> I have an alternate design for you. The basic idea is to use a sail to
focus
> the wind energy. In an urban setting this might be done by stringing the
> sail up between buildings and cutting a hole in the sail for the turbine.
In
> a rural setting the same could be accomplished by erecting several masts
and
> string the sail across. To capture the wind from any direction we could
form
> a cross with the sails: one set up running North to South, the other East
to
> West with the turbine in the center. When the wind gets too strong we
simply
> reef the sails maties.
Using sails for airfoils has been done and works well. A horizontal axis
system with, about six foot tall multiple sails spaced a few feet apart on a
heavy duty cable which went around the bicycle rim style generator at each
end was featured in popular science a couple of years ago. It is a fairly
good pick for an owner built system, works with any wind direction, and
unlike many horizontal axis mills is self starting.
Pat Fallon
pfallon@ptd.net
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