Well, first of all thank you for the appreciations, I’m glad you like it.
For modelling I’m using CATIA, rendering quality isn’t as high as with software like Max, Maya etc and in fact my images certainly don’t have the same visual impact as the ones manchild posted (particularly reflections and details in the areas covered by shadows) but I’m not particularly interested in that, I wanted to improve my knowledge of the software that was close to zero when I started, I thought that the attempt to make a F1 car as realistic as possible was a good (and enjoying) tutorial. Search for the ultimate aero design isn’t the motivation hence most of solutions are probably far from optimal in that sense.
manchild wrote:
Is that Mclaren in Vodafone red?
Yeah, I know that the current version reminds the mp4/20, that’s because I made it basing on the FIA rules and there are many clever interpretations on the McLaren (as usual in works under Newey’s supervision), I adopted these in a couple of areas (as the engine cover) and that makes the general appearance to be similar to the 20, still other parts are completely different from it.
As for the livery... I’m Italian so the car has to be red, Monza’s colors are red & white, I didn’t want to waste time with stickers textures etc... to copy the very simple Ferrari livery was straightforward...
DaveKillens wrote:
I'm very impressed reca......very.
I noticed it's single keel, and that the wing mirrors are mounted on the nose section, not the sidepods.
Nice job to you and anyone who contributed to this project.
Thank you Dave. I did it all by myself, it took long time especially because spare time is lacking recently but I plan to continuously improve it.
As for the front suspension it’s actually a V keel, I liked the solution since the launch of the R25 because it’s very simple and clean and very effective, especially from a structural point of view (no keel is a bit lacking on that IMO and probably after Nurburgring KR agrees...). Then there’s another very practical reason, without keels the chassis is very simple with a flat underside, v-keel gives a bit more work hence more “training”.
Wing mirror is attached there mainly because the front edge of sidepods isn’t much in front of driver. To raise few cm the lower part of the tub there’s a little step in front of the cockpit opening (similar to MP4/20 but not as abrupt) and it seemed logical to attach the wing mirror right there.
An alternative solution could be similar to the RB2, mount on sidepod’s edge protruding forward although I should move the mirrors a bit back otherwise it would be too long. I’ll try it.
bernard wrote:
Reca, in your design I think the front wing mounting is a nice idea. The way it leaves the lowest element clean, free of any disruption. I wonder why we haven't seen that in reality yet. It seems a promising idea.
Salut Bernard, ça fait longtemps depuis ta dernière visite, ça va bien ?
Assuming that is a good idea from aerodynamics point of view (and that still has to be demonstrated, I honestly don’t know if that’s the optimal position of mountings relative to nosecone front edge) I think a reason for not adopting that solution could be structural, the vertical position of the fore element close to the ground is critical hence it’s opportune to keep it controlled attaching it directly to the nosecone. Actually, it’s connected to the main element via the vertical fins under the wing, but to attach the central section directly to the nosecone is probably better.
Anyway in the virtual world of a 3d model that will never be realised I can accept that little risk
As for the impossibility to adjust it as manchild noticed, I honestly didn’t even think about it because for the small range of adjustment required for example during a race, to operate on the third element is enough. If you need a more radical modification of the characteristics, to keep good efficiency very likely you should adjust the position of all the element so it’s better to change wing altogether with another one optimised for the new requirements.
Alan wrote:
It would be great to see the car meeting the regulations and the wing sections being real
Actually the model meets the FIA regulations on bodywork dimensions and the wing sections are real, obviously not exactly the same airfoils used in current formula 1 cars, but real airfoils.
I used for all the wings and winglets Benzing airfoils, for the upper element of the rear wing I’ve different versions, some with Benzing airfoils, the one you see now uses something else.
BTW, can you tell me what details you see “showing up” so I can try to fix them ?
