From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Confidential letter discussing the results of wind tunnel tests on a Streamline Bentley car.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 161\1\ scan0188 | |
| Date | 14th September 1938 | |
| c. By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} Ev{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}/DB.{Donald Bastow - Suspensions} 1350 14th. September 1938. Da{Bernard Day - Chassis Design}/Ev.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}1/N. Messrs. Vicker's (Aviation) Ltd., Weybridge, Surrey. Confidential. Attention of R.K.Person,Esq. Dear Sir, Re: Wind Tunnel Tests on Bentley Cars. We apologise for troubling you during these busy days, but we wonder whether you could give us any assistance in connection with the last Wind Tunnel Tests which you very kindly allowed us to conduct in your wind tunnel on a model of a Streamline Bentley car. You may recollect that a model of a Streamline Bentley which we had blown previously, and of which subsequently we produced the car, was tested against a Streamline model made by our Company in France. The latter was tenth scale as against the former eighth scale, and the tunnel figures were as given in your report No.X.283(5.11.37) copy herewith. A car has now been made according to the French model, and we have tested it. The 'K' of the car is just about double that of the model. Some years ago we established that the flat plate method gives a full size drag, much below that of the actual car at a given speed, but what now troubles us is that whilst in the past this ratio of Estimated F.S.Drag to Actual Car Drag has had a definite and constant ratio for these two cars it is :- Cont'd... | ||