This is an earlier experiment. Read the amendments below before treating its findings as current.
The question
The previous stage found that the same wind from the opposite side lost its benefit. Does the benefit depend on wind direction, and why?
What was tested
24 runs each with 5 m/s wind from 70° (the reverse of 250°) and from 160°, at 600 and 900 craft, perfect information.
What was found then
From 70° the benefit did not carry over consistently: at 600 craft wind lost 1.14× calm's craft, worse on 3 of 6 layouts. From 160° wind protected as well as from 250°, cutting losses to between half and a third of calm, and was worse on no layout. So the east-west lanes are not special. What fits all three headings is a strong tailwind along a direction served by two parallel lanes. That is a pattern, not an explanation; its next test (wind from 340°) was not flown. The research loop stopped here.
What we learned later
The owner closed phase 1 right after this cycle, so the 340° test was never flown and the two-lane pattern stays unexplained.
research/design/phase1_close.md (Open at the close)
What changed
Nothing.
Corrections retained in the record
Earlier wording: Stage outcome: 'wind helps when its tailwind falls on a two-lane direction'
Record correction: The records call this a candidate pattern that fits the three headings flown, not an established rule; the mechanism is not identified and its next test (340°) was not flown.
research/design/s5_wind_head.md:24 and :46; research/design/phase1_close.md:39
Numbers and source references
- 24
- runs per heading (70° and 160°)research/design/s5_wind_dir.md (Spec) and s5_wind_head.md (Spec, Rows)
- 1.14×
- losses from 70° vs calm at 600 craftresearch/design/s5_wind_dir.md:20
- 3 of 6
- layouts worse than calm from 70° at 600 craftresearch/design/s5_wind_dir.md:20
- 0.83×
- losses from 70° vs calm at 900 craftresearch/design/s5_wind_dir.md:20
- about two-thirds
- meetings from 70° vs calm (0.66–0.68×)research/design/s5_wind_dir.md:20
- 0.49× / 0.35×
- losses from 160° vs calm at 600 / 900 craftresearch/design/s5_wind_head.md:24
- 340°
- next heading test, not flownresearch/design/s5_wind_head.md:46 (Open)
- 0 of 6
- layouts worse than calm from 160°, at both densitiesresearch/design/s5_wind_head.md:24
- three
- headings tested at 5 m/s (250°, 160°, 70°)research/design/s5_wind_head.md:24 (Reading)