First-Of-Its-Kind "Wingmill"

First-Of-Its-Kind "Wingmill" ENERGY Wind Power 32-5-40 Gene Kelley thinks he has a better idea for harvesting wind energy. Instead of a spinning blade, his WindWing is a horizontal blade that pivots up and down on a lever that drives a generator. The WindWing is parallel to the ground until a breeze blows by. Then it goes to work, says aerospace engineer and inventor Kelley, CEO of W2 Energy Development Corp. "It works like your hand when you hold it out a car window as you drive," says Kelley. "Tilt it one way and the wind pushes it up. Tilt it the other, and the wind pushes it down." Kelley claims his system is more efficient than a propeller wind turbine. He also projects his wing system will cost as much as 80 percent less. Adjusting the angle of the WindWing will allow it to operate at lower wind speeds to start, and it will not have to shut down at high wind speeds. Kelly notes the WindWing motion at its highest speed of 16 cycles per minute will also be less hazardous to birds than spinning propellers. This increased efficiency is due in part to the wind flowing across the entire wing surface, combined with mechanical advantage, he explains. He also notes that his design avoids the vibration problem that occurs with today's huge propellers, where tip speed is 200 mph compared to hub speed of only 16 mph. The WindWing mechanical advantage is based on the Archimedes Class I lever principle. Kelley describes a wing system on a lever 10 ft. from the fulcrum or mount with a balancing weight one foot past the fulcrum. The distance from the fulcrum determines how much force is needed to move the lever up or down. That force is translated into reciprocal action of the lever moving up and down (similar to a pump jack) to drive the generator to produce electricity. A sensor will automatically change the direction of the leading edge of the wing as it reaches the top or the bottom of the stroke. A vane on the far end of the lever will keep the wings pointed directly into the wind at all times. Kelley envisions clusters of WindWings. So far Kelley has a working model put together from scrap sheet metal, car window lift mechanisms, barbell weights and a few machined parts. A working "preproduction" model is being produced. He's also working on a WaterWing version of the concept that will work in river and ocean currents. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, W2 Energy Development Corporation, 50 Castilian Drive, Suite 2, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117 (ph 805 685-6535; ron.pretlac @w2energycorp.com; www.w2energy corp. com).

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