YubaNet has an article mentioning: "... Paul MacCready, that are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian include the Gossamer Condor, Gossamer Albatross, Solar Challenger and Quetzalcoatlus Northropi replica Pterosaur aircraft and the Sunraycer solar race car developed for General Motors. ..."
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Technology News Daily has an article mentioning: "... North American Solar Challenge Race 2005 won by the University of Michigan ..."
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PaddockTalk has an article mentioning: "... The Continuum will face off with the best teams in the world this fall in the 2007 Panasonic World Solar Challenge, an 1800-mile trek through the Australian Outback. ..."
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Michigan Daily has an article mentioning: "... The University of Michigan Solar Car Team has begun to use Palmer Commons for its weekly business meeting because of its high tech feel, said Brian Ignaut, an Engineering senior and project manager for the solar car team. ..."
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Warwick Advertiser has an article mentioning: "... Newburgh —The solar powered car that Newburgh Free Academy (NFA) students plan on racing across the country next summer is being completely rebuilt with a $20,000 donation from Ameresco, an energy services company with offices across North America, including Newburgh. ..."
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Teams who still needed to qualify for the race or wanted to improve their starting position met at a test track a few days before the race in Burlington, Wisconsin.
Click the photo to enlarge.
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan) and Texas A&M University (Texas)
Iowa State University (Iowa) and Texas
Iowa, Principia College (Principia) and California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo (CalPoly)
CalPoly and Texas
CalPoly and Texas rear view
University of Michigan (Michigan) front cockpit
Michigan rear cockpit
Michigan
Michigan's rear almost looked like it had ailerons.
Michigan's four wheel steering in action.
E'cole Polytechnique de Montre'al Esteban II (Esteban)
Esteban
Yale University (Yale)Click the photo to enlarge.
Texas, University of Missouri - Columbia (Missouri - Columbia), University of Toronto (Toronto) and Penn
Missouri - Columbia, Toronto and Penn
Principia College (Principia), Queen's University (Queen's) and Texas
Missouri - Columbia and Texas
Stanford University (Stanford) and Missouri - Columbia
Stanford
Stanford and Missouri - Columbia
Missouri - Columbia, Toronto and Penn
Penn, CalPoly and University of Arizona (Arizona)
Principia and CalPoly
Texas, Principia and University of Kentucky (Kentucky)
Kentucky passing Principia
Stanford
Penn and Texas
Stanford and Texas
Texas passing Stanford
Toronto
Missouri - Columbia (notice the reflection of the sky and trees on the solar array)
Principia
CalPoly and Texas
Stanford
Stanford, Kentucky and Texas
Kentucky and Arizona
Stanford's solar car was a two seater with the driver seated in front and the passenger seated behind the driver backwards.
Queen's and Penn
Missouri - Columbia, Stanford and Arizona
Stanford
Stanford
Arizona
Missouri - Columbia
Queen's
Queen's
Principia and Penn
Penn passing Principia
Toronto and Stanford
Stanford passing Toronto
Western Michigan
Queen's solar car was a two seater with the driver and passenger seated side by side, the same as in a conventional car.
Penn, McGill University (McGill) and Arizona
Penn, McGill and Arizona
Queen's, Stanford and Western Michigan
Queen's, Stanford and Western Michigan
Yale
Missouri - Columbia (notice the reflection of trees on the solar array), Principia and Penn
Queen's, CalPoly and Missouri - Columbia
Missouri - Columbia, McGill and CalPolyClick the photo to enlarge.
The starting area in front of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.
Kansas State University
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri - Rolla
University of Missouri - Columbia
University of Toronto
University of Waterloo
North Dakota State University
Auburn University
Principia College
Western Michigan University
Purdue University
University of Pennsylvania
Iowa State University
Texas A&M University
McGill University
Stanford UniversityI departed Chicago, Illinois with the Stanford University team.
Click the photo to enlarge.
Propped canopy while resolving issues.
A view inside
Resolving issues
At an intersection. Arizona on the side of the road changing a tire.
Stanford had an unfortunate accident where their battery pack started to smoke dramatically. They pulled over to the road side immediately and pulled out the battery pack. They sprayed a fire extinguisher through the battery pack's vent, and then opened the battery pack and dumped dry ground dolomite, a smothering agent, on the battery modules inside.
Salvaging the battery pack
The dead battery module.Click the photo to enlarge.
