NFA Vehicles Type 5
 

The Type Five was a Kevlar™-faired upright bicycle with small (BMX) wheels.
Used during the First Gulf War, it was painted in Camouflage during the War.
Type Five was designed to versatile, it could be air-dropped , or used in the surf for an amphibious attack. Though somewhat successful , United Nations observers cried foul when Type 5 was used by the Navy's Shore Patrol (Military Police, SP=MP) to discourage illegal immigrants from setting foot on US soil. Under he "Wet Foot Law" , if the Cubans were intercepted in the water, before getting here, they could Not claim exile . The Type 5 was able to intercept several Cubans , who were then taken by a Zodiac patrol boat to a Destroyer waiting offshore.
But, the UN observers insisted that this was a violation of the Geneva Convention , which says it is illegal to use "Experimental Weapons " in the field.

Type 5 in Camouflage:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1621/...bb6c9e8e_c.jpgPICT0228 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1708/...d31c4518_c.jpgPICT0307 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

All chrome had to be "blacked out" with shoe polish.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1577/...aae5791e_c.jpgPICT0227 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

Later on , the camouflage was changed to Navy "Haze Grey" and the lighting system was upgraded from 6 to 12 volts.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/...37d12912_c.jpgIMG_0007 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

My Daughter and her Friends test rode the Type 5 , before designing the the Type 7 and the Type 9. Type Nine is listed elsewhere in this forum.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7327/...37b16e95_c.jpgIMG_0009 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

Why do the corners flare out?

How stable is it during strong crosswinds?

The sides were polyethylene , which came rolled-up, and it had a tendency to curl. You can see in the earlier photo , (second photo from top). that it was worse, and that I trimmed the edges down a little.

If it was an actual IHPVA 200 meter time trial, we would need to have crew tape those flaps down, and have the tail box (fairing) on.

The major portion of the fairing was Kevlar™.

As a pilot , I've had practice with crosswind landings, so I'm used to it, but other people get scared , just with the disk wheel covers, w/o the fairing...

[IMG]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1550/...d9c4f34b_c.jpgPICT0298 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr[/IMG]
The Type 6, with the Tailbox and roof. Top was held in place by pop-rivets (blind rivets), so was Not "convertible" , hence I cal it "Type 6", not Type 5...

[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5790/...e1b61c5e_c.jpgBicycle Fairing Type 5 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr[/IMG]

Here's a photo with the Type 5 in white primer. Perhaps the transition from Kevlar™ to polyethylene can be seen better here.

[IMG]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1333/...ff1b76f6_b.jpgEarly Prototypes by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr[/IMG]

Type 4 was a Fiberglass Type 5 . You can see the wedge shape of the Fairing , looking down from the deck to the back yard. The other bike has the Frame Rails which supported the Fairings. These Frame Rails would crack every 6,000 miles to to Cycle Fatigue, and I don't recommend using this technique, unless maybe try Steel instead of Aluminum...

[IMG]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1630/...be52c7e5_c.jpgType 5 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr[/IMG]
Type 5 , here with the yellow color of Raw Kevlar™ , and the Type 4 Fiberglass Fairing again .

Were these guys maybe wearing white helmets? Did they say what century the bicycles would cease to be 'experimental'?

That's a lot of Kevlar for someone who goes by AviationMetalSmith. :)

That's sharp of you to point that out. But actually,
in Naval Aviation, Fiberglass, Carbon Fiber, and other composites are
filed under the category of "Aviation Sheet Metal".

The Harrier AV8B is the only aircraft we had onboard that contained Kevlar, and it was a Marine aircraft .

I had a 3/16ths Drill Bit for drilling rivet holes in the Kevlar. It was special order, because Kevlar , being bullet proof, also doesn't cooperate with drill bits either ! One day , some officers from the HMS Invincible (a carrier with some squadrons of Harrier Jump Jets ) came over and asked if we had a drill bit for Kevlar, because they didn't have one onboard. Turned out , I had one in my locker... There was some paperwork to fill out... I did Not give the drill bit to the captain of the Invincible... I had to "Bequeath the Drill Bit to the Queen of England". And an entry was made in the Domesday Book.

As I recall, the U.S. Army (and possibly the entire DoD) classified a CD as "magnetic media."