Experimental Vehicle Team News/Records Archive

Saint Thomas Academy Car Wins
The 2005 Dell-Winston Solar Challenge

Eight grueling days, 1,600 grueling miles, 120 grueling degrees

On Saturday, July 16, 2005, the Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team continued to show why they are one of the best high school engineering programs in the country by winning the eight-day, 1,600 mile, Dell-Winston Solar Car Challenge.

Considered one of the top ten learning programs in the United States, the Dell-Winston Solar Car Challenge puts young engineers to the test as they design, build, and ultimately race road-worthy one-person solar cars across the United States. This year's edition started at the Dell Computer Campus in Round Rock, Texas and ended at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California.

The Cadets from Saint Thomas Academy, competing with their sun-orange car, were the only team to successfully complete all the available driving miles, winning both their division title and the overall title. Despite racing in the Classic Division, which limits the car's motors and solar cells, the very efficient Saint Thomas Car completed the most miles in the eight day contest. The durable vehicle limited its problems to one flat tire as it flew along at an average speed of 30 mph through the desert Southwest.

The Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team solar car weighs 420 pounds, has 460 solar cells, and runs on less energy than a standard hair dryer. Utilizing past experience, the Team was able to show case their composite expertise and molded a carbon fiber/Kevlar sandwich body that proved to be both extremely light and amazingly stiff. The car carries 140 of lead acid battery to store solar energy for helping up hills or speeding through cloudy conditions. Students monitor and adjust the cars speed based on weather, road, and available driving miles. The car is capable of speeds in excess of fifty miles per hour.

This year's race gave the eight invited high school teams bright sun and correspondingly high temperatures. Teams fought to keep both drivers and solar arrays cool as they battled temperatures as high as 120° along the race route. Driver switches were NASCAR quick as students raced to finish the daily miles by the 5:00 pm deadline. Just as challenging as the heat was the traffic as passersby slowed to evaluate the on-road oddities. Curious onlookers aside, the secondary roads of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California gave students a chance to view climates much different from the lush landscape of the Midwest.

As winners of the race, the Saint Thomas Academy Team received an invitation to compete in the prestigious World Solar Challenge held in Darwin Australia in 2006. It is doubtful the Cadets will accept the logistically difficult invite.

Cadets Set New National Record With Solar Car

Saint Thomas Academy Team Breaks National Records at Solar BikeRayce USA 2004. School's Experimental Vehicle Team earns fourth national title in five years. Mendota Heights, Minn. (May 26, 2004)

Averaging speeds of more than 30 miles an hour, the Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team set a new Solar BikeRayce national record, completing 100 km in 1:52.36 at the annual Solar BikeRayce USA.

"This was an amazing group project," said physics teacher and Experimental Vehicle Team moderator Mark Westlake. "Utilizing alternative energy sources is a hot topic, and it was extremely enjoyable to watch the culmination of the students' hard work and many late night evenings come to fruition on the race track."

Solar BikeRayce is an international, closed-course "rayce" held in Topeka, Kansas. The Cadets entered both a solar car and a solar bike into the national competition, breaking records in both categories. Saint Thomas Acady's solar car and bike averaged 32.61 mph and 28.67 mph, respectively. Both entries finished 19 minutes ahead of the second place teams, setting new national records in each event. More than a dozen high school, college, and independent teams from across the country competed in the solar car "rayce" and 19 teams, including one from Italy, competed in the solar bike "rayce".

The Experimental Vehicle Team is a co-curricular activity moderated by Academy physics teacher Mark Westlake and includes 11 students: L.Wallrich (12), N. DePrey (11), D. Patterson (11), K. Maas (11), B. Finn (11), K. El Muslemany (11), D. Beilke (10), B. Johnson (10), R. Pearce (10), M. DeMay (10), and P. Bauleke (10). Next year, the STA Experimental Vehicle Team hopes to take what they have learned this year and build an entirely new solar car in preparation for the annual World Solar Challenge.

Special thanks to the people and companies that have made the project possible: Rotor Cranks USA (www.rotorcranksusa.com) Gravity Lab (www.gravitylab.com) Elko Speedway Hoigaards Parents and Grandparents Richard Westlake.

About Solar BikeRayce USA: Solar BikeRayce teams construct vehicles that are powered either partially or entirely by solar power. The competition challenges the builders to complete 100 km (62 miles) in the shortest amount of time with their pedaled or non-pedaled solar-assisted vehicles. The event is held as part of the Formula Sun Education Foundation. Information about the foundation can be found at http://foundation.formulasun.org. The mission of the event is to stimulate interest in science and technology and to raise awareness of alternative energy sources. More information about the event can be found at http://www.solarbike.org.

