USF1 -- F1's All-American Challenger

[ISLAMATRON]

How does that help them get sponsors right now?

I dont think they are doing any of that... they just have their head down and hopefully getting the job done, like all the teams should be new or old.

Their long wait to lock up their drivers could be advantageous as several experienced drivers (like Heidfeld or Fisi) could take the drive for no pay, while Renault has to pay huge sums for a driver that Nick outclassed.

Or all the desperate pay drivers could shell out nice amounts just for a test.

[Pandamasque]

To me it looks like USF1 is playing some poker, they're misleading the followers so when they do race, they'll surprise everybody

Yes. Starting in reverse gear would be surprising enough.

[xpensive]

Here's a piece I found on Ken Anderson's latest F1 xperience. There's no mentioning of him, though he claims on his own website to have been Onyx' Technical director in 1990. But as far as I can remember, he was indeed working with Stefan Johansson for the first two races of 1990 however, race-engineer I guess.

http://www.f1rejects.com/teams/onyx/profile.html

Anderson's website;

http://www.andesign.us/

Regarding Weismann, the USF1 website still lists Emco as their partner, why I wonder who will deliver that gearbox?

[scarbs]

I cross checked Annes comments with Weismann, they confirm that they are not working with USF1, so I’m sorry mislead you guys with what I thought was a reliable source. It still remains whether USF1 are going to use the Xtrac box or an Emco one, if they ever reply to my emails I will let you know.
Weismann did say “We have a single clutch, electric shifted, forkless, barrelless, seemless, transmission capable of selectable full powershifting and engine braking called the "Weismann Quickshift. What we have always brought to the racing is innovation through lateral thinking. We are looking for the right team to bring our current innovations to the F1 grid.”

[cooper-climax]

Reading the article, it looks like the visit took place in September. So may be based on outdated information.

"When I visited the workshops in mid-September, I saw "six weeks worth of flat-out, gutting the building and slowly moving into the officers (sic.),"

Also, this line confused me. I can't think what a seven-post rig has to do with models?

"Thanks to CFD, the 7-post and 3-D imaging, no model shop is needed and one is not planned."

[djos]

Reading the article, it looks like the visit took place in September.

"When I visited the workshops in mid-September, I saw "six weeks worth of flat-out, gutting the building and slowly moving into the officers (sic.),"

Also, this line confused me. I can't think what a seven-post rig has to do with models?

"Thanks to CFD, the 7-post and 3-D imaging, no model shop is needed and one is not planned."

They dont need to build 60% scale models for wind-tunnel testing - everything will be built full size.

[xpensive]

@ scarbs;
In April 19, 2007, retired BMW-man Carl Flesher joined Clemson university as Director of Global business development.

https://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articl ... esher.php5

Since June 2009, he is Director of Communications for USF1, perhaps you can try to reach him directly somehow?

[Richard]

They dont need to build 60% scale models for wind-tunnel testing - everything will be built full size.

That confused me, I thought the cost cutting measures were that wind tunnel test models had to be 60% so teams using smaller tunnels didn't have the expense of building full sized tunnels?

[gibells]

They dont need to build 60% scale models for wind-tunnel testing - everything will be built full size.

That confused me, I thought the cost cutting measures were that wind tunnel test models had to be 60% so teams using smaller tunnels didn't have the expense of building full sized tunnels?

Yeah but cant the cost of the full size tunnels be offset against the wasted resources a 60% scale model uses (or are there any for sale on ebay? ).

I took it from Nick Wirth's comments that the savings made by not producing the 60% scale models were huge. [massive waste of time and resources making the models only to have to make them again at full scale.]

The cost of a full scale wind tunnel cannot be that much greater than a 60% one.

[WhiteBlue]

The cost of a full scale wind tunnel cannot be that much greater than a 60% one.

I think you are very much mistaken there. As the cross section goes with the square of the width you will find that building and power cost for tunnels will also go up by a higher than linear function.

[Richard]

The next instalment of Peter's blog is on the site. http://www.usgpe.com/blog.html
Quite interesting.
Firstly, it's clear that PW has given up on a world audience, and is writing for America. "Don't go to Europe, it's cold and the people are lazy"

Yup, its an embarrassingly nationalistic piece.

[Richard]

The cost of a full scale wind tunnel cannot be that much greater than a 60% one.

I think you are very much mistaken there. As the cross section goes with the square of the width you will find that building and power cost for tunnels will also go up by a higher than linear function.

I think its not just the cost of the tunnel, but also to diffuse a wind tunnel arms race. The teams operating at 100% will get richer data than those at 60%. That would have forced the other teams to abandon their 60% tunnels and build new 100% tunnels.

The 60% rule allows teams to continue using existing tunnel facilities without disadvantage.

So why are USF1 talking of running the full car in a tunnel if there is a 60% rule?

[Fil]

The 60% rule allows teams to continue using existing tunnel facilities without disadvantage.

So why are USF1 talking of running the full car in a tunnel if there is a 60% rule?

Because it is an existing wind tunnel nearby that they have contracted to use during the season.

[jddh1]

If you already have a tunnel that can accommodate the full model, I don't see why not.

[xpensive]

If you already have a tunnel that can accommodate the full model, I don't see why not.

Again, the FIA only allows for six days, at four hours each, of full-scale wind tunnel testing over the whole year.