ETNZ To Attempt Wind Powered Land Speed Word Record

Kiwing

Super Anarchist
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TNZ’s best chance will come early/mid December. I can’t see anything “aligning“ before then.

It’s still pissing cats and dogs ove most of SE Australia. Yesterday, we lit a fire, it was 0.9 degrees outside.

Not normal at all….. Most years, the ground would be dry and cracking by now.
Wow Thank you for the on the ground feeling.
Good luck with the weather and your hopes. I am sure Kiwi number eight wire mentality will find away to get there if it is at all possible.
 

The_Alchemist

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I recognize Jenkins was experienced and renowned. But one guy no matter who, is not more qualified than a team of AC engineers and sailors who have won the AC multiple times. Sorry.
I think you are assuming too much about these qualifications. They have proven to be competent engineers in areas where they have collected a lot of field data and developed the effective models. but this is completely different. They have no data, they copied the design of the one person you are so quick to claim is not as good as them.

I think given enough time and effort, they have the resources to make a good run at the record, but it will take years of concentrated efforts instead of just a six month distraction. They have not accomplished anything yet, many designs have reached speeds faster than they have so far (even the old French beach racers), and gaining that top speed is the most difficult.
 
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The_Alchemist

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Shrug, they've had bad luck with the conditions - it's not at all their fault!
Really? Yes, it has rained more than usual, but as we have discussed before it is the cold and wet part of the season. Saying they have had bad luck is like saying I had bad luck trying to go skiing in Aspen in July.
 

enigmatically2

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Could the Red Bull F1 team build a NASCAR and qualify for Daytona on their first attempt?

The Kiwis may get the record, perhaps in a few more trips and vehicle rebuilds.
To be fair Lotus built and qualified for Indianapolis at their first event back in the day. And then finished 2nd I think. And went on to win it
 

Sidecar

…………………………
3,347
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Tasmania
Wow Thank you for the on the ground feeling.
Good luck with the weather and your hopes. I am sure Kiwi number eight wire mentality will find away to get there if it is at all possible.
Tasmania is hardly “on the ground”, but I was born in South Australia and lived there for 30 years before moving on….

If I was planning their record attempt, I would be doing it now, right up to the new year. March is no guarantee of optimum conditions.

Scroll right down through all the weather data served up in umpteen different ways from the nearest RAAF base, and choose your own optimum period:

 

JALhazmat

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I think you are mistaking seriousness and ambition for tivializing the difficulty. Their videos do highlight their high level of effort and expertise. They are definitely the most qualified team ever to attempt this record. But they also were very clear that they were going to have to work it up and test and modify things before they would get the record.
most qualified? Not in land speed they aren’t

they have a shit load of design engineering and cash from a sailing perspective.

One of the first videos they did. They said they were looking at the tires to see if there was something better that they could use and lo and behold there wasn’t. That doesn’t scream most qualified

do I want them to succeed and push the record out? Of course I do because going unfeasibly fast on land or water is inherently cool. Do I like how whole process has been dressed up and a slightly bizarre decisions that have been made along the way no I don’t.
 

nroose

Super Anarchist
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Could the Red Bull F1 team build a NASCAR and qualify for Daytona on their first attempt?

The Kiwis may get the record, perhaps in a few more trips and vehicle rebuilds.
Generally NASCAR is not dominated by one person who has a good reputation and no one else who ever has tried.
 

barfy

Super Anarchist
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TNZ’s best chance will come early/mid December. I can’t see anything “aligning“ before then.

It’s still pissing cats and dogs ove most of SE Australia. Yesterday, we lit a fire, it was 0.9 degrees outside.

Not normal at all….. Most years, the ground would be dry and cracking by now.
Thanks for weather updates.
Actual content here is hard to come by.
 

shebeen

Super Anarchist
I think you are mistaking seriousness and ambition for tivializing the difficulty. Their videos do highlight their high level of effort and expertise. They are definitely the most qualified team ever to attempt this record. But they also were very clear that they were going to have to work it up and test and modify things before they would get the record.

Nope, Jenkins the current record holder is the most qualified.

No one on the team really has any experience in land sailing development.

I recognize Jenkins was experienced and renowned. But one guy no matter who, is not more qualified than a team of AC engineers and sailors who have won the AC multiple times. Sorry.
Going on to this theme, I see Horonuku as a direct descendant of Greenbird. They have shifted some of the variables around, (particularly weight) but the platform and mechanics look very similiar. The huge difference in the projects is a 10 year mission by a man possesed but probably digging around for budget vs a well funded team of experts in their own right trying to improve upon the previous attempt in a much more rigid timeframe.

Does anyone know if Jenkins has/had been consulted about this project or does that mess up the goal of the design journey? Seems like even just a comment/opinion from him on the project would be interesting. Imagine if RJ is behind the scenes getting greenbird up again. Waiting for ETNZ to break the record by a bit and then go home. Then Greenbird comes out the shed and takes the record back the next week.
 

shebeen

Super Anarchist
What specifically has winning the AC got to do with winning the sailing land speed record?
Good point, there are crossovers and but a lot of unknowns. I'm sure they built a better craft structurally speaking.

With hindsight it is a bit odd they didn't rather go for the world speedsailing record. That is approaching 10 years old soon (even if there are two other projects eyeing it up)
 

dogwatch

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With hindsight it is a bit odd they didn't rather go for the world speedsailing record. That is approaching 10 years old soon (even if there are two other projects eyeing it up)

I have also been wondering that. It would have been a more relevant and less esoteric project. But good luck to them. I was enjoying following it before this elongated hiatus.

On the subject of esoteric projects, I wish this one would resume. https://perlanproject.org/about/#history In 2018, 76,124 feet in a sailplane, higher than U2.
 

JALhazmat

Super Anarchist
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Southampton
The other thing is that green bird was built to do land ice and water with interchangeable parts.
I know it/Richard ran it at weymouth speed week one year but this was well before it set the land record, I don’t know what configuration it was in either.

you can’t read much into it though as weymouth isn’t especially fast for boats, sailrocket struggled/wasn’t optimal yet went on to greatness

fun thing is that you can‘t just turbo an AC boat go get the record as it all has to be manual power, no battery, or hydraulics.
 

Sailbydate

Super Anarchist
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Kohimarama
It’s still pissing cats and dogs ove most of SE Australia. Yesterday, we lit a fire, it was 0.9 degrees outside.

Not normal at all….. Most years, the ground would be dry and cracking by now.
Much more of this rain and, Straya's interior will be as verdant as the, Emerald Isles - rather than a barren wasteland awaiting miners' open cast mines and tailing ranges. That would be pleasant, no?
 


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