Things are starting to clear up a little. With the same device (two Sharp rotors framing a VAWT rotor), but a slightly higher wind speed (7-9 m/s) I obtained from time to time a slight positive elevation angle of 5 or 10 degrees . From a wind speed of 10 m/s, the elevation angle is expected to increase significantly.
Remember that with the Sharp rotor located in the VAWT, everything fell like a stone even with a wind speed greater than 10 m/s.
At high wind speed, the Sharp rotors are slowed down by this VAWT, whose TSR in strong winds decreases compared to the TSR of the Sharp rotor (which increases because the frictions are relatively less important), and becomes too low.
If these Sharp rotors include on their respective axes regenerative brakes used to stop or slow down the rotation for the reel-in recovery phase, the recovered energy can be used for lighting, signaling, and powering electronic devices such as sensors, and even speakers for music or for alarm.
I think I’ve found a solution for an inflatable Sharp rotor.
We can have a central cylindrical balloon whose diameter is roughly two-thirds of the total diameter. We construct each of the three blades separately, like airplane wings, with ribs (made of EPP), spars and skin. We connect them to a self-gripping fabric (Velcro) ring that we insert into the balloon, which is surrounded by the corresponding fabric ring. Self-rotating Magnus effect-based balloon in pumping mode or as a lifter (the end).
Today on October 23, 2026, I measured a Sharp rotor of 0.6 m span (instead of 0.5 m) and 0.11 m in diameter, with two steelyards, just like on the video: thrust 3 kg (1.4 kg X 2 + the weight of the rotor). Strong wind measured between 13 m/s and 21 m/s at a weather station 30 km away. My entry-level anemometers (only good for a short time after purchase) were maxing out at 10-12 m/s even though the wind speed was much higher (maybe 16-18 m/s): so they were useless. The thrust was 1.7 kg in the morning with a much lower wind speed, but certainly above (maybe 12-15 m/s, according to what I saw, and according to the same weather station) the 10.5 m/s of the ceiling anemometer.
Since I could not find a good grip with the steelyards, I suspended them from the rotating bar, with all the friction losses that entails. In previous tests, I had been able to hang them on the larger bearings, but since I changed them to smaller bearings to minimize friction, this eliminated the possibility of an easy grip.
The Sharp rotor seems to be really efficient, far beyond any Magnus effect-based cylinder for a spin ratio of 1 (that of the Sharp rotor), especially with strong winds. Peter Sharp indicated that “Lift is produced due to Kramer/Magnus Effect. At a spin ratio of 1, the Kramer Effect dominates.”
Kramer, M. (1932). Increase in the maximum lift of an airplane wing due to a sudden increase in its effective angle of attack resulting from a gust. Washington, D.C.: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
The original:
Kramer, V. M. (1932). Die zunahme des maximalauftriebes von tragflugeln bei plotzlicher anstellwinkelvergrosserung (boeneffekt). Z. Flugtech. Motorluftschiff, 23, 185-189.
