We did a running test last week on the power trailer Rev-4, and today on Rev-5. I'd thought a bicycle would be effective but we learned pretty quickly that a man running (me) can produce a lot more power than a man on a bicycle. Bicycle = 12 volts. Running = 72 and 77 volts (about 296 watts for a few seconds - almost half a horsepower).
If you look closely, the ski poles you might notice on the April 8th test are being used as guides to keep the tether centered on the capstan. Notice they're not there on the April 13th Rev-5 test.
The voices are Bruce - watching the volt meter and lights, and Dana running the camera. That's me, Dimitri, pulling the tether.
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2 comments:
dimitri - you are going to be the best physically fit Wind Energy Founder
-rob
Some people have asked me why we didn't simply use a motorcycle or another car to pull the tether.
Two reasons.
1. The tether we're now using has a breaking strength of more than 5,000 pounds. Most likely that breaking strength is considerably higher than some of the other components on the power trailer. If we were pulling with a heavy vehicle, even a motorcycle or lawn tractor, in the unlikely event that one of the components would get jammed, the tether attached to a heavy vehicle would most likely rip the entire power trailer apart before we could even stop the vehicle. That would be bad.
2. We wanted to get a 'feel' for how much effort is required to generate the types of power the glider will be generating. From my first-hand experience I can now state with some expertise, that even a horsepower, much less the twenty horsepower this first glider system will create, is quite a bit of power. There's nothing like really groking what you're doing.
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