The idea was first approached and tested by using an RC truck and playing with the idea of having a ramp with a kicker to get the rotation of the truck through the air. Once it was tested on a small scale and after a number of initial practice runs, it was decided to bolt the body on and go again.
It was decided that with the additional drag of the body, the speed would need to be increased by about 4 mph. This turned out to be too much and the suspension did not have time to rebound sufficiently on the kicker causing the truck to stay upside down and fly further than anticipated.
Tonight they plan on doing a number of things differently including using a longer kicker to give the suspension time to rebound, using a slower speed, a lighter powertrain by using a 4 cylinder 295 hp engine instead of the 350hp v8 saving 200 pounds, centralizing the mass of the truck by moving the engine closer to the center, and researching the aerodynamic effects of the bodywork more fully.
