Thursday, November 15, 2007

Fairings - HPVs

On second thought, I find I need to be semantically correct as I approach this problem/answer. It would be more appropriate to term this end product as an External Faired Frame as the whole or parts toward a full fairing will be used as the integral external frame.

Fairings - HPVs, Tub bikes

I'd like to thank Reg Rodaro and the folks who put up the WISIL site, http://www.recumbents.com/home.asp and all of those links to the world of data presented in such fine fashion. My gratitude and blessings go out to you.
Mail conversations with Reg have solidified my attitude toward prototyping in weldable plastic with a hot air welder. The proto also took mental form along with the goal. Mainly, to pattern in flat sheets a "tub" bike(using their language) or as I refer to it as, an External Frame-Fairing. I'll use clear plastic of thin sheets to see how thin I can really go, while utilizing a cable tensioner to run throughout the structure and "pull" it together. Else, another approach will be to utilize thin, like material tubes to "hold" compound shapes. (Tension or Compression?) The purpose of this experiment is to find a way to lower the weight of full faired vehicles while not using an internal frame and to improve the strength of the total vehicle.
Currently, a full faired vehicle is acceptable coming in at fifty pounds or so, for practical daily use.
My foundation for this approach goes to Bucky Fuller and Kenneth Snelson for tensegrity. May I forward your thoughts and artifactual foresight into this art-in-fact.