Great information, Scott.... I'll Google that Purdue paper- hopefully as good a read as your reply..

__________________
Patiently awaiting the return of firing squads....

I Think both are good designs if built by the right people like those guys at McKinney Corp

Martin
I think as you know, I would be very interested on what you find... Or where you found it... Thanks Brother...
Ray-

__________________
theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

Design Analysis: Mathematical Modeling of Nonlinear Systems By David E. Thompson

Off to the bookstore tomorrow to find it- this was the closest thing I could find on Google meeting the criteria... There is a section in the Index regarding "dragster", but the page can't be viewed on the 'Net...Scott Y- any other hints on finding that paper (saw lots of pinewood dragsters on the Purdue site.. )..

__________________
Patiently awaiting the return of firing squads....

Does anyone remember in the 91 season, when Amato took the wing off? He went a 5.O... Little off topic, sorry guys. Do any of you rember why Amato did that, besides the obvious of experimenting? Doubt in this day in age it would work...

Michael
In '91' Amato was running his "Ground Effects" package at Bakersfield... I was there... But he had the wing on there... I do remember seeing a picture of those same GE without the rear wing... I would guess it was a handful, maybe two handfuls...

__________________
theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

I never saw the ground effects get to half track without the wing, the car was "way loose" without the additional downforce, never got going fast enough for the ground effects package to make up the difference.

Larry, you probably got to see Snake's wedge car run, probably from a perspective very few of us could. Was it a "sticky" car for the time, based on track surfaces of the day? How did other cars run in comparison to it from the view from the starting line? I saw Connie's car at Indy .. Would that wedge be an advantage with today's technology helping in the design, as opposed to only Ground Effects cars like Amato's or Ormsby's? How about the 22 Jr. car of Tony Nancy- any opportunity to see that one (Ya would have just been a kid.. )...

__________________
Patiently awaiting the return of firing squads....

Wasn't Amato one of the first to move the wing up and back in the first place?

__________________
AKA DrRocket

Yes, Tim Richards idea...

Let me know what you found Martin...

__________________
theDARKSIDE- TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER*

Yes, designed by Eldon Rasmussen....

__________________
Patiently awaiting the return of firing squads....

Martin,
I really apologize for sending you on a possible wild goose chase. The research was done so long ago (hard to believe '92 is 15 yrs ago!) that the paper might not be on the net. But there is a paper published in 1999 for the AIAA by two gentlemen at the Purdue engineering department that talk about design/build projects at Purdue and they mention a top fuel dragster project so I know that papers must have been published.
However, check your PMs.

Amato did run 5.08 with no wing.