Greenbird

Construction

Greenbird, sponsored by Ecotricity, is a land yacht that is described as being "a very high performance sailboat". It uses a rigid vertical wing, instead of the conventional sail, to generate thrust, in the same manner that the wing of an aeroplane generates lift. The only metal in the vehicle is in the wheels and the wing bearings; the remainder is made of carbon composite materials. The yacht weighs about six hundred kilograms. According to Jenkins, the light weight and aerodynamic shape of the vehicle allows it to attain speeds three to five times faster than the speed of the wind. Greenbird is the fifth in a series of wind-powered land vehicles that Jenkins had constructed in his efforts to break the speed record. Jenkins said he had been trying to break the record for the past ten years in different locations, such as Australia, Britain, and the United States, but weather conditions were not suitable for him to reach maximum speeds.