NASTE Gravity Racing Team test session on Friday July 14th.....I don't even know where to start, what an incredible day!
My day started at 6:30am. Hooked up the trailer and headed for the Scuderia Kouba shop in Oregon City to pick up the cars. Once the cars were loaded we were ready to meet up with the rest of the team at The Stagecoach Saloon for some photos and breakfast. We unloaded all the cars at the Stagecoach, took some photos, re-loaded the cars, then headed in for some grub. During breakfast the owner and one of our sponsors Gary, gave each team member a Stage Coach Saloon T-shirt. After we had finished B.S.in' and eating breakfast we all loaded up and headed to the old Reynolds High School to do some push testing on the track.
At the Reynolds track we unloaded the Scuderia Kouba cars for some push testing. We tested different configurations of wood constructed starting blocks for the pushers. The starting blocks were constructed on site during the testing. We tested three different configurations of push poles. Drivers practiced our teams starting procedure, and different members practiced the pusher's role in the start. We learned a lot, and after we were all tired of pushing we loaded the SK cars back up on the trailer and headed for our next stop.
The next stop was a quick one at my place to drop off a couple cars and decide on car pools for the run to Dufur. On the way to the test hill or more accurately test HILLS, we stopped in Dufur at the deli for some lunch. The food was good but there wasn't much seating space on the side walk, but we made it work. After lunch it was on to the hills. We found a good spot about seven miles up with a good wide shoulder area to set up a pit area. At this section of the road we had a gentle downhill slope into a slightly steeper uphill slope. Total run length was about a half mile, perfect for testing. We unloaded all the cars and marked a start line. In this section of road we ran the cars down the hill from the start line, and then up the hill on the end of the run. At the end of the run we turned the cars around and ran them back downhill towards the original start line. We not quite able to roll the cars clear back to the start line, so we towed them the final few hundred feet back to the pit area.
We made a total of five test runs with the Scuderia Kouba cars, and four with the Hawksbill Flyer. Between runs we made adjustments and changes to the cars for the purpose of speed comparison to validate modifications. We learned a lot about aerodynamics on the cars, and drivers were able to practice their skills to attain the high speeds possible. After we were cooked from the sun and heat and tired we called it a day. At the end of the testing Jeff Chochon had set the top speed of the day in test section at 39.4 MPH in the MKI. Jenny Burns was close behind at 37.5 MPH in the MKII, and Rico Locati set the fast time in the Hawksbill Flyer at 33.6 MPH.
BUT.....we weren't quite dome for the day. We loaded all the cars back up and headed further up the mountain. At the point where we lasted started our testing with the Scuderia Kouba cars, we stopped and unloaded the SK cars for the final run of the day. After we unloaded and were getting ready for the run we were visited by the U.S. Forest Service. One of their Fire trucks happened to be coming by so they stopped to check and see what we were up to. When the ranger got out of the truck it was obvious he was searching for some reason to tell us we could not do whatever it was we were doing. When he found our the cars were not motorized vehicles he was struggling for obvious violations of something. He threw out the "required for special use of the road"phrase which Chris countered with "for bicycles"? At this point it was obvious he was lost for words and laws to recite, so he left us with "well don't be surprised if a law enforcement officer stops you". Afte I replied "OK, thanks for the heads up" Chris Kouba was belted into the MKI, and Jeff Chochon climbed into the MKII. After a slight push both cars headed down the mountain. Rico and I followed as chase vehicles. After Rico and I got turned around on the road and started pursuit we were so far behind the gravity cars it took over 10 minutes to catch back up to them!
At the end of the 14.6 mile downhill run, Chris had upped his top speed record to 62.s MPH!!!! We forgot to place a GPS in the MKII to record Jeff's run, but Rico said when he finally caught up to Jeff and dropped in behind him he was doing just over 60 MPH as show by the speedometer in the chase car. At the end of the run we again loaded up the SK cars and headed towards home. On the way home we met up with the Burns family in The Dalles for some dinner and a little decompression time. We arrived back at my house at midnight to unload the cars and button everything up...........What a day!!!
