Blackbird The Wind-Powered Car Runs At Twice The Speed Of Wind

Some 2 years ago, Rick Cavallaro and his wind-powered car 'Blackbird' put an end to an online argument regarding the existence of a wind-powered conveyance that'll move down-wind faster than the speed of the wind itself, thus outrunning the wind. Now, Cavallaro and team have reshaped their car to move up-wind at over twice the speed of the headwind, setting new record for an upwind earthbound run. And all this was possible with just a minimal change to Blackbird. The major modifications include the substitution of the propeller with a turbine and the elimination of the transmission. The turbine appears same as the original propeller, but it rotates in the opposite direction and transmits its power straight to the wheels.

#-Link-Snipped-#

In their earlier run back in 2010, Cavallaro had recorded a downwind speed 2.86 times the speed of wind. And this time the upwind was recorded at 2.01 times the speed of wind. A substantial record indeed. Cavallaro sincerely hopes that others too formulate better systems that could break their existing margins.

Via: #-Link-Snipped-#