

Blackbird wind cart. Photo: Steve Morris





"Is it possible to build a wind-powered vehicle that travels directly downwind, faster than the wind, powered only by the wind, continuously?" Wanting to settle this question, Rick Cavallaro embarked on a series of experiments and cart-builds to find out, culminating with this really cool wind powered vehicle that he and his colleagues tested on the El Mirage Dry Lake Bed in southern California. In July, it achieved a downwind speed 2.8 times faster than the wind.

Today, Make: Online is running Rick's story.

Downwind faster than the wind: Blackbird sets a record