Thursday, May 24, 2012

2012 Competition and Year Sum Up

RPI Formula Hybrid 2011-2012 year ended very strongly. We brought out race car to the competition at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from April 30th-May 3rd.
Despite all our planning, a couple things still happened last minute. Our pneumatic shifter was swapped for a manual slapstick shifter because we were concerned with the tank capacity of the pneumatic system.

After a few touch-ups we were able to pass mechanical tech inspection but we had a few problems with the electrical systems. Eventually, multiply convoys were sent in every direction to find us a specific DC fuse and we pass electrical tech too.
Sam Putney holding on during the Tilt Test

Michael Kessler completing the Brake Test
The Albatross stands triumphantly after passing the Rain Test and all inspections

When we completed the rest of the inspections, it was RPI Formula Hybrid's first time ever competing in a dynamic event when we took part of the Endurance Race. The first half of the endurance was strong; we even overtook a few other schools, but we started having engine problems during the second half. The race ended when we ran out of gas, but nonetheless when the points were tallied we placed 7th!


Tony Peto ripping around the course during the Endurance race

The whole team at the end of the competition

Thank everyone so much for the support! We are very happy with the results and look forward to the future we will go from here.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Tech Park Testing

 Last Saturday we tested the car at Pitney Bowes in the Rensselaer Tech Park.
 There were a few hiccups in the car - our starter battery and air shifter weren't working. The motor belt was slipping too, but we were able to run the car anyways. Check out the pictures!