University of Waterloo arriving
University of Minnesota arriving
University of Missouri - Rolla arriving
Kansas State University arriving
University of California - Berkeley arriving
Principia College arriving
McGill University arriving
Passing a Police car
Passing Toronto
Passing Auburn
Road signs
Burning hay
Auburn passing CalSol fixing flat tire
Passing Auburn fixing flat tire
Arizona passing
Auburn passing
Arizona passingThe Iowa State University team had issues with their solar car, so we stayed in Ewert Park, Joplin, Missouri over night. Iowa brought with them the sleeper trailer used by their football team.
Click the photo to enlarge.
Outside view
Entrance
Bunk beds the length of the trailer
Water tank. This trailer also had a freezer and a shower.I departed Edmond, Oklahoma with the Principia College team.
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Putting on the solar array
A solar car team ahead
Rolling hills
Passing Western Michigan fixing a flat tire.
Passing Queen's fixing a flat tire.I departed Sayre, Oklahoma with the Western Michigan University team.
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On the road
Minnesota passing
Passing Missouri - Columbia
Minnesota ahead
End of the day charging in Middle-of-nowhere, Oklahoma
The power of Route 66 - cracked suspension arm
Grasshopper hitching a ride
Carbon fiber rims
Sunset
Storing the solar car in the trailer for the night
Minnesota ahead
Sea of signs
Passing MinnesotaI departed Amarillo, Texas with the McGill University team.
Click the photo to enlarge.
End of the day charging. We came across a place that looked like it may have been a gas station in the past. The floor was in relatively good condition.
A Praying Mantis on the back of the solar array
On the highway
The past and the future
On the highway
Passing Arizona charging
Hills
Mountain and trees
Somewhere near the Texas and New Mexico borderI departed Tucumcari, New Mexico with the California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo (CalPoly) team.
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Passing Penn
CalPoly charging
Penn passing
I departed Albuquerque, New Mexico with the Queen's University team.
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Excess Electricity Radiator. On the roll bar was strapped an object with word "Voltage" on it (the word "High" isn't visible). It contained heating coil cores from three hair driers with fans on the other side. The route ahead was mountainous and Queen's didn't want to loose their regenerative electric brakes when their batteries were fully charged and risk overheating their mechanical brakes.
Queen's used a unique suspension design on their solar car called a trailing arm, because it was hinged from behind. It's main design benefit was that the wheel moved only vertically over bumps which doesn't add rolling resistance. Conventional suspensions are hinged on the side, which cause the wheel to move slightly sideways as the wheel moves up and down, which increases rolling resistance when going over irregular road surfaces.
View of the trailing arm front suspension from above
Queen's was a two seater solar car. The driver and passenger sit side by side.
The driver and passenger sitting side by side.
On the highway
On the highway
Solar car paparazzi
On the highway
On the highway
Western Michigan passing
On the road
Arizona passingI departed Gallup, New Mexico with the University of Toronto team.
Click the photo to enlarge.
Shortly after we left the Gallup, New Mexico checkpoint, we drove into a dust storm.
Driving through the mountains - watch out for falling rocks
Porsche Boxster vs. Toronto
Mountains ahead
End of the day charging
End of the day charging
Storm approaching from the mountains
The locals stopped by on horses
Another storm approaching from the mountains
On the road
We came across a dog going through his morning exercise of chasing cars. The dog lived to chase another car.I departed Flagstaff, Arizona with the North Dakota State University team.
Click the photo to enlarge.
On the highway
Los Angeles 448 miles away
On the highway
On the highway
Los Angeles 441 miles away and Kingman 94 miles away
On the highway
On the highway
On the highway
Kingman 32 miles away
Valentine, ArizonaKingman, Arizona had an excellent vista.
Click the photo to enlarge.
A view up from the hotel
Purdue University departing
On the highway through the mountains
Welcome to California
Inspection station. All vehicles stop.
Passing CalSol
This Police wasn't for Stanford.
CalSol passing
Resolving issues
Resolving issues
The team put ice packs on the battery box to keep the internal temperature within manufacture's operating temperature range.
Officer friendly stopped by to see how Stanford was doing.
Entering the Mojave Desert
Passing North Dakota State University
Resolving issues
Issues resolved
Somewhere in Needles, California the temperature was at least 115F (46C). While outside, the dry heat felt like it was sucking the life out of you, but in actuality it was the moisture.
On Route 66
Rolling hillsAt Barstow College in Barstow, California.
Click the photo to enlarge.
A stage start
Queen's ahead
Queen's ahead
Queen's ahead
Queen's passing
On the highway
Passing Missouri - Columbia
The train waits for no solar car
McGill ahead
Passing McGillI rode with a solar car team to the finish line, so I wasn't able to see all the solar cars cross the finish line.
At the finish line in Claremont, California:
Stanford University
Purdue University
The top three finishers:Click the image to enlarge:
For more information: www.americansolarchallenge.org
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