The Final - Goodwood

The Beaulieu motor museum acted as an inspirational stop off on the way up to the national final. All of the pupils clearly enjoyed themselves and were fascinated by the history of motoring.

The morning of the final started with a cooked breakfast in our youth hostel which set the pupils up for the day. It was a cold fresh morning and the weather looked like it was going to be on our side. An hour later we arrived at the famous Goodwood race track and it was clear that the competition continues to grow year on year. The paddocks were full of  hopeful teams and Greenpower had brought in a large LED screen to broadcast the event to the thousands of competitors and spectators that lined the track. The practice session went vey well and it looked like our cars were ready for the final. All the teams worked well together and were a true credit to themselves and Penair school.

The grid looked amazing at the start of the final. The teams all basked in the glorious autumn sunshine and vibrant colours of the 75 cars contrasted with the lush green grass that lay trackside. Whilst the Greenpower team sorted out the final preparations the teams were interviewed in front of the numerous spectators. Whilst not all of the final teams were interviewed, all of our teams were. I am sure the students must have been very nervous about this but it did not come across when they spoke. Final preparations over the final got underway to a huge cheer from the spectators. All of cars started fine and continued to run well for the first half of the race. Blue raptor and Eco raptor were slipping down the field though. It was now we wished we had changed the gearing on Eco - Raptor. The team had decided against it because it was never a real contender due its large frontal area (and parachute at the back) so it was decided that if it is working that we shouldn’t be changed and would be used to test our new technology. The Blue raptor team could change their gearing and advised their driver to go faster. This was unfortunately too much for the old motor and caused the team to retire before the end of the race. The Eco raptor did finish the race but a poor pit stop call caused it to finish much further down the pack than it should have. Raptor Fusion our flagship car continued to go well for the entire final and ended up coming fourth overall. The team were disappointed not to get on the podium but are happy with the result considering it was the cars first season.

The eco-raptor was also recognised nationally for it's innovative technology and achieved the Siemens innovation award. The team are delighted that all their hard work paid off and look forward to developing the technology for next season.

Penair Engineering would like to thank all of their sponsors for their support. Sponsorship has undoubtedly helped keep the Penair engineering team running.

                                                    Raptor Fusion flying past its rivals.

                                     The Eco-Raptor team with the Siemens innovation award.

                   

CASTLE COOMBE

 

The Raptor Fusion team was the only team from Penair to race at Castle Coombe due to a limited number of spaces available. The team started the race very well but disaster struck when a battery terminal snapped off (that's motor racing!). The car took a long time to recover and the team was consequently off the track for 30mins. This may have been a blessing in disguise though as the team got to really test their car and it's capabilities. The team also learnt a lot more about their batteries! The team was in 38th place when they managed to get back on to the track but some good battery management and excellent driving meant that the team finished in fourth place overall. This was an excellent achievement and the team is going in to the final full of confidence.

 

                                   Team  - Raptor Fusion

GOODWOOD HERE WE COME!

BUDDING Engineers from Penair School in Truro will be taking part in the Green Power Racing Car National Final at Goodwood in October this year, after successfully qualifying at RNAS Merryfield on Saturday.

With support from Western Power Distribution, the team hope to enter all three of the cars they have built from scratch.  The cars are powered with six 12 volt batteries which are quite costly to maintain and replace.

Graham Whipp a Planner based in WPD’s Bodmin office suggested the school contact the company seeking support to purchase some batteries.  Graham’s step-son Tom, an active member of the Engineering Team, helped design and build the cars.

Graham explains: “WPD is keen to support schools with engineering based projects so explained this to the school who were delighted with the £300 donation to purchase some new batteries.

The students gain a great deal from participating and spend a lot of their own time working on fine tuning the cars and travelling over the country to participate in events.  They are all very committed and I hope their efforts are rewarded with a good placing at the Goodwood event.”

The Green Power IET Formula 24 Race is aimed at students between 11 and 16 years.  Teams have to compete in at least one regional heat and finish in the top three to automatically qualify for the national final.

The remaining 75 cars on the grid consist of those cars that have completed the most miles in any one race with 3 wild cards thrown in for good measure. 

Penair Students before their successful qualifier at RNAS Merryfield in Somerset on Saturday 15^th September. 

