Random Aerodynamic Oddity of the Day Thread

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

I was a rear-engine booster all my life until Mercedes had their blowover crashes at Le Mans. Then, I realized that any fast, light, streamlined vehicle should have a stable glide. Even if it won't get airborne, it could hit a patch of wet ice with a strong crosswind. It should only slide, not yaw.
The 911 is a triumph of engineering to adapt a VW bug for sport. I'd say that it looks distinctive handsome, but not beautiful.

Do the front engine cars have an airborne glide to them?

Influential Moments in Racing
https://tb98nj.wordpress.com/2017/01/

Mercedes` backstory at Le Mans is…intriguing. They dropped out of Le Mans after the 1955 Disaster, but eventually eased their way back into it. By 1999, they had three cars as part of their team, and wanted to introduce a new prototype called the CLR to the track to replace the CLK GTR. An issue with the aerodynamics, however, made its way into the cars during construction, and was not picked up until the cars were finished. The flaw allowed for air to almost built up in pockets when going over a hill, of which there are a few at Le Mans, instead of being properly dispersed. Coupled with slipstream, this allowed for the car to easily take flight. During Happy Hour on Thursday, Mark Webber took to the skies down Mulsanne in the lead car, which was a complete writeoff after apparently going into the trees. Webber emerged from the car unhurt, and the cars were allowed to take to the track in qualifying, which actually went fine.

On Saturday, during a warmup, Mulsanne became a launch pad for the CLR, with Webber again in the driver`s seat.

This time the car ended up staying in bounds and landing on the track inverted. Webber`s team withdrew, but the other two Mercedes kept going after the manufacturer fixed what they could. Guess what happened to Peter Dumbreck during the race at Indianapolis?

Mercedes parked the surviving CLR and went home, vowing to not return to Le Mans for a long while. Again*. Thankfully, Peter was okay after his midair cartwheel. It would be nine years before another blowover occurred at Le Mans, and they`ve happened every now and again since. It`s not exactly easy to completely prevent, with how lightweight these cars are…

[kach22i]

2020 New Random Pics - Page 121 - Pelican Parts Forums

[Bicycle Bob]

"Do the front engine car have an airborne glide to them?"
Only a few stunt jumpers have really concerned themselves with airborne stability, and they have not used streamlined shapes. Quite a few LSR machines have used vertical tail fins to move the center of pressure back relative to the engine mass. Once you add streamlining to a highway car, subject to a wide range of crosswind conditions, the problem is non-trivial. The center of lift likes to change when a wing stalls, as it will at some speed combinations.
Hydroplanes are also notorious for blowover accidents. If they were reliably stable in the air, they could be designed to barely touch the water.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Do the front engine car have an airborne glide to them?

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=airborn+baja+trophy+truck&iar=videos

I've seen [video of] Baja trucks from being paced by a helicopter so you can see them at 100 mph, they fly pretty level.

Came here to post this:

Novel Rocket Ship is Produced in Detroit (1934)

[kach22i]

1982 ground effect Indy car - photos
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...r-photos-75952





https://marshallpruett.com/podcast-k...viation-chevy/
<iframe src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/audio/postId/6268823?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.podbean.com%2Few%2Fp b-drwf3-5fa797" width="100%" height="100" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-name="pd-iframe-player"></iframe>

Yes, it’s that car. The insane Eagle Aviation-Chevy Ken Hamilton attempted to qualify for the 1982 Indy 500. What a priceless turd. I spoke with Ken who gave me the entire history on its design origins and shared the hilarious tales of trying to get the nightmare up to speed…

Brickyard oddities: history’s strangest Indy 500 racers
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/...ndy-500-racers

Click on the photo - arrows to right.

[kach22i]

Miller Gulf Special 1938-39
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/...ndy-500-racers

.....it had a mid-mounted 180cu in blown Miller ‘six’ motor, four-wheel drive, independent suspension, side-mounted fuel tanks and disc brakes – most of which are still seen on race cars today.....................

.........the Miller Gulf Special became the first rear-engined car ever to qualify for the 500.

1955
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/...ndy-500-racers

Sumar Streamliner was, as the name suggests, to be as aerodynamic as possible.

From the next click.

The bodywork also defeated its own purpose by creating more drag, so it was removed during practice. In its ‘naked’ state, the car was quick enough to make the race at 139mph.

[freebeard]

I like this a lot. It's like Colani's Bonneville car.



And the plowshare half-fenders prefigure the Aston Martin Valkyrie. I listened to the whole podcast and other than insufficient downforce, no criticism of the aerodynamics occurs. The problems could have all been down to the weight distribution and suspension. Aircraft designers don't have to contend with those issues.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I listened to the whole podcast.........

How exactly does one spin a car with that long of a wheelbase?

Would have been quite the sight.

A little more information:

Crop Killer - 1982 Eagle Aircraft Flyer Special Chevrolet Indycar
https://drivetribe.com/p/crop-killer...RZKq02hnSe4KIg

And then, there was a third player who elected to do nothing of the above. That new team was Eagle Aircraft, the most unlikely racing outfit ever created.

[kach22i]

Random TRANSPORTATION pictures - Page 2428 - Pelican Parts Forums

[freebeard]

Shark mouth and home-mad wheel chocks.


justacarguy.blogspot.com/2020/12/beer-bottle-car-beside-billings-brewery

Tiny stagnation point.