one
The propeller of a Chinese inventor named Tang Zengping does not at all serve to propel his electric car. Moreover, spinning in the oncoming air stream, it slows it down great! But at the same time it turns the generator and recharges the traction battery. Mr. Tang modestly explains: “Despite the screw, I still have to charge the batteries from the outlet. And the propeller only helps save a little on electricity.” But this is too good for the truth: in fact, those watt-hours that the propeller generates, he first takes away from the traction battery, braking the electric car and preventing it from accelerating above 140 km / h.
2
Air as a medium from which you can push off is good where there is no reliable grip. For example, on ice or when using the principle of an air cushion. Therefore, snowmobiles were much more tenacious than aeromobiles. And they appeared even earlier - in 1903, and in Russia! They, even though without wheels, can climb any icy mountain - the engine thrust would be enough. During the 1930 expedition, the Finnish snowmobile “Iceber” (“Polar Bear”) overcame frozen lakes without problems. With a length of 6 m, there were only two places in them, and the engine developed 112 hp. The noise and gluttony of the engine coming from the screw cannot be considered an advantage either.
3
Czechs produced the Tatra-V855 by order of the Wehrmacht in 1942. The car turned out to be original: in addition to the propeller, it also had a lowering wheel drive with lugs for rear - for quiet silent movement. After all, war.
four
Turn a snowmobile into an amphibian - a couple of trifles. After all, there is no need to seal the wheel drive, as in the case of a car. This is what has been done these days at the Saratov LLC Toreks. And we found this device in Kotlas.
five
Typical snowmobiles in the 30s of the last century looked something like this.
6
Before takeoff, a propeller-driven aircraft briskly rolls along the ground, drawn by propeller thrust. At the same time, traction is not too important for him: on the ice he will not skid, and he will even ride faster. After all, he does not push his propeller from the ground, but from the air. But what if you cut (or even cut off) his wings? Such thoughts were apparently obsessed with the French aviator Marcel Leyat. Cars were his second passion, he dreamed of adapting an aircraft propeller to them. Just imagine: no clutch, no gearbox, no differential, no driveshaft - just a motor and a screw on the crankshaft! In 1913, Leyyat rolled out a three-wheeled wingless “airplane” - a helicopter. But the vicious critics immediately drew terrible pictures of what an almost one and a half meter propeller with a gaping pedestrian would do. Therefore, a year later an improved model appeared, in which the screw was covered with a grill, like with current fans. This car with an engine of 8 hp already drove somehow, but often capsized or turned in the wrong direction. The reason for this was the aircraft three-wheeled chassis. Soon Leyyat attached a fourth wheel, and in 1919 "Helika" went into series.
7
It was not difficult to operate the Helika: there were only two pedals - gas and brake. The cable steering gear going to the rear wheels is clearly visible. And the brakes mounted on the front wheels were pulled by bicycle chains!
eight
They produced Helika both with an open body and a closed one. The latter was in great demand, because the roadster had to defend itself not only from the headwind, but also from the flow created by the propeller. He accelerated the Helika to 80 km / h. Subsequently, the maximum speed was increased up to 171 km / h. If Helika had wings, it would definitely fly up! And so - the matter was limited to three dozen built cars. The latter came off the slipways in 1925. Marcel Leyat much survived his brainchild: he designed planes until the Second World War, and died in 1986 at the age of 101.
