New Batteries

The new spec batteries arrived today which means the winter mods can really start to get underway. They are much smaller in size than their predecessors, letting us reduce the size of the battery compartment and making room for growing drivers feet. In the picture below the lighter coloured bulkhead will be installed and the current solid bulkhead will be cut out the match the hollow ones. The whole front axle/steering assembly can then also be moved forward.

Slideshows

As a precursor to some design changes which will happen to the blog this winter, I have posted some slideshows of our previous escapades in Formula 24. To view the web albums for each slideshow, just click on the picasa logo in the bottom corner.

RLR 1 @ National Final 2010

RLR 1 @ Southwest Regional Heat 2010

RLR 1 Build Slideshow

V24 Slideshow

Nostalgia

Tidying up my prep room today I found one of the old promotional disc we had made up for V24, the first car we made. Here it is for all your nostalgic needs:

Need some help?

As a team that has achieved a national final in both seasons we have raced in, we have been approached by Vaughan Curnow at Cornwall College to act as a mentor to other Cornish teams who are having trouble getting a car on the track. If this sounds like you then feel free to contact me by email at dpascoe@richardlander.cornwall.sch.uk and we can disseminate some of the experience we have gained over the last few years and hopefully get some more competitive cars from this neck of the woods.

Tyrone Snell Trailers

We have a new sponsor to add to the roster of generous local companies. Vaughan Curnow over at Cornwall College has put us in touch with Tyrone Snell Trailers who have offered to provide us with free rental of one of their box trailers whenever we want to use it. So far we have been shifting the car about by lifting it up onto the top of the school minibus which is no easy feat, even with the whole team to lend some muscle! The other issue getting the car on top of the minibus comes when we go for testing at RAF Portreath where working at 2 meters above the ground could expose you to some serious ionising radiation from the epic radar dome.
To find out more about Tyrone Snell, click here:

http://www.tyronesnelltrailers.co.uk/

Winter Modifications

     With the car back on the rack after being exhibited at a trade show, we really got a chance to see what we will do to the car to improve it for the coming season. Jobs which need to be done include:

• New electrical system to replace the field repair from the final.
• The new spec batteries are smaller than the last ones so battery bulkhead can be moved forward, giving us more leg room for our drivers.
• The way the nose cone attaches needs some attention, The elastic approach didn't really cut it in the end.
• We would also like to get some data logging/telemetry on the car. We have sourced some great kit but we will need some additional sponsorship if we want to get this going.

     With the new season seeing a new battery spec, cars of all standings are going to be in an experimental mode this coming year. With some extensive testing and practice hopefully this will be our season to really show what the car can do.