When we first decided to make SOCKEYE out of carbon fiber, we knew there would be many new challenges. One of which being that, according to the rules of the solar car challenge, we would need to provide destructive testing data that justifies the strength and crashworthiness of SOCKEYE. So, while building the car, we […]
In the coming weekends, we are hoping to start testing SOCKEYE in preparation for the race. Of course, this will rely on many extraneous factors such as weather, so it may take a few weeks. In the meantime, we are making some not-so-interesting final preparations. Instead of talking about that, let’s take a trip to the past and revisit just a few parts of SOCKEYE’s design that were overshadowed in last year’s blog posts.
As the team continues to progress toward Texas, it is important to revisit old projects to see how they can be improved. One of these projects is the open-top trailer that was built for the 2022 race. With SOCKEYE’s new wheel profile, we needed to modify the trailer to fit. Unfortunately, as the new design […]
During the last few months, the team has been working hard on preparing for our carbon fiber layup to construct the car’s aerodynamic shell. With the mold in its final state, we began the layup process. In doing so, we will have a one-piece shell which will allow for better aerodynamics and a smoother surface. […]
Ninth grade RAHS students were challenged to write about an aviation community that they often interact with. For freshman Luca Umbelino, it’s the RAHS Green Energy Team! Read about his carbon fiber oven project below. The RAHS Green Energy Team is a student-led club that annually builds a solar powered car and races it across […]
The structural team has been working relentlessly to try and to meet the February “Go/No-Go ” deadline. With confidence, the team has decided to “GO” and continue our efforts with the 2023 design. This past month, parts were being ordered, and designs have been finalized. Janicki has donated their time and materials to help us […]
As we look towards beginning the construction of our car, one of the things that we must make sure of is that the layout and size of the cockpit fit our drivers safely and is adequate for all systems necessary inside the car. This is accomplished through the construction of something called a “mockpit” (model […]
For nearly two years, the RAHS solar car team has had their eyes on designing a new solar car to compete in the 2023 National Solar Car Challenge. As we have hinted towards in the past, an aerodynamic design has been in the works for some time now. With a new year, the team has […]
It’s hard to believe that we are already a month and a half into the school year. Even though there are still many months until the solar car challenge, the team knows that that time will fly by and everyone is eager to get working. We have had a lot of recent progress split up […]
Going into the fourth day of racing, the team was showing the strain of many long and hot days, but everyone was eager to finish the race. With a renewed sense of energy after beating the track record for the total number of laps for an entire race late on day 3, the team pushed […]
