Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed Fernandez
I suggested that after the accident at Englishtown and was told it was stupid and too expensive/impractical.I still think it can be done.Someone said all the tracks couldn't comply.They don't have to,the Safety Safari crew can set up and operate the system,which would have to be designed to be adjusted to stop the full range of cars in compitition.
The cost,in the long run,would probably be cheaper than making the insurance company
rich.
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We all want to find solutions in our sport for saving lives. However, there is a big difference between the dynamics of an aircraft catching a hook on the deck when compared to a light weight race car.
An F-18 weighs around 35,000 lbs on final approach to hit the deck and the speed is around 145~155 mph. A dragster or funny car is much lighter with terminal speeds exceeding 260 mph. A heavy fighter airplane can run over the cables on the deck and the landing gear squawk switch will deploy the hook automatically.
A lightweight race car at high speeds running over the cables would be propelled off the ground and loose control and would also require the driver to deploy a hook manually.
One problem with sand traps is when the sand gets wet, it will compact creating a hard surface. A better solution would be substitution of the sand with small gravel the same way they do with highway sections that have runaway truck provisions.