EVDL Administrator via EV wrote:
This is a big assignment. We're talking about a 900lb 2-passenger (or is it
4-passenger?) vehicle that reportedly runs on 55Wh/mi. That's about 2.5 to
3 times my ebike's energy use, but the Stella weighs in at 18 times the
bike's mass! It's also rolling on 4 wheels instead of 2. I know a car is
more aerodynamic than a bike, but that's going to require some mighty
skillful tweaking.
Here's how I would approach it:
First, you need to build it more like an airplane than a car. Join the
other EAA (the Experimental Aircraft Association), and learn how they
build modern high-performance airplanes.
For example, Burt Rutan is a genius at building high performance
aircraft with techniques that can easily be done by a hobbyist. He
builds structures out of styrafoam, then "skins" it with epoxy and cloth
(fiberglass, carbon fiber, or kevlar, depending the strength and
flexibility needed in each area).
Second, look for a successful model, and copy it. It could be Stella,
but it depends on a lot of very expensive parts. The Swiss Twike is
another possibility, though it's also expensive. Axel Krause of Brusa
with the mini-Evergreen EV also comes to mind. An even older example is
Bob McKee's Sundancer EV.
Third, KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Follow the lead of people like Bob
Rice, Dave Cloud, and Jerry Dycus, and build your first prototype
*really* simple and basic, just to get the hang of it. Bolted angle
iron, not aircraft welded chrome-moly tubing. Plywood, not carbon fiber.
Get it to work first; then set about improving it.
--
We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology,
in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.
-- Carl Sagan
--
Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, [email protected]
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