Big Air
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Back Flips
When Monster Trucks
do back flips, they don't go about it in the
usual way as in other sports. Rather than
driving off an incline and moving horizontally
while back flipping, they drive up a nearly
vertical incline and land behind where they took
off. In the picture to the right, the truck was
initially moving to the right and is spinning in
a counterclockwise direction. The reason for
this difference in takeoff is based on their
large moment of inertia. In order to make a full
rotation, they must throw all of their momentum
into the spinning motion and can't afford to
lose any in the horizontal direction. |
 |
 http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-physics-of-monster-trucks-feature |
Jumps
Monster trucks are known
for their huge jumping capabilities. As the
diagram to the left demonstrates, a 10,500lb
truck can jump around 30 feet into the air and
come down with about 40 tons of pressure. The
trucks have to be able to get up to speed in a
short distance in order to get the big air
that they are famous for. |
