[TML] A Bit of Fluff

[Eris Reddoch]

Michael Jenkins wrote:
> On 02/04/2008, Eris Reddoch <erisred at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> Here's something a bit different, just a bit of fluff from one
>>  of the PBEM's I'm running.
>>
>> <snip excellent land yacht scenario>

Thanks.

> Hmm ... land yachts with grav lifts ... nice idea ... but it occurs to
> me that roll stability could be an issue - a decent push from the wind
> on an overhead sail and the craft could potentially roll over so far
> as to lose power from the sail.
> 
> Possible solutions:
> 
> Have the CG centre of lift point well above the vehicle's centre of
> balance, so that it self rights.
> 
> Have a keel below the vessel to counterbalance. The keel would
> probably need to be an aerofoil shape with some control over its angle
> of attack.

Oh, there's a keel....a grav keel. I'm saying it is a grav 
module running in reverse to provide the same sort of drag 
you'd get in the water. The boat's computer controls the grav 
units that provide lift for the whole craft and drag against 
the ground to counterbalance the pull provided by the wind in 
the sail. That's as far as I'm going toward gearheading. Any 
more effort in that direction, if any, will be up to the 
players. And if they do, *they* will have to figure out 
appropriate handwaves to make it all work out. :)


Eris