Hydroptere Rocket targets 80 knots!

Discussion in 'Multihulls' started by Doug Lord, Mar 1, 2015.

  1. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    From V sail: (original Hydroptere thread: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/multihulls/hydroptere-61-knots-70-15mph-peak-37448-10.html )

    RECORD BREAKERSWith Hydroptere, Alain Thébault and his team made a pioneer’s dream come true: “to make a boat fly”.They built a legendary boat that inspired generations of engineers, sailors and adventurers. Dreams are made to be fulfilled and records to be overtaken…

    The team Hydroptere sets out to conquer pure speed again. Target: to exceed the 80-knot (150 km/h, 92 mph) sailing speed barrier onboard Hydroptere Rocket, a two-seater prototype exclusively built for very high speeds. A performance that could enable sailing to definitely enter the “supercavitation” era, the equivalent of supersonic speed for aircrafts.


    Hydroptere(or idroptere) Rocket sponsor:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEo3Ca-VXDs
     
  2. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    idroptere Rocket

    Here is a render. Lurking around somewhere is a picture of Alain Thebault sitting in a mockup or in the real thing:
    click-
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Marmoset
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    Marmoset Senior Member

    So new one ditches the pucks thing for foils?

    Barry
     
  4. Corley
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    Corley epoxy coated

    I don't know it somehow seems like a bad idea to make lofty predictions. Paul Larsen, Malcolm Barnsley and the Sail rocket team went through all kinds of travails getting Sail Rocket up to speed. They exhibited a degree of modesty and hard work that earned respect rather than demanding it.
     
  5. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    HRocket

    ================
    Barry, what is a "pucks thing"? The new boat appears to use foils-probably to hold the boat down. Sail Rocket used a single foil for early lift and then it developed downforce to hold the boat down as well as for lateral resistance.
     
  6. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    HRocket

    ==============
    Unless I missed something all they said was what their target was. I saw nothing where they were "demanding respect? However, they do deserve respect for what they've already accomplished.
     
  7. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    A performance that could enable sailing to definitely enter the “supercavitation” era, the equivalent of supersonic speed for aircrafts.

    I assume by "supercavitation" they mean that the foils will be fully cavitated on the upper, low pressure surfaces, similar to a supercavitating prop. I don't see any equivalence with supersonic flight.

    One of the major challenges is getting up to speed. Size the foils for low drag at the design speed and they won't be able to support the boat at slower speeds unless they have a system of flaps, etc or equivalent, or a secondary support system is used at lower speeds.
     
  8. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    That's something SailRockets foil did: it lifted vertically initially and then at a certain speed/altitude the foil pulled to windward and down.
     
  9. Corley
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    Corley epoxy coated

    There was massive amounts of money and resources thrown at the Hydroptere program over the years with some good results. Then guys with kites held the record for a time and then Sail rocket came along and a small team operating out of a container in Namibia managed to blow the existing records into the weeds.

    A better approach would be to say they are embarking on a record program to improve on the world sailing speed record. That would be respectful for the current record holders and their substantial achievement. Their press release is just promotional fodder lets see them match or better Sail rockets speed first.
     
  10. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    idroptere

    You know that Hydroptere still holds at least 2 records ,right? As I've read the history it's been a struggle to raise money and to come back from crashes but they've done it. And they deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments and to be damn proud of them.
    I sure don't think there was any disrespect whatsoever in the Idroptere Rocket blurb in the first post.
     
  11. Corley
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    Corley epoxy coated

    Did I say they shouldn't be proud of their existing records? Just looking at the craft they are suggesting it looks like it is the Sail Rocket record they are pursuing. I'm also sure if it wasn't for Sail Rocket they would not be suggesting such a high target. That isn't an inherently bad thing by the way and I'm glad they are pursuing the record that's why they are set after all.
     
  12. Doug Lord
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    Doug Lord Flight Ready

    idroptere Rocket

    I'm not positive, and I don't have time to look now, but it seems to me that years ago Alain Thebault said his goal was to do 100 knots-I'll try to find it.

    This is not what I was thinking about but it is from Sail Magazine:

    Although weather conditions this past summer prevented French speedster Alain Thébault from launching an attempt on the Los Angeles-Honolulu record aboard his foiling tri l’Hydroptere, the setback has hardly slowed him down.
    Saying that the ‘90s-era technology aboard the 60-foot l’Hydroptere is already near “the limit of its racing potential,” Thébault recently unveiled two new projects in the works: Hydroptere 2, an offshore 70-foot trimaran he hopes will some day cross the Atlantic in as little as three days; and Hydroptere Rocket, a foiling proa he hopes will break the 100-knot barrier.
    Hydroptere Rocket, in particular, which bears a striking resem
    blance to Paul Larsen’s current flat-out 65.45 knots speed record holder, Vestas Sailrocket 2, looks truly out of this world. A first prototype could launch as early as this spring. Forget about crash helmets—does this thing come with parachutes?
     
  13. cavalier mk2
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    cavalier mk2 Senior Member

    So do the tail surfaces work for directional control? It would make sense because at high speeds there would be less drag than turning foils in the water.
     
  14. DCockey
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    DCockey Senior Member

    Why would there be less drag?
     

  15. cavalier mk2
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    cavalier mk2 Senior Member

    Air is less dense than water. Using a aero rudder also keeps cavitation changes from turning off the water foil. The horizontal stabilizer can be used for attitude control etc...
     
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