A Possible Windshield For The Velomobile

These past couple of weeks have kept most people including myself stuck indoors with a major case of cabin fever due to the winter we have been having.  Way to much snow and cold to last several winters has been the norm and so little progress has been made on the velomobile project. Even with the insulating that I accomplished before winter set in the garage is still way to cold to bring it up to a temperature that I can do any fiber glassing.  So my attention has moved to other aspects of the project.  Namely the idea or at least a possible idea for a windshield for the velomobile.

This is what I have in mind if I can get all of the pieces of the puzzle figured out.   The little windshield will be a nice touch to finish off the design of the velomobile and get it ready for use some time this year. 

I started laying out just a rough idea for the windshield using foam strips that were laying around in the shop and some masking tape.

The windshield only needs to be around three inches tall. After some tweaking I found the shape I was looking for with this simple process.

I then took some measurements from the foam strips and cut a piece of card stock for the windshield template.  As you can see from the photo the shape was good in the front and sides but the back was anything but good.  Way to short but it was far cheaper to see the problem than wasting a piece of possibly expensive windshield plastic.  

I cut a new template and fitted it into place on the foam framework and front hood of the velomobile.  This looks to be much better than the first attempt. 

The real windshield would not have this foam framework as it would not be needed and would ruin the overall look of the part in the first place.  

The windshield template looks good in this shot and closely matches the overall look of the computer image from the first photo in this post.  Next I'll have to find the right material for the windshield and work on the mount for the part.  I'll also have to do some searching online for the plastic I will need as I know that it will have to be pretty thin in order to get the shape that I want for this portion of the project.  If not that then I will possibly have to figure out how to vacuum form the windshield. Something I've been wanting to try for a long time anyway.  So I have my work cut out for me while I'm trying to stay warm like everyone else.  I'll let you know how it all turns out when I get the process refined a bit further.