Ask HN: Flying Car Practical Tech In this presentation, Elon Musk briefly mentioned a practical benefit of the new flying car, at minute 8:45:
https://www.youtube.com/live/qt5p-_tE8d0?t=525 "The actual benefit ... where the downforce of the car ... because the car sticks to the ground so hard." Could anyone who understands the technology expand on that and explain it in simple terms for non-experts? |
The debris that would get thrown out the back going down the road would be a serious hazard.
But...those create drag, so there's diminishing returns in using them. Another option is to disrupt or remove the air flowing under the car. This can be done by passive airflow redirection using an undercarriage tray, or actively via fans/blowers, or both.
F1 designer Gordon Murray famously developed a racecar using a fan duct (the '78 Brabham BT46) which did so well it was immediately banned. He later went on to do the McLaren F1 road car, as well as various recent GMA sports cars with this feature.
Is this only a big Ad with a very far connection to reality?
For 99% of drivers, serious active aerodynamic features are irrelevant. You'll never be driving fast enough for it make a difference.
For racers, it's a big deal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brabham_BT46
"The "B" variant of the car, also known as the "fan car", was introduced at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix as a counter to the dominant ground effect Lotus 79. The BT46B generated an immense amount of downforce utilizing a fan, claimed to be for increased cooling, but which also extracted air from beneath the car."