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Understandable that it doesn't take much wind for a vehicle well under a pound. But what about one that weighs well over 100 pounds?
by jrs235 5y ago
Understandable that it doesn't take much wind for a vehicle well under a pound. But what about one that weighs well over 100 pounds?
- mumblemumble 5y agoThe 100 pound vehicle also has a much larger cross section to the wind. And its propeller is further off the ground, so it's getting cleaner wind than the little model version. I can get a boat that weighs more and has less sail area going on less wind than that. And that thing has to be dragged through the water on top of everything else.
- amluto 5y agoIn the water, there is no static friction and no velocity-independent friction. If you push a floating boat, it moves.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mumblemumble 5y agoFair point. Though, I would guess that Blackbird's internal mechanisms are well-enough engineered that it has very, very little static friction where it counts.
- wongarsu 5y agoIn the veratasium video [1] you can see it starting just from the wind (first attempt is around 5:20). It works just fine because as you scale up the vehicle you scale up the propeller, so there's plenty of surface for the wind to push against. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyQwgBAaBag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyQwgBAaBag
- dharmab 5y agoMy motorcycle with me on it can weight 700-800 pounds and has a much smaller cross sectional area than blackbird. And yet it still gets pushed around sometimes by crosswinds .
- IntrepidWorm 5y agoIf I understand what you're saying though, you would be in motion on the bike as the crosswind pushes against you- it takes a lot less force to shift your heading while moving forwards than if you were being blown sideways while stationary. Unless I'm misinterpreting your statement- perhaps you have a hobby of riding in hurricanes, which would be rad. :)
- dharmab 5y agoI've definitely ridden through some storms that felt that way!