gregg
07-14-2005, 04:56 PM
Nathan O'Neill Visits Allied Aerospace Wind Tunnel
7/8/2005 - Words by Kraig Willett; images courtesy of Allied Aerospace
At the pointy end of the elite peloton every detail counts in the pursuit of speed - and Nathan O’Neill, the 2005 Australian National time trial (TT) champion, knows this. In May, 2005, O’Neill visited the Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel (www.lswt.com) in order to explore the characteristics of his aerodynamic TT position and, more importantly, to insure that he keeps one step ahead of his competition. Judging by O’Neill’s recent dominating TT victories at the Tour de Beauce and the Cascade Classic, he seems to be getting a pretty substantial return on his investment.
Wind Tunnel Test Facility
In a simple, discrete building just off the runway of San Diego’s Lindbergh International Airport lays the Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel. Judging from the exterior, one wouldn’t realize that this facility has stood there since the mid 1940’s and has been a part of the development of military (F-16, F111, B58, Global Hawk UAV, Tomahawk cruise missiles) and civilian (Boeing 7XX series, Cessna, etc.) aircraft ever since.
More recently, the folks at Allied have transferred their extensive wind tunnel knowledge that they have gained over the last 60 years into quantifying the aerodynamics of sports - cycling in particular. In 2003, Allied designed and manufactured a dedicated wind tunnel balance (the aerodynamic force measurement system) and elevated ground plane from the ground up. The highly accurate cycling-dedicated balance is but one of the features that separates Allied’s facility from the rest of the wind tunnels in America.
Measuring changes in aerodynamic forces on cyclists at one of the existing cycling wind tunnel facilities has been described as similar to “Trying to weigh a dollar bill with a truck-scale”. Allied Aerospace’s force measurement system is sensitive and accurate enough to weigh 50 cents. Don’t believe it? Well, here’s the photographic proof that this test was done: see figure 2
The Testing
An individual doesn’t become a national time trial champion without getting things dialed in really well - and O’Neill was no different in this aspect. It was a tough job trying to find aerodynamic improvements for the amiable O’Neill, but after a few hours of work and a few slices of pizza, the crew at Allied Aerospace and cycling aerodynamicist, Kraig Willett of www.biketechreview.com , were able to make real progress.
“We looked at lots of variables, including torso angle, arm geometry, and head position.” Willett commented. “A little bit of benefit in each of those areas can add up to a significant performance boost. It’s really all about the intelligent and experienced use of the tools available that allows one to maximize cycling performance – and the wind tunnel is a critical tool in the whole process.”
O’Neill put his new, fine-tuned position to its first test at the Tour de Beauce during the stage 4a TT where he bested the elite field by nearly a minute over the 27 km course. Shortly after that race via email, O’Neill commented that “the position felt awesome”.
The Navigator pro has since gone two for two in elite TT’s after his wind tunnel investment. O’Neill most recently won the stage 3 TT at the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon.
This string of TT victories surely won’t go on forever, but one thing is certain: Nathan O’Neill is happy that he made a blue-chip investment in speed at the Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel.
Kraig Willett is a product development engineer in the golf industry, a former Category 1 cyclist, and owns/operates his own company: K-dub Enterprises. K-dub Enterprises is the home of: BikeTech Review (www.biketechreview.com), which provides objective laboratory based bicycle product reviews and www.competeclean.org. Kraig can be reached via email at kdubenterprise@adelphia.net or by phone at (760) 723-5839
Figure 1. Nathan O’Neill and the Allied Aerospace Team.
Figure 2. Weighing a dollar bill with a truck scale…? Allied Aerospace pony’s up to the fifty-cent challenge.
Figure 3. O’Neill gets dialed in on his Oval equipped Colnago.
7/8/2005 - Words by Kraig Willett; images courtesy of Allied Aerospace
At the pointy end of the elite peloton every detail counts in the pursuit of speed - and Nathan O’Neill, the 2005 Australian National time trial (TT) champion, knows this. In May, 2005, O’Neill visited the Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel (www.lswt.com) in order to explore the characteristics of his aerodynamic TT position and, more importantly, to insure that he keeps one step ahead of his competition. Judging by O’Neill’s recent dominating TT victories at the Tour de Beauce and the Cascade Classic, he seems to be getting a pretty substantial return on his investment.
Wind Tunnel Test Facility
In a simple, discrete building just off the runway of San Diego’s Lindbergh International Airport lays the Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel. Judging from the exterior, one wouldn’t realize that this facility has stood there since the mid 1940’s and has been a part of the development of military (F-16, F111, B58, Global Hawk UAV, Tomahawk cruise missiles) and civilian (Boeing 7XX series, Cessna, etc.) aircraft ever since.
More recently, the folks at Allied have transferred their extensive wind tunnel knowledge that they have gained over the last 60 years into quantifying the aerodynamics of sports - cycling in particular. In 2003, Allied designed and manufactured a dedicated wind tunnel balance (the aerodynamic force measurement system) and elevated ground plane from the ground up. The highly accurate cycling-dedicated balance is but one of the features that separates Allied’s facility from the rest of the wind tunnels in America.
Measuring changes in aerodynamic forces on cyclists at one of the existing cycling wind tunnel facilities has been described as similar to “Trying to weigh a dollar bill with a truck-scale”. Allied Aerospace’s force measurement system is sensitive and accurate enough to weigh 50 cents. Don’t believe it? Well, here’s the photographic proof that this test was done: see figure 2
The Testing
An individual doesn’t become a national time trial champion without getting things dialed in really well - and O’Neill was no different in this aspect. It was a tough job trying to find aerodynamic improvements for the amiable O’Neill, but after a few hours of work and a few slices of pizza, the crew at Allied Aerospace and cycling aerodynamicist, Kraig Willett of www.biketechreview.com , were able to make real progress.
“We looked at lots of variables, including torso angle, arm geometry, and head position.” Willett commented. “A little bit of benefit in each of those areas can add up to a significant performance boost. It’s really all about the intelligent and experienced use of the tools available that allows one to maximize cycling performance – and the wind tunnel is a critical tool in the whole process.”
O’Neill put his new, fine-tuned position to its first test at the Tour de Beauce during the stage 4a TT where he bested the elite field by nearly a minute over the 27 km course. Shortly after that race via email, O’Neill commented that “the position felt awesome”.
The Navigator pro has since gone two for two in elite TT’s after his wind tunnel investment. O’Neill most recently won the stage 3 TT at the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Oregon.
This string of TT victories surely won’t go on forever, but one thing is certain: Nathan O’Neill is happy that he made a blue-chip investment in speed at the Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel.
Kraig Willett is a product development engineer in the golf industry, a former Category 1 cyclist, and owns/operates his own company: K-dub Enterprises. K-dub Enterprises is the home of: BikeTech Review (www.biketechreview.com), which provides objective laboratory based bicycle product reviews and www.competeclean.org. Kraig can be reached via email at kdubenterprise@adelphia.net or by phone at (760) 723-5839
Figure 1. Nathan O’Neill and the Allied Aerospace Team.
Figure 2. Weighing a dollar bill with a truck scale…? Allied Aerospace pony’s up to the fifty-cent challenge.
Figure 3. O’Neill gets dialed in on his Oval equipped Colnago.