I think that the statement is erroneous! Few, all encompassing
statements are correct. Burklands comp coupe has ground effects and it
has not had a problem. There are many others that have at least a quasi
ground effects design. If a car has ground effects or not, it usually is
OK until it loses traction, then the trouble begins.
I can testify that any car the gets too far out of shape will fly, or at
least try to. Most of the cars that run at Bonneville have a flat bottom
and a rounded upper side, it's a wing if it enters the air in just about
any direction except the forward intended manner.
Tom, Redding CA where it was 109 yesterday and headed that way again
today.
#216 D/CC
John Beckett wrote:
>
> OK, but don't Indy, CART and F-1 cars have ground effects? And aren't they
> turning corners all the time and some at very high speeds?
>
> Ken Walkey may be right with his statement, but I still fail to understand
> why?
>
> How many Streamlines have run on the salt with ground effects? Did they all
> fly? How many without ground effects have flown?
>
> John Beckett, LSR #79
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Dincau" <jdincau@qnet.com>
> To: "Dan Warner" <dwarner@electrorent.com>; <land-speed@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 10:30 PM
> Subject: Re: Flying Streamliners
>
> > Hi Dan;
> > Here is my input. In 1990 I talked my partners Ken Logan and Jerry
> > Jones into trying ground effects for traction instead of lead. We took
> all
> > the lead out (about 800 lbs. I think) and I built skirts for the sides.
> With
> > the slope on the underside of the car and tapering up from 36 in wide at
> the
> > firewall to 40 inches wide at the back end the aero guys at Lockheed
> > thought the resulting diffuser would produce about 1200 pounds of
> downforce.
> > First run Jerry hits a wet spot at about 220 an it swaps ends so fast he
> > can't catch it. The car went around 5 times, it turns out that the ground
> > effects worked just great till the car got a little sideways and the
> airflow
> > through the tunnel stalled.
> > Wings and tunnels add traction with a drag penalty and that penalty
> > increases with the square of the speed. Lead adds traction with an
> > acceleration penalty but it is constant and doesn't go away when the
> airflow
> > is less than ideal. If I were building a streamliner it would be front
> > engined, front wheel drive to get the maximum weight on the drive wheels.
> > Aero managed downforce is neat if you have to turn and accelerate at the
> > same time, we don't.
> >
> > Jim in Palmdale, who's rocket scientist reputation was enhanced by the
> above
> > incident.
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Dan Warner <dwarner@electrorent.com>
> > To: <land-speed@autox.team.net>
> > Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 10:33 AM
> > Subject: Flying Streamliners
> >
> >
> > > Interesting conversation concerning streamliners. Ken Walky stated that
> > > there had never been a ground effects streamliner that did not fly.
> > > Accumulated wisdom could not refute Ken's theory.
> > >
> > > We had to define ground effects as a lifting surface on top of the car
> > > and/or tunnels or some such device under the car(non-flat bottom).
> > >
> > > Any comments?
> > >
> > > Dan (looking for air) Warner
> > >
> >
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