Latest News...
|
Gearing up for next record challenge |
|
Friday, 04 May 2007 |
With time marching onwards, we are putting the finishing touches to the design tweaks required for the latest Windjet land craft. Currently sitting in storage in Australia, the vehicle will soon be fitted with some new components in preparation for this years land record window, August at Lake Lefroy, Western Australia.
After first trials of the machine last year, slight modifications are required to optimise the craft for the local conditions, as well as eliminate the 'flutter' problems we had with the wing.
|
|
|
Tuesday, 14 November 2006 |
Well, with the yacht now packed up and off the lake, the weather is showing no signs of improving for this season. Spring / summer is now well set in, with a very different set of weather systems then those we saw a few months ago. August /September are definitely the record months here in Australia.
Unfortuntely the 2 week delay on the ship from the UK, followed by 2 weeks getting through Australian customs, followed by a few weeks of minor adjustments to the new craft, meant we were 6-8 weeks late for record conditions this time. However, we are now in good shape and obviously here well in advance of the next record window, August 1st onwards!
Ready to go a few weeks ago, with a perfect surface!
In the meantime, we will do some work on the water craft and hopefully get to Montana in February to do some ice sailing in Windjet No 2, which is still in Nevada.
 A few day sitting in (very) salty water is not good for the machinery! |
|
|
No explanation necessary.... |
|
|
Wednesday, 01 November 2006 |
Although conditions are not looking good for record setting winds this season at Lake Lefroy, Australia, we are not unhappy with the status of the land record, far from it.
Initial testing of the new land craft and a few months experience of the local conditions has shown that we are now perfectly poised to set a new record when the wind returns next season;
- The craft is close to an ultimate configuration (It will be ultimate by next season)
- Lake lefroy is the ultimate speed sailing venue, providing size, traction and wind, the three crucial components for speed sailing.
- We finally have the right wing, for the right tyres for the right surface, in the right continent, which is a first!
So what does this all mean? Well, after the years of testing and evolution, we may have not broken the current record, but we have learnt a huge amount about what makes a yacht fast. All this knowledge is now combined into the latest craft, so that when it receives its final fairings and small modifications, it will be as close to an ultimate land speed sailing machine as it gets! This means that when the wind returns next August, we will not only be able to break the current record, but break it by the maximum margin possible.
The craft is still assembled on the lake, just in case we do have the right conditions in the next few weeks, however, after the middle of November, the chances of big winds decrease significantly as the desert starts to heat up for summer.
|
|
|
|
