economy, and by what percentage for each? Is there any research data on this?
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The MOON's ancestors were on World War-I biplanes.
And before WW-II, Bob Rufi was using war surplus aircraft wheel covers on his home-built land speed record dry lakes racer.
In Fig. 8.13, page-128, of AERODYNAMIC DRAG, by Sighard Hoerner, 1951, he depicts the lowest-drag aviation 'Streamline Wheel', originally presented by Becker & Leonard, in NACA Technical Report # 750, showing Goodyear's Cd 0.12 'oval' unit ( a spitting-image of the front tires/MOONs, of freebeard's Bonneville Tall-Boy race car that he's shown ).
In 1963, Walter Korff, Chief Aerodynamicist for Lockheed Aircraft Co., and designer of the Summers Brothers' 'Goldenrod' LSR streamliner, advocated for the MOON cover design, holding it up as the standard-bearer for low-drag wheel covers.
Paris Dressmakers hate them!