A Wild Weekend
Our preparations for the race are in full swing as we now are less than two weeks away from leaving for Texas and the 2010 North American Solar Challenge. One of the most important recent developments is that the car has been painted! It is now completely white, which not only makes it look even better, but also helps us get even more power from the solar cells. New sponsorship logos will be added soon to both the car and the trailer.
After taking a day off for on Saturday, the team was back at work Sunday. We set up a mock scrutineering course on campus and had our drivers begin getting familiar with the required tasks, which include a slalom and figure 8. Unfortunately, we keep running into an issue where the motor would shut off whenever the drivers accelerated strongly. We were unable to fix it on the spot, but continued testing at relatively low speeds.
The team gathered early on Monday ready to hit the open road. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans. A series of storms forced us inside our garage for most of the morning. This did give us a chance to apply new weatherproofing to the car and finish some debugging. Early in the afternoon, we were finally able to set out. We did some telemetry and acceleration testing in a nearby parking lot before heading out on the open road. The day was quite productive both in terms of helping us identify and solve problems and getting the drivers some experience.
Posted by Michael
May 31 2010 19:47:29
Testing Underway!
After a brief scare involving the motor last week, sc5 is up and running. We decided it was at last time to take the car out onto the road and test it while getting our new drivers some experience.
The day began with a trip to Sugar Grove, Illinois where there are long, low traffic stretches of road good for testing. The weather was partly cloudy with a strong wind, but the car was very cooperative and quickly up and running. Most of the testing went relatively seamlessly. The new drivers began to get familiar with the car and we moved into more densly populated areas. At one point, we ended up on a bumpy dirt road, but the car (and first time driver) handled it admirably. We plan to use a four driver rotation on the race, including 3 who have never driven the solar car before.
Even for those of us not driving, it was an important learning experience. Driving the lead and chase cars in the convoy requires skill and precision to protect the solar car from other drivers who may not see it. Another common but important task is to direct traffic around the convoy when we are stopped on the shoulder to change drivers or perform repairs.
We got back to campus in the early evening, exhausted but happy with a successful trip.
Posted by Michael
May 09 2010 13:48:57
Reminiscing about my two years with the team...
Dear reader,
In the simplest of terms, NU Solar Team is composed of undergraduate students that design, build, promote, and rayce solar cars. (get it? sun ray...). Yet, as I thought about what I wanted to post today, it occurred to me that this summer would be my 3rd time participating in a rayce (The American Solar Challenge) with the team. As a junior, I can't help but reminisce about my two years on the team ... How these past years have made it impossible for me to define the team in the simplest of terms because, if anything, we are everything but simple.
The summer of 2008, fresh out of being a freshmen, was the first time I helped rayce the car. We were on our way to participate in the North American Solar Challenge - beginning in Plano, Texas and ending 2,400 miles away in Calgary, Canada. From the moment the rayce began, I realized it was going to be a tough road. This was a grueling competition, far more than any day-dreaming engineer could have expected. We had barely completed the car in time and nights on the road taught me the never to take a good night's sleep for granted. As I fought the need to close one eye, the adrenaline of following a car that could have very well used a week of debugging kept me going. A few days in, showers, beds, and edible sustenance seemed to be commodities privy to a distant, more civilized world. The Sun was our fearless leader and the Solar Car, our creation, was our courageous companion. My time was spent mostly on the side of the road fixing the car and, through it all, I have rarely had so much fun. We were 13th out of the 15 teams that crossed the finish line.
With my first rayce under my belt, the spring of 2009 brought on a new challenge - the Formula Sun Grand Prix. Set in Crescent, Texas, FSGP is a three day track rayce and we placed 3rd out of 9 teams. After having done our best yet, I remember joining the team in screams of joy and amazement. We had had won a tense game of energy conservation in which we barely beat Waterloo for 3rd place. Nevertheless, as the sun must leave us every night, so did we have to leave and face reality. Going back to school and taking finals was quite the mood whiplash.
As I leave you with my memories and prepare myself mentally for what is to come, I would lie to you if I didn't say I am waiting for the ASC 2010 with an elated sense of excitement. I hope you are to.
-Dan Cornew
May 01 2010 14:55:27
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