Drafting idea (using sails)

[bandit86]

How about a sail like on a sail boat, have a winch run up the sails and masts with the flip of a button, a big truck should create enough suction to drag a civic behind it

[Arragonis]

Have you see the Unicorn lounge ?

[j12piprius]

Originally Posted by bandit86

How about a sail like on a sail boat, have a winch run up the sails and masts with the flip of a button, a big truck should create enough suction to drag a civic behind it

Wouldn't that just slow you down more?

I think a truck doesn't pull the wind forward, it just provides a barrier and lessens the force of the wind.

So having sails would counter the effect of the truck, would catch more of the wind and slow down your car.

[gone-ot]

...if you're close enough to draft, why not just use a "tow-rope"?

[D.O.G.]

Yeah..a tow rope attatched to a giant fuel magnet, so you can change trucks when one turns off.
....and some people say those fuel magnets aren't good for anything, HA!

[AllTerrain9]

Something ive thought about before

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by johnlvs2run

Wouldn't that just slow you down more?

I think a truck doesn't pull the wind forward, it just provides a barrier and lessens the force of the wind.

So having sails would counter the effect of the truck, would catch more of the wind and slow down your car.

The air in the wake of a truck is moving forward relative to the ground, but some of it may be moving forward relative to the truck, i.e. it is moving faster than the truck (relative to the ground). Relative to the truck, a drafting car is not moving, so that small portion of air is moving forward from the car's POV. Of course, this is all happening inside the wake (and/or close to its outer edges), so you have to be very close to catch it. Maybe a small, vertical piece of plexi at the front of the car's hood could barely catch the draft, but any variation in distance from the truck, or a gust of cross wind, could suddenly have that plexi pushing instead of pulling you.

In theory you might see a small gain, but in practice not enough to sacrifice safety. At that distance a tow bar would be much better.

[Joenavy85]

i've seen guys in my hometown draft behind Semi-trucks down main street when it's not busy, watched one guy go about 1 1/2 miles without peddling at all. a little too risky if you ask me

[Ryland]

This idea has been done, but it does not work by trying to grab on to the suction behind a large truck because that suction would have to be a perfect vacuum in order for it to pull you, but large trucks do also create a strong cross wind as they push thru the air and someone has built and tested a vehicle that took cross wind and made it in to forward motion with a wing of sorts, because just like with a sail boat you can not travel in the same direction of the wind as fast as that wind.



Popular Science - Google Books

So yes, the idea of a sail can be laughed at but that is mostly because a sail works as a wing, not a cup that catches the wind, a wing creates lift and when put on a boat or a car that lift is turned in to forward force so a 15mph wind can push you forward at 30 or 40mph.

[jamesqf]

I've been toying with the idea of attaching the kite from one of these Kite buggy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to the Insight, for trips out to central Nevada. Once you get east of Fallon, there's not a whole lot to worry about in the way of power lines or other traffic...