Luna Rossa wants to be a great protagonist at the America’s Cup, which will be staged between August and October in the waters of Barcelona. The Italian team aims to beat Ineos Britannia, American Magic, Alinghi, Orient Express in the challengers’ tournament and thus deserve the chance to face Team New Zealand in the Match Race which will give away the Vecchia Pitcher. We will race with the AC75, the so-called “flying boats” already admired in the latest edition of the oldest sporting competition in the world.
Matteo Ledri and Andres Suar, respectively an expert in fluid dynamics and a naval architect in Luna Rossa, explained how these boats work. Ledri pointed out: “Luna Rossa manages to fly thanks to foils, wings that are found underwater, very similar to those of a plane, only smaller. By reaching a certain speed, these wings are able to create an upward force that allows the boat to rise“.
The hull, once out of the water, reduces friction and resistance, increasing the potential in terms of speed. In fact, Suar explained that “unlike a plane, we cannot give the boat the power we want, but we can contribute by working on the foils and sails“. The AC75s are controlled via flaps similar to those of airplanes: “Initially, you need to position yourself at an efficiency angle of about 90° with respect to the wind and work with sails and foils to keep the boat in a balance that corresponds to about 0° of heel. At this point you need to try to accelerate slowly in the most efficient way, giving as much power as possible with the sails, but without maneuvering the foils too much“.
Once you reach a speed of 18-23 knots you can adjust the flap and try to take off to further increase the speed. Below is the VIDEO that shows how Luna Rossa “flies”.
