The Mystery of The R-Pod Total Frontal Area |
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offgrid
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Topic: The Mystery of The R-Pod Total Frontal Area Posted: 13 May 2019 at 10:00am |
Wings create both lift and drag. So more than likely you'll get both sway AND worse fuel economy. Try it, let us know what happens, I wanna see the youtube video.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 13 May 2019 at 9:51pm |
I was thinking of the really nice fin like wings that are not horizontally oriented. I was hoping to get a pair off an old 1950's trailer made of aircraft aluminum and only about an inch thick. They'd operate more as rudders than creating an airfoil for lift. And at the snail like speeds I tend to drive, the wind resistance cause by about 10 sq. in. of leading edge surface area would be de minimus. And if I could score unicorn wings, they'd reduce drag and make fuel unnecessary. If I find them and mount them, I'll certainly post not only photos but a video.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 10:03am |
So, are you trying to make your R-Pod look like a Shasta? (scroll down to first picture in "Original Condition Shasta Trailer")
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 10:26am |
Ok, StephenH, where can I pick up a pair of those cool fins on the blue trailer in your picture? I think that would add to, not only the aesthetics of the Pod, but to it's aerodynamic efficiency. Imagine the reduction of drag and the increase of lateral stability to to those sleek fins. The only thing that would improve on them would be unicorn wings. But, I'd never want to hurt a unicorn by harvesting its wings.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 10:33am |
Ask in a Shasta forum? Likewise, harvesting unicorn wings would not be a good thing. Maybe buffalo wings?
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 11:19am |
I thought I might take a look in some junkyards around area 51. It's only about 3 1/2 hours from home. Who knows what I might find; maybe some flying saucer parts. I'd have to go all the way to Buffalo, NY, to get Buffalo wings. That may be in the plans for next summer. But I don't know the aerodynamic characteristics for them.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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David and Danette
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 24 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 12:44pm |
How about wings like the 59 Chevy impala had. Maybe could make them adjustable.
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2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018-
2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 1:03pm |
They may provide too much lift, thus creating the phenomena about which offgrid warned.
To keep on topic, the purpose of the fins would be to assist in the frontal drag and cut through the wind with a minimal amount of fuel, kind of like a streamlined locomotive of 1938.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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GlueGuy
Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2627 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 1:15pm |
You all know that if it was "just" frontal area, it would be a simple thing. Problem is, it's not. The real issue is total drag, and to be fair, it is the total drag of the TV/TT combination. If your TV is a pickup (as are a lot of TVs), then there is also the length/height of the bed of the pickup and whether it has a tonneau or not, and what sort of thing(s) might be on any rack that may or may not be there.
And finally, there is the issue of the GIGANTIC vacuum at the tail end of the R-pod. I think the only way to figure this out is to rent the wind tunnel at Moffett Field. I have not checked what the rental rate is on that puppy.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586 |
Posted: 14 May 2019 at 3:00pm |
There were some videos of a Pod with wind in different colors, I think late last year or early this year. But there would be nothing cooler than testing a Pod in the Moffett Field wind tunnel. When can we sign up?
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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