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 which are good for testing. The weather was partly cloudy with a strong wind, but the car was very cooperative. Most of the testing went relatively seamless. 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