- #1
Airman
- 23
- 0
I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out. My plan is to attach airfoils to my bike. I know it would be very hard to actually take off, but what if I got enough lift to counteract most of gravity? I could then jump my bike or go off a ramp and theoretically fly much farther and longer than usual due to the lessened downwards acceleration. Maybe I'm just crazy, but what are your thoughts?
Here is what I have:
Lift = 1/2 * p (air density) * v^2 * A (planar area) * CL (coefficient of lift)
Air density = 1.2 kg/m^3
Airspeed = Assuming no wind, I know I can ride my bike at least 50 km/h, but probably up to 60+, especially if I were to use a big hill. Thats 13-17 m/s.
A = This I am not sure. My bike is just over 5 feet long, and if I were to use up both sides of the street than the wingspan couldn't be more than 14 feet. I am just going to have to make them as big as I need.
Lift Coefficient = I am going to use a Clark Y airfoil (mostly for simplicity of design), and can probably get the angle of attack pretty set on my bike, so maybe 1.2?
1/2 * 1.2 kg/m^3 * (60 km/h)^2 * 1.2 (CL) = 200 N/m^2
My bike and I together weigh about 240 pounds, and assuming I can build the wings light enough, I can probably keep the whole thing under 120 kg, or 1176 N.
1176 N / 200N/m^2 = 5.88 m^2.
My data for the Clark Y (where I got the 1.2 CL) was for a wing with an aspect ratio of 6.
Aspect Ratio = (Wingspan)^2 / (Wing Area)
6 = (Wingspan)^2 / (5.88 m^2)
Wingspan = 5.93 meters. Obviously for this to work I am going to need to use a lower Aspect Ratio (I don't know how that's going to affect things), or find a wider runway (Which I could do, but probably not a hill).
I will probably end up shortening the wings and making them wider. If I have a 14 ft wingspan, for 5.88 square meters I would need them to be 3.78 feet wide.
Here are some other problems:
The drag on the wings will make it much harder to go as fast as I can with just the bike. I think it would be too hard to make retractable wings, so I am just going to have to pedal hard. Next, as I pick up speed, I will begin to get lift, which will mean I will get less traction for my tires, making it even harder to speed up. Do you see other potential problems? Any ideas? I am not sure how stable I am going to be. Are
Here is what I have:
Lift = 1/2 * p (air density) * v^2 * A (planar area) * CL (coefficient of lift)
Air density = 1.2 kg/m^3
Airspeed = Assuming no wind, I know I can ride my bike at least 50 km/h, but probably up to 60+, especially if I were to use a big hill. Thats 13-17 m/s.
A = This I am not sure. My bike is just over 5 feet long, and if I were to use up both sides of the street than the wingspan couldn't be more than 14 feet. I am just going to have to make them as big as I need.
Lift Coefficient = I am going to use a Clark Y airfoil (mostly for simplicity of design), and can probably get the angle of attack pretty set on my bike, so maybe 1.2?
1/2 * 1.2 kg/m^3 * (60 km/h)^2 * 1.2 (CL) = 200 N/m^2
My bike and I together weigh about 240 pounds, and assuming I can build the wings light enough, I can probably keep the whole thing under 120 kg, or 1176 N.
1176 N / 200N/m^2 = 5.88 m^2.
My data for the Clark Y (where I got the 1.2 CL) was for a wing with an aspect ratio of 6.
Aspect Ratio = (Wingspan)^2 / (Wing Area)
6 = (Wingspan)^2 / (5.88 m^2)
Wingspan = 5.93 meters. Obviously for this to work I am going to need to use a lower Aspect Ratio (I don't know how that's going to affect things), or find a wider runway (Which I could do, but probably not a hill).
I will probably end up shortening the wings and making them wider. If I have a 14 ft wingspan, for 5.88 square meters I would need them to be 3.78 feet wide.
Here are some other problems:
The drag on the wings will make it much harder to go as fast as I can with just the bike. I think it would be too hard to make retractable wings, so I am just going to have to pedal hard. Next, as I pick up speed, I will begin to get lift, which will mean I will get less traction for my tires, making it even harder to speed up. Do you see other potential problems? Any ideas? I am not sure how stable I am going to be. Are
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