On Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:26:47 -0400, you wrote: >I do not see how this can work! They are going with the wind, so if >they start to travel at the same speed as the wind, the propeller >should stop turning. > >Maybe I am missing something. > >- Jed
--- Notice from the pitch of the propeller and its rotation that it's turning in the wrong direction if it's being driven like a turbine. As I understand it, what's happening is that the drag from the prop (and everything else at the rear of the vehicle) is being used to push the vehicle forward and turn the wheels, and the wheels are geared to the prop in a way to make it turn "backwards". So, while the wheels are causing the prop to spin until the vehicle achieves wind speed, after that it'll be heading into the wind, the prop will start acting like a turbine, and the torque developed will be used to turn the wheels and make the vehicle run upwind, --- JF
