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Cup Experience News
Issue 22 | Monday 27 June 2016
In this issue:
Emirates Team New Zealand launched their AC45X experimental test boat in Auckland last week. The New Zealanders have been very quiet, with little news of any substance coming out of their camp. In the last campaign some members of the team leadership felt they tipped their hand too early, showing off foiling in their AC72. They kept this boat a secret until the launch, and even then, they kept some secrets. Look closely at the photos. What's missing?
Team New Zealand launched their AC45X test boat with a new graphic design.
The wing is an AC Class wing. You can tell by the smooth curve of the trailing edge.
Click image to see video.
Did you notice that there are no daggerboards fitted? I guess they want to keep those hidden a while longer.
Like Land Rover BAR, ETNZ has hung the rudders off an extension. The hulls of the experimental boats are 45 feet long, five feet less than the AC Class race boats. The extensions make the distance between the daggerboards and the rudders closer to the geometry of the AC Class yachts.
Land Rover BAR rudder mounts ETNZ rudder mounts.
Oracle Team USA, SoftBank Team Japan and Artemis Racing lined up for three straightline speed runs at ACBDA's Foil Fest on Saturday. Click the image to watch the video.
Look at the trailing edge of each wing. Japan and Oracle have their AC Class wings but Artemis used an AC45 wing that was modified for their test boat. The trailing edge of the AC Class wings has a smooth, rounded shape.
Look closer and you can see the angle in the trailing edge where the lowest segment of the flap meets the middle segment. Look closely at the hull and you see only one grinding pedestal. This is Artemis's "Turbo 1" boat. A little bit of cat and mouse? Or maybe boat 2 is undergoing modifications?
MC Glenn Jones and Premier Michael Dunkley helped the enthusiastic crowd enjoy the show.
Visitors got a look inside the team bases. Oracle has test systems in their wing shed so they can test and calibrate the wing controls for camber and twist. Look closely at the wing - you can see more camber between the leading element and the flap at the far end of the shed, and almost no camber at the top of the wing, letting us see the twist.
Thanks to BERNEWS for the video and photos. Many more photos here.
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