We're drillin' for oil

We had our weekly team design meeting today and just so everyone could get a feel for the scale of what we were doing I clamped all the primary chassis pieces together for viewing. When they imagined the tip of the prop another 10ft above the prop pylon, they were better able to see why the cart has the width and length it does. More than one commented that it looked like an oil drilling derrick.

The rear axle cage that you see here is only for dyno testing -- the one used out on the runway will be twice as wide. The prop stand you see there is 12ft high and is sized for a 20ft prop. Those tall pylons will be faired out to a long airfoil shape for low drag. Even at only windspeed, those pylons get a lot of airflow from the wash of the prop so they need to be sleek.

Bob Parks was at our meeting and over the next few days will be helping us determine if we will be building a 20ft prop or one as small as 16ft turning a bit faster. The larger prop is more efficient on it's own, but gearing losses on a slower turning prop can erase those gains. He's going to help us find the most productive balance.