''Greenbird'' is a

wind-powered vehicle Wind-powered vehicles derive their power from sails, kites or rotors and ride on wheels—which may be linked to a wind-powered rotor—or runners. Whether powered by sail, kite or rotor, these vehicles share a common trait: As the vehicle increas ...

that broke the land speed record for sail-powered vehicles at the dry

Ivanpah Lake Ivanpah Lake is a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California on the border of California and Nevada. Nestled in the Ivanpah Valley near Primm on Interstate 15, the lake is almost entirely within California. At the no ...

on March 26, 2009. It was built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

engineer

Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor who is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his career in theater at the Tri ...

. ''Greenbird'' reached a peak speed of 126.1 mph (202.9 km/h).

Construction

''Greenbird'', sponsored by

Ecotricity Ecotricity is a British energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, specialising in selling green energy to consumers that it primarily generates from its 87.2 megawatt wind power portfoliothe company prefers the term windmill rat ...

, was described as being "a very high performance sailboat". It uses a rigid vertical wing, instead of the conventional sail, to generate thrust, in the same manner that the wing of an aeroplane generates lift. The only metal in the vehicle is in the wheels and the wing bearings; the remainder is made of carbon composite materials. The vehicle weighs about six hundred kilograms. According to Jenkins, the light weight and aerodynamic shape of the vehicle allows it to attain speeds three to five times faster than the speed of the wind. ''Greenbird'' is the fifth in a series of wind-powered land vehicles that Jenkins had constructed in his efforts to break the speed record. Jenkins said he had been trying to break the record for the past ten years in different locations, such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, but weather conditions were not suitable for him to reach maximum speeds.

References

{{reflist

External links

Greenbird Blog AnnouncementAbout the Greenbird (official site)

North American Land Sailing Association

"Iron Duck"
''YouTube''. Iron Duck Project featuring Richard Jenkins and Greenbird. Nov 3, 2022 Wind-powered vehicles