Composite Buggies
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or microscopic scale within the finished structure.
A common example of a composite would be disc brake pads, which consist of hard ceramic particles embedded in soft metal matrix. Another example is found in shower stalls and bathtubs which are made of fibreglass. Imitation granite and cultured marble sinks and countertops are also widely used. The most advanced examples perform routinely on spacecraft in demanding environments.
The Shamal (first 10 photos, Pics show some of the construction as well) was the first all composite buggy built by Giorgio. He based the geometry on Sand Yetis DB-I (Death Buggy 1).
This first buggy was over designed being still very light but incredibly strong. His first seat was a fibre glass construction integrated into the side rails but this wasn’t so comfortable. Later he cut this seat of & put on a Buggybags seat.
Giorgio decided to call his buggies after winds. In Sin many countries people call winds by a name e.g. in Switzerland we have the Föhn (pronounced ‘fern’) which is normally a warm south westerly bringing bad weather which as an Alpinist climber was bad news for the climbing.
We also have the Bise (pronounced like ‘Bees’) which is a cold northerly that meant dryconditions . We liked the Bise because the climbing was much safer with everything frozen into the side of the hills.
The Shamal is a North Westerly wind here in the Middle Eastand is usually a sandstorm that zaps in for 2 to 3 days. These are great all day winds for doing 150 kms plus during a day’s session but poor visibility makes it a bit dodgy at times.
Giorgio’s second buggy designed on the experience of his first buggywas much lighter (11 kgs without the 21kgs of wheels & BF’s)
He wanted to make amore stable buggy for dune riding and fabricated a 1.6 long meter axle. This axle is also springy to provide a more comfy ride. It is amazingly strong and good for at least 5 G’s. From the pics 10-15, you can see that the whole buggy is a lot less massive than the Shamal.
This second buggy he calls the Mistral, which is a North to North Westerly wind typically prevalentat times of the year in southern France but apparent in Spain, Italy &North Africa.