Monday, October 2, 2017

Quick Links: October 3rd

We've been forwarded a schedule for WSC 2017 scrutineering:

October 2
1200 77: Blue Sky 5: SunSPEC
October 3
0730 88: Kogakuin 15: WSU
0800 14: Flinders 45: Lodz
0830 75: UNSW 18: UiTM
0900 20: DUEM 25: NIT
1200 28: Neul-Hae-Rang 32: Principia
1230 35: IVE 82: KUSTC
1300 71: ITU 37: Goko
October 4
0730 3: Nuon 21: Twente
0800 10: Tokai 8: Punch
0830 16: Stanford 2: Michigan
0900 70: Sonnenwagen Aachen 7: AUSRT
1200 4: Antakari 43: ANU
1230 52: Illini 34: RVCE
1300 38: NWU 46: JU
October 5
0730 9: PrISUmn 11: Bochum
0800 22: MDH 23: Tehran
0830 42: TAFE SA 40: Eindhoven
0900 30: Team Arrow 49: Siam Tech
1200 53: Mississippi Choctaw 94: Minnesota
1230 95: KUAS/Apollo 12: CUER


It's currently 10:30am on the 3rd in Darwin, so several teams have been through scrutineering already, although we don't know how many (if any) have passed yet. The World Solar Challenge has actually been updating their TwitterInstagram, and Facebook accounts, so go and check them out.

Note that Kogakuin's Wing has no signs of damage, so the rumors that they had a wreck testing in the outback in SA seem to have been erroneous.

The rest of the teams have arrived at Hidden Valley: Michigan, Stanford, Iowa, Bochum, TAFE SA, and Apollo are all there now. I still haven't see photos of Siam Tech's Nikola or Tehran's Persian Gazelle IV, however...

Feast your eyes on NWU's Naledi: The array tilts! I've been waiting a while for a picture of this.

This year, MDH is the unlucky team with last-minute battery shipping issues. They're pressing onward and building a brand-new battery in the pits at Hidden Valley; hopefully they'll get it running well enough to compete. MIT was in a very similar position in 2011 and managed to perform acceptably.

In more unfortunate news, CUER has wrecked their car while testing somewhere around Alice Springs (presumably at the Alice Springs Inland Dragway). The team states "The CUER vehicle Mirage has been involved in an incident during testing at a facility in Alice Springs over the weekend. The driver was taken to hospital where she was treated for minor abrasions and fractures, and has since been discharged. Mirage has sustained major damage and regrettably will be unable to compete in the Challenger Class for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge."

I'm glad everyone is still alive. With a simple rear roll hoop, there's not a lot protecting the driver from frontal impacts if the car ends up on its side at speed. Broken bones are no joke; I think this might be the worst solar car driver injury in over a decade. I'm pretty sure the drivers walked away from the car when MIT flipped in 2005, when Stanford wrecked in 2007, when Umicore, Nuon and Twente wrecked in 2009, and CUER's own incidents in 2013...

(For those playing along at home, CUER is now two-for-three on wrecking their "Resolution Concept" vehicles during testing in AU prior to the start of WSC...)

4 comments:

  1. And Antakari is 4

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  2. Yes a very nice different view of NWU on how to see things (just like CUER and now Kogokuin).

    Hopfully they will keep in mind that the wind will have an nice wing to play with when the winds will pick up between Cooper Pedy and Port Agusta (not counting the willy willies that come across inland).

    Ollie

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    Replies
    1. Not only does the array tilt but if you watch closely in the video you will see a lovely little wing dip as it crosses the line.

      Nigel

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