Wind Power B/C

[daydreamer0023]

Thank you all so much for the input! If you all don't mind, I would like to add on to my previous question and fl0w's question: By a drag type design, are you referring to a pinwheel type blade? Are pinwheel type blades, if designed/positioned well, effective enough or is it better to use 3-4 balsa blades with airfoil and a slight pitch adjustment?

[0ddrenaline]

Pinwheels will absolutely not be winning designs with tough competition. I brought well made pinwheels to three competitions before I realized it wasn't the best design. I won at MI state with balsa blades, and on my setup at home my state blade's voltage was only about 92% of my best blade's voltage. Getting the best blade shape took many hours of trial and error along with meticulous craftsmanship. Making the shape just right is definitely what pushed the blade to the top.

[calvin102111]

Thank you all so much for the input! If you all don't mind, I would like to add on to my previous question and fl0w's question: By a drag type design, are you referring to a pinwheel type blade? Are pinwheel type blades, if designed/positioned well, effective enough or is it better to use 3-4 balsa blades with airfoil and a slight pitch adjustment?

Yes, my mistake. Just realized what I said. The 3-4 blade design with an airfoil works the best. If you would like, I can PM you pictures of the design that I used at state.

[daydreamer0023]

Thank you all so much for the input! If you all don't mind, I would like to add on to my previous question and fl0w's question: By a drag type design, are you referring to a pinwheel type blade? Are pinwheel type blades, if designed/positioned well, effective enough or is it better to use 3-4 balsa blades with airfoil and a slight pitch adjustment?

Yes, my mistake. Just realized what I said. The 3-4 blade design with an airfoil works the best. If you would like, I can PM you pictures of the design that I used at state.

Sure, that would be great! Thank you so much!

[chalker]

As I mentioned above, there seemed to be some confusion due to the diagrams in the rules this year. Below are some modified diagrams I've made. Any suggestions / comments on whether these will help clear up the confusion?

The biggest area of confusion when I have run Wind Power is the cleared area in a 3 cm radius on the back. So maybe instead of showing a front view, show a back view with the forbidden area outlined with a dashed line. I would also suggest showing the 3 cm radius the same as you show the blade radius, even if you have to make the diagram a bit bigger. Another issue is that competitors may not have put their blade in the 3 cm radius, but put tape or glue of something else that could still interfere with mounting their device. Rule 3f could be reworded to clarify this.

Some good feedback. How's this for updated diagrams?

[calvin102111]

As I mentioned above, there seemed to be some confusion due to the diagrams in the rules this year. Below are some modified diagrams I've made. Any suggestions / comments on whether these will help clear up the confusion?

The biggest area of confusion when I have run Wind Power is the cleared area in a 3 cm radius on the back. So maybe instead of showing a front view, show a back view with the forbidden area outlined with a dashed line. I would also suggest showing the 3 cm radius the same as you show the blade radius, even if you have to make the diagram a bit bigger. Another issue is that competitors may not have put their blade in the 3 cm radius, but put tape or glue of something else that could still interfere with mounting their device. Rule 3f could be reworded to clarify this.

Some good feedback. How's this for updated diagrams?

I like it. It's much more clear on how far back the blades are allowed to extend. EDIT: Also, the picture showing how the far out the blades can extend (20 cm and 14 cm) is much more clean.

[kenniky]

The side view is more like a top view... I'd suggest rotating the diagram 90 degrees in order to make it make more sense visually, but that's just me.

[PHXcoach]

These are a definite improvement. The only thing that still bothers me is that the 3 cm still seems to be hanging out there. Would it help to add a center axis line to the top view so that the 3 cm measurement is clearly from the center line to the edge of the gray keep out ?

[fl0w]

The side view is more like a top view... I'd suggest rotating the diagram 90 degrees in order to make it make more sense visually, but that's just me.

Going off of this, I'd also suggest renaming it to "Example Assembly Top View". It's almost like a birds eye view, rather than looking at it from the side.

[chalker]

The side view is more like a top view... I'd suggest rotating the diagram 90 degrees in order to make it make more sense visually, but that's just me.

Going off of this, I'd also suggest renaming it to "Example Assembly Top View". It's almost like a birds eye view, rather than looking at it from the side.

Note that because the blades rotate, the side view and top view are inherently going to be identical.