SOLVED PROBLEMS
EXTREME SPORTS
TO START A TECHNOLOGICAL BREAK IN THE WORLD OF WINDSURFING SPEED
Patent within the Voiletec assciation, prototypes and tests
Problem: the historic profiles of veil used in speed are thin, very unstable regarding the aerodynamics and not very performing at that period. The general idea was to associate the aeronautical logic of a wing with a thick profile that must have the characteristic to deform permanently in order to adapt itself to the variations of wind and angle of attack from the bottom up of the rigging.
Brought solution: by working on the realization of a double wing made by two thin sails linked around the mast, but totally separated on the trailing edges, we were able to obtain an adaptable and auto-adaptive thick profile from top to bottom of the rigging. The obtained “mainsail” showed high performances in pure speed, while keeping an excellent handiness in all conditions of navigation. The continuation of the project with the great manufacturers of sails remains topical.
MOUNTAIN BIKE SPEED WORLD RECORD BY ERIC BARONE- 2013
Regaining trust, commitment and his best level, 11 years after a tremendous fall due to bike mechanical failure.
The problem: It took about 10 years to Eric Barone to ride on a mountain bike again! He had to gradually recover and rebuilt himself over the years, wanting to find the peaks again. And what heights with the legendary KL track in Les Arcs, French Alps! The technique has often joined the strongest emotions to give birth to innovative solutions and ultimately both efficiency and confidence.
Brought solution: The work focused on both a new aerodynamical approach with new generation arm and leg fins, and the engineering and project management alongside Eric Barone and Mathias Biard. This technique uses the know-how from sailing and semi-rigid double profiles. The result gives movable appendices, lightweight, easy to implement and remove between each helicopter rotation, and main of all total safety in case of fall!
His own World Record has not fallen this year due to insufficient availability of the track (very bad weather conditions). With 217.30 kph, Eric gets close but does not pass its 222.22 kph. Nonetheless, he is back on top, setting a new best mark on a stock mountain bike.
This hard work enabled Eric to set a new World Record at 223.30 Km/h on March 28, 2015, then the mark of 227.772 Km/h on March 18, 2017, the absolute record to date.
He is now ready for greater worldwide events through the “Alpine Snow Bike”.
HIGH SPEED SNOWBOARD, WITH EDMOND PLAWCZYK, FORMER 1997 WORLD RECORDMAN
As Eric Barone, Edmond Plawczyk had to regain his confidence, commitment and performance after 15 years of absence from the slopes.
The problem: In 1997, Edmond Plawczyk set a new World Speed Record on a snowboard with 190Kph. In February 2013, we met Edmond for the first time in a large scale wind tunnel near Paris. The champion was just two months before returning on a launched kilometer slope. His first high speed meeting was the “Barone Speed Week” event held in Les Arcs, French Alps. It was the starting point of a deep technical revolution…
Brought solution: Within a few hours of aerodynamical improvements in the wind tunnel, his drag coefficient passed from a S.Cx of some 0.18 to 0.12! 30% gain. It was the start of a complete “relooking”. With the main goal of allying performance and safety, his former helmet was replaced by a MotoGP helmet with a specific profiling, his legs were profiled while respecting the constraints of high speed driving curves and potential fall risks, the combination has been redesigned with our partner, as the board (206 cm!), newly designed by the current worldwide best shaper (whose boards won many Olympic and World titles), air-control fixed fins were added to the arms.
Despite the poor conditions of the slopes this season, eight runs allowed Edmond to improve the best Swiss performance 3 times in a row with a best 165kph and a great ease recovered. Trust, commitment and performance are back, this first step is made with success.
On April 03, 2015, Edmond reached 203.275 Km/h! A nod to our work in the wind tunnel, this was the air speed we achieved with good stability!
MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SPEED RECORD
222Km / hour in 2000 on the KL Track 1992 Olympics, Les Arcs Resort, French Alps
The problem: in spite of the total implication of a big champion of descent in mountain bike, the difficulty of such a project is the need of being competitive the D-day without being able to realize prerequisite tries because of the complex and rare required conditions as well as the combination of climatic and organizational constraints.
Brought solution: regarding the project it was necessary to work on the whole of the pilot- machine by bringing: advanced technologies on the racing machine by the development of a solution of profiled fairing and a performing suspension, simulations in blower allowing to refine the performance of the pilot position in its littlest details.
The record was obtained during the first departure ever made on a bike from the highest point of the track, like KL ski runners have to achieve to reach 250 Km/hour.
OPTIMIZE THE PROFILE OF A LAUNCHED KILOMETER SPEED TRACK
Partner Ecartip / Atlas3D
The problem: Preparing such a track is a long, technical and repetitive job after each heavy snowfall. At high speed, the profile of the track must be as regular as possible to minimize risks, losses of energy in the bumps and compressions, loss of aerodynamic position, impact on the performers’ trajectories and fall risk. Obtain a clean profile is a real guarantee of safety, performance and allows simulations to calculate the theoretical performances.
Brought solution: The roadwork companies are used in tracing roads with a regularity control of 1 centimeter accuracy. As part of the “Barone Speed Week” project, whose first edition was held in April 2013 in Les Arcs, French Alps, the Ecartip/ATLAS3D company became a main technical partner by implementing this topographic plotting technique. The specific work on preparing efficiently the track led to effective implementation. From a topographical map of the slope, a smoothing of the track on computer, the pilot was helped to provide a “perfect” track using computer assistance and GPS tracking. The optimal curve was then real on the ground and exploitable in a speed calculation simulator for the high speed performers.
