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BBC F1 Gossip column "Formula 1 is evaluating jet-fighter canopy technology to protect drivers from flying debris and airborne cars. (Autosport magazine)"

Any ideas how this would work? I considered the weight affecting the centre of gravity depending on material choice and the heat inside the cockpit as initial concerns. Could look good though, especially with a golden tint! http://www.arts-wallpapers.com/DesktopW ... 20wide.jpg

A lexan bubble would do a pretty good job jetfighter might be overkill.

Actually, I think the main concern would be how fast can the driver get out of the car in an emergency situation. Certainly it would NOT involve seat ejection!

The cars would certainly look good with such a thing, but I think a lot of the sport romanticism would be lost.

Two issues:

Could be strong enough to resist impact from a flying tyre or rolling.
Could it slow down evacuation, or even trap a driver in the car after a crash.

I think fighter aircraft canopies would be a good place to start looking for precedents on both issues.

ps - opaque canopies would be terrible, we need to see the diver.

FIA testing video of the jet canopy
http://vimeo.com/26098946

JackHammer wrote:FIA testing video of the jet canopy
http://vimeo.com/26098946

Awesome! Thanks for a great link

I guess the canopy could substitute for the roll hoop if it's that strong. Getting out would be the major concern, as previously noted.

If the car was the right way up, then some explosive bolts would free it, if the car is inverted is more challenging. I guess it's not easy to escape an inverted car anyway, but possibly an alternative route - like the bottom of the chassis, maybe?

if the car is upside down it is not difficult to push over. If it is on fire, maybe a little harder but still possible.

Have we ever seen a modern day F1 car upside down AND on fire?

Great video, thanks Jackhammer. I think they should pursue this, it's a long time coming.

gerhard wrote:Actually, I think the main concern would be how fast can the driver get out of the car in an emergency situation. Certainly it would NOT involve seat ejection!

The cars would certainly look good with such a thing, but I think a lot of the sport romanticism would be lost.

richard_leeds wrote:Two issues:

Could be strong enough to resist impact from a flying tyre or rolling.
Could it slow down evacuation, or even trap a driver in the car after a crash.

I think fighter aircraft canopies would be a good place to start looking for precedents on both issues.

ps - opaque canopies would be terrible, we need to see the diver.

I wonder if they could have open faced helmets if the canopies are mandated. Rally car style, so you could see the drivers faces through the canopy and/or with dash mounted cameras. Would also help a ton with understanding drivers' radio chatter, if you could see their lips moving. Although, closed roof LMP car drivers still wear closed helmets.








When was the last time you saw an F1 driver's eyeballs? Could be a great visual; good draw for the sport, marketing etc...

Visualize something like this:



^Would be epic, IMO, to see this on track. The emotion of victory & defeat on display, seeing familiar faces squashed as they go through those 3 G corners...

Speaking of marketing, the canopies could make the cars look more high tech, IMO, in an age where the sport is becoming more and more of a spec series.

Safety wise I would want to improve the onboard fire extinguishing apparati and add a hatch or removable section of floor under the seat in case the car is flipped.

Speaking of explosive bolts, I wonder how they could be used to improve driver accessibility post-crash. If the monocoque is split up into more of a frame-like design, joined together with explosive fasteners, the stewards, driver or race control could select which bolts to detonate based on the car's condition and orientation. Then the panels/frame section could essentially be pulled apart on site by stewards or pushed out by the driver. Maybe embedded pneumatic pistons at the joint as well, to "pop" the joint apart after the bolt blows.

My view on this, despite the concerns, is that it should not be too difficult to engineer a canopy that allows the driver to exit safely from an overturned vehicle. You just have to make the canopy tall enough to put in quick release side windows.

When the car rolls over, it rolls on the canopy much like a roll cage.

No one thinking about how hot the driver would get? Agreed for marketing open face helmets would be awesome but i doubt they'd get the go ahead. Would make the cars more aerodynamic surely?

In a recent Racecar Engineering article, an Aston Martin AMR-one engineer said that the drag difference for closed cockpit vs. open was pretty marginal for LMP cars (I don't have any numbers on hand.). Given that F1 are open wheel cars with wings, this might even be a smaller margin, although surely there would have to be some benefit, no matter how small.

Audi claimed to not use AC on the R18, and it tested in florida, fairly warm there. Not Abu Dhabi, but... AC might be needed there, in Singapore, etc... F1 level AC systems, how small could they make them? Maybe a low power peltier cooler, or cooling lines in the driver suit.

Drivers can't get out of an upside down car now , so that aspect would make no difference. In fact a canopy would be safer in a roll, it would protect the driver in addition to the roll hoop regs.

They do need to design a mounting that won't buckle and jamb the canopy in the event of a big crash ... with a driver trapped inside ...

That's what I'm saying about cockpits that can pulled apart on site if needed, or floor hatches.

Or split up the fuel cell from the same structure as the cockpit. Make the whole front half of the car detachable on site, so it can be pulled away from fuel cell, radiators, engine, gearbox, etc. Not that fires are common these days, though.

........................ not the rigth place - sorry