Interesting Aerodynamic Cars (Mike Vetter's ETV, also Avion)

[Frank Lee]

The interference issues are what I'm getting at. I know from my yarn testing that anything that disturbs the flow, disrupts the flow quite a long way downstream, likely to the tail end of the vehicle and beyond into the wake. I suspect the Morelli form which is so nice with no interaction with the ground is so severely compromised by suspension and wheels that a different approach could be more fruitful, say, like the Pillbug.

P.S. I mean yes the Morelli form is what it is because of it's critical proximity to the ground plane. I meant interaction with the ground via wheels 'n' stuff.

[freebeard]

They're flying in loose formation. Agreed that interference drag is as/more important than skin friction, but if the gap is treated as a converging/diverging duct it could be minimal.

Given the lesser frontal area, the competing theories deserve testing.

[Frank Lee]

I noticed that as time went on the X-Prize winner Light Car's wheel fairings became more and more integrated. Incidentally, that pretty much removed the reason for having the in-wheel suspension. I'm betting wind tunnel work at yaw angles proved disastrous for the fairings.

[freebeard]

Dynamic trim tabs on the pontoons?

edit: It took a while to find it, but I believe this was an early Edison2 concept drawing.

[NeilBlanchard]

Mercedes studied this and all else being equal, they concluded a single form car has lower potential drag, than a multi form car.

[teoman]

MB does seem to have worked on the aero of their cars. They look like they know what they are doing.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

The interference issues are what I'm getting at. I know from my yarn testing that anything that disturbs the flow, disrupts the flow quite a long way downstream, likely to the tail end of the vehicle and beyond into the wake. I suspect the Morelli form which is so nice with no interaction with the ground is so severely compromised by suspension and wheels that a different approach could be more fruitful, say, like the Pillbug.

P.S. I mean yes the Morelli form is what it is because of it's critical proximity to the ground plane. I meant interaction with the ground via wheels 'n' stuff.

Adding wheels to the body doubled the drag,@ 0.35,then after body/wheel integration ended up with Cd 0.23 in production form,if memory serves me.
The body alone,could go as low as Cd 0.055, but it required a ridiculous ground clearance,precise inclination,and rear knife edges.
Tesla has two or three cars in production with the Morelli-shape Cd.

[Grant-53]

Car and Driver article cited Cd .22 for the Porsche Taycan EV if I read it right.

[kach22i]

Santa's High-Speed Sled
Dark Roasted Blend: Santa's High-Speed Sled

This is the high-speed motorscooter frame built by Piaggio & Co, S.p.A (Vespa) in 1951.

- a helicopter made in 1967 specifically for a "James Bond"-like movie called "Dick Smart, Agent 2.007". In the movie it could dive in the sea, fly like a helicopter and drive like a normal scooter.

- another aerodynamic frame for a scooter.

[NeilBlanchard]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Mercedes studied this and all else being equal, they concluded a single form car has lower potential drag, than a multi form car.

Actually, I am pretty sure that I learned this from Phil, right here in this forum.