UltraLight Body Design

[bobhenry]

Kenny

Would there be any advantade to incorporating a spoiler of some type on a profile like the "trailer for two" This profile comes to a sharp point at the tail and with the large rather blunt nose would leave a bit of a vacuum wake would it not ?

I have see the vortex generators that are goofy shaped looking kinda like the starship enterprise. Wouldn't one of those mounted to the rear look ever so dashing

[GPW]

Thinking if you wanted max aerodynamics on an ultralight like Schaneys , it'd be simple to add another tent-like structure on the back to make the "cone "... Collapsable when you don't need it ...just snaps on ... EASY !!!

May be good if you're planning on towing it with a Prius , or electric car , where every little bit counts ...

[schaney]

Yes a fitted fabric tent with screened windows is the idea.

The flat back design is yet another trade-offs discussion. It's done this way so you can have a nice sized door that will seal good in a fabric shell.

In theory it wouldn't be that hard to add a rear section that gives it a teardrop shape for traveling and makes in to a awning for at camp.

[GPW]

With your ingenuity , a convertible awning /rear cone would be very possible ... COOL idea !!!!!

[schaney]

Thanks GPW ...

[kennyrayandersen]

actually, there have been several experiments using inflatable cones -- you just have to put a hole in the end of the cone so the air has some place to escape and that will keep it from flapping. The other thing you could do is make the door 3-dimensional, so that the cone will actually be the door. In the end, it's not that big of a deal, it was just an observation.

I think it would carry the whole air-ship ting to another level though if there were some type of taper to the back... just sayin'.

[angib]

Here's another material that might enable interesting shapes to be made - a pre-preg cloth that sets in sunlight and can be had with supporting wires built into it: HyperFiber

As usual, the price is the downside.

Andrew

[kennyrayandersen]

As usual, the price is the downside.
Andrew

You weren’t kidding -- 6â€

[schaney]

kennyrayandersen, I'm having troubles visualizing how an inflatable cone makes for a good sealing door?? Any pictures, sketches, further description of what you're thinking?

Andrew, the UV set pre-preg is very interesting but $500 a sq yd is anything but cost effective

[kennyrayandersen]

kennyrayandersen, I'm having troubles visualizing how an inflatable cone makes for a good sealing door?? Any pictures, sketches, further description of what you're thinking?

The way it would work is you make a fabric cone that attaches to the aft square part of the tear -- not necessarily just the door. Anyway -- it would be kind of like a wind sock, only fatter. The forward end would match the aft of the tear and the aft end could be somewhere in the neighborhood of a foot in diameter, and open -- the exit air will go through the hole. You would put some low profile scoops near the body that would catch the air which would inflate the 'sock'. The sock then becomes your boat tail.

Now, if your door were big and vertical, I was thinking you could make the door itself cone-shaped, but that might be a little more difficult to integrate.

You can read here about one that is inflatable (link follows) (but I think it cool to think it could inflate itself). It may not be worth the hassle -- it's just an idea (and it would actually work to reduce drag).

http://www.heavydutytrucking.com/2006/03/072a0603.asp

[schaney]

Ok now I understand, the inflatable is the tapered tail section not the door.

[GPW]

I really don't think you'd notice the difference with or without a tail cone.. Towing anyway ... believe weight to be the bigger factor ... I sorta' like the looks of the trailer as it is ... well with a covering of course...

[GPW]

Schaney , thinking about a universal tubing coupler ... tubing , inner third flattened , cross that with another of the same (perpendicular) Bolt or rivet that together ... each leg could be bent to accommodate the various angles of most any frame ... Just an idea for we homebuilders ...

[schaney]

My initital thought is your structure would flex more than desired joining that way.

One home-building alternative is using couplers. Although you are somewhat limit in the angles available and they add cost.

[GPW]

Schaney , it was just an idea to produce an inexpensive way to couple tubing for frames... I think by the time you buy all those commercial couplers , you could have had it welded by an expert ... I did some PVC constructions a while back(not a trailer) ... the fittings were more expensive than the tubing ....