Nevertheless, rest assured you don't need to be "at track speeds" for VG's to be doing their thing. I can't say, however, whether it will be a noticeable improvement. So anybody driving on the highway will probably get at least marginally improved mileage (less buffeting, maybe less noise). Those types of speeds are where the VG's are doing the most good. Or to retain good rudder or elevator control on the tail feathers at a high angle of attack. They are used to get that Cessna to stall at, say, 46mph rather than 48mph, or to get a super STOL homebuilt down to a 28mph stall speed rather than 32mph. On aircraft VG's are considered LOW SPEED aerodynamic devices. So what are you gaining on a car? Well, interestingly, the VG's make the most difference at LOW speeds. 2 or 3mph with better control is more common on planes that are deemed to "really need" VG's. On some homebuilts, the VG's will lower the stall speed by as much as 4 or 5mph. The window appears to kind of be like a flap that is dropped down from the wing ("roof"). Similarly, your roof to your rear window looks a lot like the top of a wing at high angles of attack. there are some homebuilts (most canard planes come to mind) which get piss-poor airflow over the front horizontal stabilizer at high angles of attack (this is because they are laminar flow designs intended for high speed cruising). It's really such a ridiculously simple device and it really works well.Īs for how important is it. Realistically though, all they really are are a piece of 90* bend so you have a vertical triangle and a horizontal rectangle (which is glued down to the surface). Also an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic with a 4 year aeronautics degree.įirst off, most of the experimental guys who use VG's make them themselves or buy them for a ridiculously low price. If anybody is interested in acquiring a genuine zero-mileage original, I would certainly entertain the right offer.Longtime Experimental Aircraft Enthusiast and Builder here. The original kit remains undamaged, painted and mounted on a Spyder chassis (to avoid warpage) in storage at Toysport. That is why I went ahead and fitted the original, had it fully prepped and painted, and then made the molds. We had started to talk about the possibility of molding the kit to reproduce a sturdier version and be able to make spares when needed, and the Apex'i car owner was interested in replacement panels as well. Not long after that, we made a visit to Apex'i to see their GT300 showcar, and found out that they had run into the problem of numerous stress cracks all over the body. Upon doing so, I was shocked to see how transparent it was. The first day I brought the original kit to Toysport, after everybody oohed and ahhed over it, and we put it on the scale to see how light it was, I recall the quizzical look on Joel's face (the shop owner, and old friend of mine) as he paused and suggested I take the front bumper cover outside and hold it up to the sun. Unless this kit has warped over the years in storage, it should be fine. Outside of sourcing a new kit from me (which would cost more), this is as good as it gets for anybody wanting the original GT300 body.Ĭlick to expand.That is correct. This is a direct copy of one of the 100 original 1st gen Monocraft GT300 kits. This isn't a copy of a 2nd gen copy that has been modified to look like a 1st gen GT300 kit. I know he is going to have a hard time getting this sold without taking a loss, due to overseas competition that is around these days, but interested parties should realize the difference in pedigree of this copy. Outside of any warping over the years, it should fit exactly as well as mine does. Anybody who is interested should note that this is an unaltered copy of the original 1st gen GT300 kit, molded from my original after fitting it and adjusting (there were some minor issues with the original that were fixed after test-fitting, to make sure everything was perfect before spending on the molds). The original Newton Equip gas cap was sourced for him to go along with it. Turismo is simply honoring that request, much to his credit, so please don't give him a hard time for being tight-lipped about it. I asked him to keep quiet about where it was sourced, because it was still a sensitive issue back then. Monocraft was still in the business selling the 2nd generation of the kit, but Turismo was interested in the first gen version (which was no longer available). That is one of the 2 fiberglass copies from my molds, sold several years ago by Toysport.
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