Graham Whipp from WPD with step-son Tom who took part in the event.

Newquay Race 21 June 2012

Newquay south-west qualification race.

On Thursday 21^st of June I was part of the engineering club from Penair School that travelled to Newquay Airport to compete in the south-west Greenpower electric car regional race. Our aim was to qualify for the National final at Goodwood in October.  We turned up in perfect racing weather (not too cold or not too hot) but, being Cornwall, that didn’t last very long and soon after it started raining.  Despite this we rolled our three cars up and waited for the scrutineering team to test them.  We didn’t have to wait long before our cars were scrutineered and all three passed the tests fine.  Our new car, built entirely out of wood apart from the electronics, had up-to-date technology installed such as a speed controller and a tablet screen that told you if you were going too fast or too slow.  Although it was the first time the car had raced the team and I had high hopes for our car.

The engineering club had built three cars so consequently we had to split into three teams.  The three cars were called Raptor Fusion, Blue Raptor and Eco Raptor so they were also the names for the three teams.  The teams were each assigned a different colour; red for Raptor Fusion, blue for Blue Raptor and green for Eco Raptor.  We decided that because in the heat of the race people could get mixed up we would give each team hats the colour of their team.  So because I was driving for Blue Raptor I got a blue hat.

Once we had been scrutineered our first drivers got in the car and drove a couple of practice laps.  The other drivers would then have a couple of practice laps in race order.  Because of a shortage of batteries Eco Raptor and Blue Raptor had to share batteries in the practice laps, this meant that the drivers didn’t get as much practice time as they wanted.  But it wasn’t just shortage of batteries that cut down the amount of time drivers got in practicing, well not in Eco Raptor at least.  On the second lap the treacherous surface of Newquay took its toll on Eco Raptor.  The Airway had rough sections in it and some potholes and it was one of these potholes that spelled the end of Eco Raptor’s practice session.  The car did not approve of the two inch hole it went into at over 18 mph and was pulled off the track by Greenpower officials.  After examining the car the team drew the conclusion that the floor beneath the batteries had given way and had caused the batteries to be pulled out.  After 40 minutes of furious work the team, with the help of Mr.Erents, Ron and other adults that are included in the club, managed to get the car onto the grid to race albeit in 21^st and last place.  The starting order on the grid for the Penair cars was: Raptor Fusion in 18^th, Blue Raptor in 19^th and Eco Raptor in 21^st.  Not the best starting points for one of the first teams to arrive.

The cars were sent to go row by row and it was clearly apparent that there was something wrong with Blue Raptor when it pushed off and sure enough minutes later it was pulled into the pits by the Greenpower officials.  Not knowing quite what the problem was but knowing that it was something to do with the electronics , the team pulled off the cover off the bottom of the car and tried to find the problem.  Within ten minutes we had, with the help of Ron and Jason, discovered that it was a problem with the circuit-breaker.  In a further 5 minutes we had found a loose bolt connected to part of the circuit-breaker.  Quickly we tightened the bolt and tested the car and we were ecstatic to find that the car was fixed and able to run in the race again.  By this point we had dropped all positions and were in last place but we were just happy to see the car rolling fine back in the race and already making a mark on the Greenpower race, gaining on the opposition quickly and getting back the laps we had lost.  We were back in business.        


      

Raptor Fusion didn’t encounter a problem as it shot round the 0.74 mile track in less than 2 minutes, the fastest lap time being 1 minute 49 seconds.  It was not long, though, before Eco Raptor came in with a problem in the electronics.  Keeping their cool the Eco Raptor team sorted the problem quickly although the stop cost them positions and they dropped back near the bottom.  At the time it looked like Richard Lander team were going to win but we wouldn’t have that.  Raptor Fusion was running top 5 within the first 1 hour 20 and then it had a problem as well!  This wasn’t as serious as the problems on the other cars but was a problem with the positioning of the wiring.  But the team soon had the wire replaced and the car entered the race again in 4^th place. 

As is well known the Greenpower race is all about endurance and to last the full 4 hours you need to have good battery management.  We had a small problem with battery organisation but other than that the cars didn't encounter any more serious problems. 

