h a l f b a k e r y
Number one on the no-fly list
idea:
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random
meta:
news, help, about, links, report a problem
account:
Browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
Login
Create account.
|
|
|
Take two slabs of concrete the width of a dragstrip, 1/2 mile high, and far anough apart to allow a top fuel dragster to enter vertically with some clearance for the tires and their expansion.
The top fuel cars would be poised vertically, looking much like regular cars but in place of wings are tightly
sprung wheels on the 'top' surface of the vertical track, pushing the car down against the regular wheels.
Upon the start of the race, the dragsters begin to rise, gaining grip much slower then their more hortizontally aligned cousins.
The smoke from the burnout would fill the bottom of the track as the cars lifted off, NASA style, into the sky.
At the top the track would bend/fan slightly to allow the cars to shoot out the top away from the tower/each other. This would give the drivers the space needed to deploy their oversized chutes and float safely to the ground for another race.
[link]
|
| |
Why not power both sets of wheels? You'd double your grip and reduce counterproductive friction. |
|
| |
Pilot / Driver would need an ejection seat in case of engine failure. Just think what it would be like to exit the top at only 100 or less mph. I guess a half mile may be enough to deploy a shoot. You could have a braking system like an elevator uses to keep from falling backwords down the track.
This could be built up the side of a mountain in order to make it more viable / realistic.
If you realy wanted to launch, you could use gear/cog wheels instead of rubber, It would take a lot of the fun out of it, but would be quite a rush for the driver. |
|
| |
Be potentially much more exciting if the racers started at the top. |
|
| |
I thought of the mountain idea as well.. a good canyon would work to. |
|
| |
I also just had a thought that the top part doesn't even need to be a whole slab. It could be rails that the guiding wheels fit into. This would aid viewing and cut the structure in half. |
|
| |
Starting from the top would be a cool race as well, but wouldnt have the effect of lift-off... it would be closer to a glorified soap box derby that way. |
|
| |
A counterweight on a cable connected to the front of the car would help lift-off, and could be utilized as a safety device as well. |
|
| |
You'd need some kind of release though so the tethered car doesn't shoot out the top. |
|
| |
And I thought this was about queen cliff-climbing competition. |
|
| |
"Starting from the top would be a cool race as well ... it would be closer to a glorified soap box derby that way." |
|
| |
Well now, that depends on which way you went. |
|
| |