Author: Kevin Wolf
Publication: Wind Harvest International
Year Published: 1976
Bob Thomas’ first Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) was a proof of concept model built in 1976. He built it with modest funds and observed it operating in low winds.
The test turbine was mounted on a small trailer and pulled out of a hangar at the Camarillo Airport to see how it responded to the light breezes. We had a small handheld anemometer to measure wind speed. The rotor quickly responded to the light breezes starting in wind sof 5 mph or less. It easily self-started, which was encouraging.