I want everyboby to know that John will be alright in a week or so...You see he
just came back from California and will be in rehab 'til next Wednesday!!!
John, you scare me sometimes.
joe
John Beckett wrote:
> List
>
> Been busy thinking outside the box, so now I think I have it all figured
> out. The issue is one of ballast. Almost none in a drag car and perhaps
> thousands of lbs. in some LSR vehicles. Well accelerating the mass is a
> factor but keeping the tires glued to the salt is the other major issue.
> Ballast is the preferred method of maintaining that contact as it doesn't
> cause aerodynamic drag.
>
> Now the problem comes about when trying to slow all this mass. LSR vehicles
> weigh 3 or 4 times what a drag car weighs. Consequently when the chute is
> opened at high speed the strength limits of the materials used are quickly
> reached and things start to fail.
>
> So after discussions with another well known racer the following seems to be
> the answer. LSR vehicles need to be built with a rear door similar to a
> C-130. Ballast is positioned on a skid which is placed inside the vehicles
> rear compartment. A drogue chute is attached to the skid, and when deployed
> will pull the skid and ballast from the rear of the vehicle. In this way the
> car may cut its over all mass by perhaps one half and therefore when the
> regular parachute is deployed the stress on the chute is considerably
> reduced as well as the distance required to stop.
>
> A proper driving technique may be required as it is possible, depending on
> the skid and drogue design, that the skid may slide faster and further than
> the car itself. Therefor it would be recommended that drivers pull to the
> left dump their load and move quickly to the right and out of the way before
> pulling their main chute.
>
> Just some thinking way outside the box.
>
> JB
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