Penair school had started with all three cars in the bottom 4 but they finished in these positions; Raptor Fusion in 1^st!, Blue Raptor in 5^th!, Eco Raptor in 12^th!  Richard Lander had started looking like they were going to win but part way through the race they had problems.  This was the start of a downward spiral for them and they finished in 6^th place.  Your position is judged on how many miles you’ve covered and only 5 cars lasted to cross the finish line.  I’m happy to say that all three of the Penair cars crossed the line.

The awards ceremony announced Raptor Fusion as the winner of the Greenpower south-west regional race and therefore qualifiers for the national Greenpower race at Goodwood.  Our work on Eco Raptor was recognised by the judges who awarded it the Engineering innovation award.  With medals around our necks and smiles on our faces we returned home and looked forward to the challenge of upcoming races.

Despite the award Eco Raptor did not qualify so it and Blue Raptor will both be going up to Somerset to try to qualify in another race.  Raptor Fusion will also be attending the Somerset race as the position you get on the grid in the national Formula 24 race depends on how any miles you’ve covered in previous races.  So Fusion will be racing to gain miles and therefore positions in the Goodwood race. 

I hope Penair Engineering do well in the Somerset race and I will keep you up to date in future races. 

Written by,

 Josh Fann    

On Saturday 28th April the Engineering team took a mini-bus trip to the legendary race track Silverstone. We stayed in Oxford for a day in a nice Youth Hostel. Unfortunatley the weather was miserable but the team stuck to it and we raced our new car Raptor Fusion on the sunday morning.


When we arrived at the track the team were awestruck at the fact that we were about to race on a track many F1 legends had also raced on. The first few minutes were dedicated to making the car waterproof by covering the carbon fibre chassis. Once that was finished we sent our first driver for the practice laps, Josh. The drivers on the practice laps had to test the car andtell the actual drivers were to brake, where the best racing line was and how the car preformed in the wet. They were also told to drivea "flying lap" to see how fast the car could really go. Our fastest lap time was 3 minutes 37 seconds and that ws set by our driver tom. that particular lap was faster then last year's national champions Rotary Racer.

After the practice laps there was a team a team breifing for the drivers and pit crew.the breifing was short but very to the point. It was to warn all the drivers that if they started to feel too cold they had to pit as 5 drivers had to leave with hypothermia. they then went on to tell us that sme people had strayed onto the international silverstone track, they said that we were to keep off the international track because there was an F4 race on at the same time and " it could get messy". as to prove his point an engine could be heard revving.  

as the first driver prepared to leave there was a final word of warning from one of the adults, chris." many of the cars out on the track have protruding wheels.as today there is a strong cross breeze it could mean that cars could spin out of control, so keep your distance from all the cars!" the first driver set off and performed brilliantly, lapping Richard Lander's can in under 5 laps. At the end of his stint we were running around 3rd and the next driver set off. unfortunatelyour new telemetry system failed to give us the voltage of the batteries and so we had to read it manually.  our drivers continued a stunning performance and we finished the race in 2nd with richard lander 3 places behind in 5th.

we decided that we should stay for the awards ceremony and waited until 2 0'clock to receive our cups and medals. the winnig team was a collage and we were rather impressed with our performance.Giddy with joy we got into the mini-bus and travelled home to our beds after an exhausting weekend.

written by, Josh Fann.   

Penair’s ‘Blue Raptor’ wins the Greenpower Challenge

Penair School’s ‘Blue Raptor’, has outpaced 13 cars from across the South West to win the regional Formula 24 Green Power Car Challenge- a competition for school students to design, build and race electric cars. This is not the first time Penair’s car has won the regional heat. Last year, they won with their previous kit car- ‘White Stripes’.

The engineering team, led by Martin Erents, Chris Parker and Spencer Hosen is thrilled to be going to Goodwood.  The pupils have spent many hours after school designing, building and testing these cars. These pupils are the designers and engineers of the future and to see the cars not only running really well- but winning- is a fantastic achievement.   The team is now sponsored by Inspired Cycle Engineers, who have helped the kids to understand the importance of weight and aerodynamics in vehicle design. 'Blue Raptor' also won the title of the best engineered car and will now travel to Goodwood in October to compete against cars from across the country in the National Green Power Championship.