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Forum Index: DISCUSSION: Dock Talk:
Helium in BMW-O USA ! 		Team McLube

 
 


DLord
**

Mar 30, 2010, 11:26 AM

Post #1 of 5 (2779 views)
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Helium in BMW-O USA ! Log-In to Post/Reply
According to the new issue of Sailing World, USA used helium "to help the center hull lift out of the water". I thought it might be some form of April Fools joke and contacted a member of the team who said the story was true-helium in the hulls- but the reason was mainly for measurement. Rough calcs show that they might get 500lb of lift.
Even if they got one pound of lift I think this is a monumental story-yet no one except SW has picked up on it. Thirty years ago this was the subject of many bar related ideas-mainly as jokes. If they actually did it this it(should be) a big story. Anybody else know anything?
SW, April 2010,p51, center column.
Can the Curmudgeon confirm this?





Mal
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Mar 30, 2010, 11:59 AM

Post #2 of 5 (2774 views)
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Re: [DLord] Helium in BMW-O USA ! [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply
Using 10ft by 10ft by 75 ft long which I think is quite optimistic; I get 300 lbs of lift so I suspect your WAG is as good as mine. I figure 7500 cubic feet of helium would cost about $1250. Although it's possible, when you add in the requirement to seal and purge the area, totally eliminate it's use for storage and nearly eliminate any possibility for controls to even pass through the area; I would highly doubt it. Booting Larry off for the first race did not do much less.

Another way to view it is that 300 lbs is .8% or so of USA 17's weight. Multi's are quite sensitive to weight differences but when you consider that weight's speed delta; it's pretty insignificant. The wing would have been an even better place to put it for the righting moment as well as the weight reduction...
Check Six .......Mal




DLord
**

Mar 30, 2010, 1:49 PM

Post #3 of 5 (2766 views)
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Re: [Mal] Helium in BMW-O USA ! [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply
The thing is that the "how" and why of this story make it technologically a big story. I think we know the why-but the "how"-now thats going to be good.


The Publisher
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Apr 12, 2010, 6:59 AM

Post #4 of 5 (2664 views)
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Re: [DLord] Helium in BMW-O USA ! [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply
While the BMW Oracle Racing team is not going on the record about this, unnamed members of the team have confirmed that there was a balloon in the main hull that was filled for each race day.

- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt


CKSailor
**

Apr 13, 2010, 12:20 PM

Post #5 of 5 (2630 views)
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Re: [The Publisher] Helium in BMW-O USA ! [In reply to] Log-In to Post/Reply
I gues the real question is, is that legal within the rules of the America's Cup or applicable sailing rules?


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