Greenbird Smashes Record
The Greenbird is a high tech combination of racing yacht, aeroplane and Formula 1 racing car design and technology. Lightweight, low friction and minimized aerodynamic drag are the secret ingredients behind the world record. The entire structure is made from carbon-fiber which has the high stiffness and strength required to transfer the wind loads on the Greenbird vertical sail, into traction forces on the ground. The suspension allows some compliance between the vehicle and the rough dry-lake surface; otherwise it would be difficult to control.
Greenbird weighs around 600kgs but the ground pressure is around 1ton at high speed. The forward thrust comes from the wind flow over the aerofoil section, just like an aircraft wing that creates lift, so the pressure differential over the wing creates forces that get translated into forward velocity. The Greenbird has such low drag and low rolling friction, that it uses the wind energy very efficiently, and can actually travel at speeds 3 to 5 times faster than the speed at which the wind is blowing.
Richard Jenkins and his team set a new world land speed record for wind powered land vehicles of (202.9km/h) at Ivanpah Lake, Nevada.
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