Four National Titles in Five Years The Experimental Vehicle team has set four national titles in five years: - 2004 Solar BikeRayce USA Champions' 100 km in 1:52.36. - 2003 Human Powered Ice Race Champions' 100-meter Time Trial with 7.6 seconds (29.4 mph). - 2002 Electric Cart Association High School Champions' 37.52 miles - 2000 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) College Supermileage Challenge Champions' 1,131 miles per gallon of gasoline. - 2000 Minnesota Technology Education Association (MTEA) Supermileage Challenge Champions: National High School Record: 1,322 miles per gallon of gasoline.

STA Claims Ice Bike World Championship

The Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team claimed the 2003 Human Powered Ice Races Championship on Saturday, January 25, 2003 in Lindstrom, Minn. The Cadets claimed first place in the 100-meter time trial with 7.6 seconds (29.4 mph), second in the 50-meter drag race, and first in the five lap circuit race.

The event, sponsored by the Minnesota Human Powered Vehicle Association, challenges individuals and teams to build "bikes" to race on a prepared ice surface. The rules require vehicles to be only human powered. The competition is broken into two classes: an Open Class (any traction aids may be used), which includes the time trial, drag race, and circuit race, and a Rubber Only Class (stock rubber tires only). In the Rubber Only Class, Saint Thomas Academy physics teacher and Experimental Vehicle Team moderator Mark Westlake claimed first place.

The Academy had two teams participating in the Open Class with more than 30 teams and individuals from throughout the Midwest. The cadets built two ice bikes with opposite designs, one with the blades and steering the in front and the drive system in the back and visa versa.

"It was fun to race something you built yourself," said senior Ray Schleck, who has spent four years with Saint Thomas Academy’s Experimental Vehicle Team. "We all worked together as a team, but having two teams in the competition was a great incentive to put in the extra time testing and problem solving as many details as possible."

The Academy’s Experimental Vehicle Team is familiar with the title of World Champions, and setting world records, in different "vehicle" categories. Last spring, the Academy’s Experimental Vehicle Team set a new Electric Cart Association world record at the two-day Electric Car Event for high school students, traveling a record-setting 37.52 miles. A year prior, the Experimental Vehicle Team claimed the National High School record with 1,322 miles per gallon, and later won the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) College Supermileage Challenge.

The Experimental Vehicle Team is a co-curricular activity led by Saint Thomas Academy physics teacher Mark Westlake and senior leaders Ray Schleck and Peter Gac. Other students include seniors Chris Morrissey, John Pattison, and Andrew Schlick, juniors Luke Wallrich, and Ed Gadient, sophomores Nick DePrey, Kevin Mass, and David Patterson.

Academy Sets New Track Record, Winning Toyota Midwest Speed Trials

Academy sets new track record of 38.15 miles in one hour.

The Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team continues to impress the electric car world with convincing wins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Toyota Midwest Speed Trials. The Academy’s car won both the "Open Class" and the "Standard Class" races, defeating 38 high school and college team competitors.

"The students have always worked well together when they were building and testing the car," said teacher Mark Westlake. "It’s that group teamwork and hard work that has made this a winning vehicle and a winning team."

The "Open Class" race includes a pit stop in which teams must switch drivers half way into the race. Even with the driver switch, the Saint Thomas Academy car set a new track record of 38.15 miles in one hour at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, lapping the second place team four times. The Cadets also claimed the "Standard Class" race, posting a winning time of 38.50 miles in one hour. The top High Schools from Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota fielded that largest "Electrathon" race on record, with over 38 cars lining up on the starting grid.

Two weeks earlier, the Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team set a new Electric Cart Association world record on May 24, 2002 at the two-day Electric Car Event for high school students. The Cadets team traveled a record-setting 37.52 miles at the Berlin Speedway in Marne, Michigan. The previous record was 37.00 miles, and held by Lakeshore High School (Michigan).

The "Electrathon" has teams of students design, build, test, and race small one-person cars that run for a total of one hour on lead-acid batteries. In addition to the mechanics and physics of the vehicle, students must also factor in and strategize about available energy from the batteries, efficiency of the car, current weather conditions, and skillful race tactics. The driver, with the constant help of his pit crew, must make minute by minute decisions to keep the vehicle at it’s optimal performance over the hour-long event.

Experimental Vehicle Team News/Records Archive

Saint Thomas Academy Car WinsThe 2005 Dell-Winston Solar Challenge

Cadets Set New National Record With Solar Car

STA Claims Ice Bike World Championship

Academy Sets New Track Record, Winning Toyota Midwest Speed Trials

Saint Thomas Academy Car Wins
The 2005 Dell-Winston Solar Challenge