The Shape of Things to come - Thunderbirding in the next 50 years

Here are some fun pictures of 'Owl' with an asymmetrical chute from a J80.  The conditions were 4-6 knots of breeze.  Owl was beautifully balanced and manageable under these conditions.  Note that the pole can be articulated back some 2 feet.  It's an old boom section from a 'Bird; and, projects 6 feet from the bow.  The group photo gives an idea of the separation gained on the first run.

We'll be going out again on Wednesday to see if we get some more - but not too much more - wind to see what wind range this asym works well.  We received the most amazing feedback from non-'Bird sailors....amazement, pleasure, "wow!! A 21st century T'Bird!!", "Is that legal (of course!!)?...etc.  With this chute, we caught the Moore 24 on the run.  They rate 165 vs 195 for the 'Bird with the "large" chute.  Guys, you just do not know what large is until you try something like this.

Cheers
Vidas

Photo by Christina Worthing

Photo by Christina Worthing

Photo by Christina Worthing

Vidas's next experiment