Peter Lynn Speed Buggy.....Dissected

Very cool article.

Pops,

just a thought....................have you or PL thought of a carbon wheel setup. As a once national level competitive triathlete I found the use of carbon wheels made a big difference in speed performance and now is the standard among most triathletes. I would hesitate in using a "solid" disk as winds are coming in at an angle to the wheel causing a push. A carbon tri spoke design would be my choice. There are a few companies out there that might be interested in designing such a wheel. Again just a suggestion and this idea may be underway as we speak................................

It's a neat concept they built, good evolution of the traditional buggy design. The single steering arm is hopefully strong enough at speed :D I've always though there where some issues with the basic structure for max flow. I would hope they are working a next rev with the areoE's...?

That thing is a beast!

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Originally posted by tridude Pops, just a thought....................have you or PL thought of a carbon wheel setup. As a once national level competitive triathlete I found the use of carbon wheels made a big difference in speed performance and now is the standard among most triathletes. I would hesitate in using a "solid" disk as winds are coming in at an angle to the wheel causing a push. A carbon tri spoke design would be my choice. There are a few companies out there that might be interested in designing such a wheel. Again just a suggestion and this idea may be underway as we speak................................

I am sure what you say is correct, it all comes dow to how much do you want to spend on a project like this....

luckily PL had a large budget, but there are not many places you could run a vehicle like this, so ended up leaving it at Ivanpah, respect to PL for that..

...to us lesser buggy builders, well, if I lived within 100 miles of a great dry lake bed like that, this type of buggy would be all that I would be building, but, there is no where as flat or as hard as that surface in the UK, so we make buggies to suit our conditions.....

Now for instance, Kent at Awindofchange, has the tool and the people around him, in Vegas to attempt such a project.....maybe, we should ......"apply a little pressure" there, especially if we ca get a sponsor involved, to help fund such a project. I know Jon Ellis, was well on the way making a speed buggy, but like many prototypes it got shelved....good luck

I apparently have at least another 22 mph before aerodynamics become a stumbling block to me going faster in my buggy. But taking out a majority of the drag could allow record runs in safer conditions. I wouldn't be afraid to run my buggy in conditions like Brian hit 76 or so with this past weekend, but wonder how fast I could go in the same conditions while punching my chest and head through the air? I would love a run in the speed buggy but my height and width at the hips doesn't fit. I'd need an extended head rest or something.

now another thing to consider is wind speed and direction of travel - I had a good conversation with Ruud about buggies and speed one night at the hanging tree and he brought up a very good point - when most speed runs are done you are bearing off and running down wind. So at some point you are traveling wind speed and relative to you the air around you is motionless. Then as you go faster how much relative wind speed are you punching through depending on the angle you take and the strength/speed of the gust you are riding?

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Originally posted by markite now another thing to consider is wind speed and direction of travel - I had a good conversation with Ruud about buggies and speed one night at the hanging tree and he brought up a very good point - when most speed runs are done you are bearing off and running down wind. So at some point you are traveling wind speed and relative to you the air around you is motionless. Then as you go faster how much relative wind speed are you punching through depending on the angle you take and the strength/speed of the gust you are riding?

That's a good point. I would counter that to go faster than the wind, the rider would need to edge into the wind an optimal amount to maximize speed. When I am powered enough to bear off the wind (angling more downwind than perpendicular to the wind) , I turn downwind only enough to maintain traction. Any more and I would lose speed because I would've already been going faster than the wind. I promise the wind was whistling around my helmet when I broke 60 a week ago, and I was probably going double the wind speed or so.

Just like our kites find themselves maximized in their pursuit to go upwind against our apparent wind, if we are continually speeding up as a multiple of the actual winds, we will eventually reach a point where we can accelerate no faster, with the wind in our face being a factor.

PTW,

clearly understand budget and logistic limits........IMO you are the cutting edge for quality and design in the buggy nation. Im thinking you have looked at wheel design improvements. There are quite a few universities here in the states that are funded for carbon fiber technology in body and wheel design. Possible sponosr/co sponsor with you and PL, LLC? Would be worth looking into.................a few uni's to consider, Cal Berkeley, MIT, GA Tech, VA Tech, NC State................If you find one of them showing interest Id be glad to help however I can. Im a firm believer in carbon wheel technology and the results they produce..................its defo not hype................

I exchanged a few emails today with Gav Mulvay, the guy who made this buggy, I was told many things I didnt know, I will be adding to that web page shortly

The Peter Lynn Speed Buggy Continued

I can envision a light weight tail cone behind the pilot and a smooth stretch fabric between the front fuselage and the back cone, leaving only the arms and head of the pilot exposed to the wind. Would definately make it more slippery. Good luck at NABX gentlemen.

Interesting....I have always thought a canoe or kayak body would work well...in fact the front wheel does not need to steer at all, the steering could be done via the rear wheels, that way you end up with a more pointed front end to cut through the wind

I would think an actual concave bottom surface would introduce some ground effects to thebuggy making higher speeds attainable.
Sure it would cause a bit more drag which in turn could be overcome by horsepower (kite size, wind speed). Also a splitter on the bottom, rear to channel the airflow exit from the underneath of the vehicle. All common racecar aero technology. Could it be adapted tin this type of application?

We have to remember that anything that adds drag probably can't compensate in another way. Our limiting factor is not cornering traction (benefitted on a racecar because of traction adding downforce), but overcoming frontal surface area drag. We just want to slip along with enough traction to develop power from the kite. Weight can add traction and only affects acceleration, not terminal velocity.