September 29, 2005 Source: University of Calgary:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/sept05/soleon_day5.html SOLEON DAY 5: Flying, hopping and buzzing: a race on the wild side Panasonic World Solar Challenge Students in the U of C's Solar Car team came to the Australian Outback forewarned about venomous spiders and snakes, but no one told them about an annoying little creature with a wing span of a few millimetres: the common bush fly. The U of C crew lifted their mosquito nets at the end of racing on Thursday and found they had narrowed the gap on the 10th place Belgium team to about 15 minutes. Soleon remains in first place among Production-class vehicles and in 11th place overall. It's likely that U of C could catch the Belgians on Friday in the 400 kilometres remaining to the finish line in Adelaide. "We had another great day of racing today," said Colby Bell, the team's project manager, mechanical manager and one of its drivers. "We were hitting speeds of about 80 kilometres an hour while still managing to charge the battery pack. We should definitely be at the finish line in Adelaide by Friday afternoon." The team racked up 590 kilometres Thursday, the best day yet. Earlier Thursday, Australia's Aurora snared second spot, followed by the University of Michigan's Momentum, Japan's Sky Ace Tiga and Formosun from Taiwan University. Nuna 3 from the Netherlands captured top spot on Wednesday. There are two categories of vehicles in the race: Open-class vehicles, which use special materials, such as high-priced gallium arsenide solar cells; and Production-class vehicles, which employ materials purchased off the shelf. Kelly, a two-seater built by a team from South Australia, is the nearest Production-class vehicle and a full hour behind U of C. The U of C team spent the night camped about 100 kilometres north of Port Augusta. Temperatures have dropped considerably during the latter stages of the race with daytime highs reaching only 20 C. The cooler weather is no doubt easier on Soleon's motor controller, which was overheating during the first few days of racing when temperatures hit 38 C, but has done nothing to diminish the presence of the ubiquitous bush fly. "They can drive you crazy," said Garett Brett, the team's business manager. "You go outside and they're just on you, buzzing around your face, crawling in your eyes. All I have to do is open my mouth and I get my protein content for the day." So far the annoying fly has been the most frequently encountered of Australia's unique animal kingdom, but there have also been brushes with geckos, cockroaches, bats and frogs. Camels, emus and wedge-tailed eagles have been spotted, but so far no one has seen a living kangaroo. "One of the guys found a gecko in the motel room he was in; I found a spider in ours, and then Colby found a cockroach," said Laurie Heilman Bell, the team's communications manager and nutrition advisor. Another team member shared a bathroom with two frogs at a motel in Larrimah, and spent part of his morning run inadvertently disturbing fruit bats hanging in the trees in Darwin. Dr. Bill Boyd, medical officer for the race, briefed participants on the potential hazards of the Outback. "If you see a snake out there, don't try to catch it or kill it. It will go away on its own. I've treated people for snake bite and asked them, 'What were you doing?" Invariably they answer, 'I was trying to kill it.'" Roscoe Shelton, a salesman with Flinders Camping, says more people in Australia get killed by sharks than snakes. "I go walkabout all the time and I've never been troubled by anything," he said. "The Outback is a pretty safe place. It's like a lot of things in life – if you go sticking something someplace it doesn't belong, then you could wind up in trouble." For more information, or to arrange for an interview with one of the U of C Solar Car Team Members, contact Media Relations Advisor Greg Harris, who is traveling with the team, at (403) 997-0107 (satellite phone). To speak to a media advisor in Calgary, contact Colleen Turner, (403) 650-1153. For more information on Soleon's progress, visit www.calgarysolarteam.ca.
For more information on the Panasonic World Solar Car Challenge, visit www.wsc.org.au. The University of Calgary, the Schulich School of Engineering and the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy are jointly supporting U of C participation in the World Solar Challenge. The U of C is one of North America's leading centres for energy studies, including research on responsible and environmentally sound methods – such as solar power – that will ensure a sustainable energy supply. The Schulich School of Engineering is the fastest-growing engineering faculty in Canada. The School is committed to being First Choice in Canada for accredited engineering education, for internationally acclaimed research, and for service to the community and the engineering profession. The Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy is a unique, collaborative institute that develops new methods and technology to unlock energy resources and protect the environment for future generations. __________ Colleen Turner
Associate Director, Communications
University of Calgary
220-2920 (w)
650-1153 (cell)
220-1312 (fax)
colleen.turner@ucalgary.ca
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