Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Are there rules pertaining to the horn(s)? I think a set of moose horns would look awesome.
"Big Smooth"
- wb0s
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
The car is so low I'd have to mount it on top!
- wb0s
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
We still need one volunteer for the Portland Derby duties!
- wb0s
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
We have our third official volunteer! A big thanks to Beau Frazier for registering for Track Set up from 5:00 am until 2:00 pm for our #12 NASTE / Hawsbill Flyer Team!
If anyone else would also like volunteer, or if you someone who would like to be part of the Derby, I'm sure the organizers would be very appreciative of any additional volunteers we could muster up!
We still need people to help out in our pit areas also! So far my pit crew list shows Jimmy Jones, Dave Smith, John Bostic (Pusher), Greg Dunbar (Pusher), Chris Kouba (Driver), Jeff Cochan (Driver), Jenny Burns (Driver), Rico Locati (Driver), Troy Hart (Pusher), Al Christensen, Dick Gehrke, Dennis Hart (Driver - Formula 8 Class Director).
The official PDX Derby volunteers are:
Jeff Burns - #21 Portland Charter Schools / MKII Team - Morning Set Up & On Course Crowd Safety 5:00am - 2:00pm
Bill Bostic - #2 Scuderia Kouba / MKI Team - Tow Back Crew 8:00 am - 4:00pm
Beau Frazier - #12 NASTE / Hawksbill Flyer Team - Morning Set Up & On Course Crowd Safety 5:00am - 2:00pm
We could still use people to help out in our pit areas! If you're interested please let me know!
Thank you to all!
==========Bill
Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
I'm hoping to be there, but in the construction business it's hard to commit Saturdays that far ahead.
- wb0s
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
That's OK MItch, I'll put you down as "hopefully"!
- wb0s
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
As you may know this Friday is the next test session for our gravity racer team. Here's the plan so far, all three cars will be at The Stagecoach Saloon on NE 201st and Sandy at 9:00am to 9:15am. To start the day off we will be taking pictures of the cars in front of the Stagecoach Saloon which is one of our sponsors. Everyone that is interested should show up and have breakfast as a team. After breakfast we will head out for the push testing site. We will push test at a location very near the Stagecoach (within 3 miles). After the push testing session it looks like Duffer Oregon is our preferred test site so car pooling will be available. Tomorrow (Tuesday July 11) I will be calling the TV news channels to see if they are interested in doing a story on our 2017 Portland Adult Soap Box Derby venture. I did the same last year but did not give them enough lead time to get the job done. We'll see if we have any interest this year. I feel we are an exceptional team, especially this year! Our team is fielding three cars, all of which are excellent examples of team efforts! In addition we have two veterans of American Soap Box Derby racing on our team, Dennis Hart in the 1950's, and Dick Gehrke in the 1940's. With this experience and knowledge I feel we are a formidable team! I would really like to see a strong team presence for the breakfast meeting. It will give us an opportunity to talk about the logistics of race day on Mt. Tabor as well as duties of those in the pits. There has been a lot of planning going into this year's race as well as a lot of work. My intention is for everyone to have an extremely good time with this but make no mistake, we are in it to win it!
If you have any questions shoot me a message, reply, phone, or otherwise!
- kidvolt
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Kick some butt!
"Big Smooth"
259 July 11, 2017 9:36 am (edited by docdoom July 11, 2017 9:36 am)
Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Here he comes
Here comes Speed Racer
He's a demon on wheels
He's a demon and he's gonna be chasin' after someone.
He's gainin' on you so you better look alive.
He's busy revvin' up the powerful Mach 5.
And when the odds are against him
And there's dangerous work to do
You bet your life Speed Racer
Will see it through.
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer, Go!
He's off and flyin' as he guns the car around the track
He's jammin' down the pedal like he's never comin' back
Adventure's waitin' just ahead.
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer, Go!
The secondnidator
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
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!!!
- wb0s
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Approximately 8:00am, the package is loaded on July 14th.
Bigsby, the official NASTE Team Race Dog seemed disappointed that he wouldn't be making this trip!
On sight at our sponsor's Stagecoach Saloon.
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Some of the pictures from the photo session.
The Hawksbill Flyer in its new livery. BEAUTIFUL, excellent job Dennis Hart!
The Scuderia Kouba MI.
The Scuderia Kouba MKII with flames by Gary Howie Howard.
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
The NASTE Gravity Team assembled in front of the Stagecoach Saloon.
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Testing on the hill outside of Dufur.
MKII test run.
The Hawksbill Flyer test run.
Testing.
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The MKI with the wheel pants in place, on the start line for its last run in the test section.
SK MKI fly by on test run.
Hawksbill Flyer fly by.
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Here are the posted results from the test runs:
Test Run No.1
MKI 37.1 MPH - Chris
MKII 36.7 MPH - Jeff C.
Test Run No.2
MKI 38.0 MPH - Chris
MKII 35.6 MPH - Jeff C.
Hawsbill Flyer MPH 31.1 - Dennis
Test Run No.3
MKI 38.4 MPH - Chris
MKII 36.4 MPH - Jenny
Hawksbill Flyer MPH - 30.7 - Jeff B.
Test Run No.4
MKI 39.1 MPH - Chris
MKII 37.8 MPH - Jenny
Hawksbill Flyer 33.6 MPH - Rico
Test Run No.5
MKI 39.4 MPH - Jeff C.
MKII 37.5 MPH -Jenny
Hawksbill Flyer n/a - Dennis
Final Mountain Run 14.6 Miles
MKI 62.3 MPH - Chris
MKII n/a - Jeff C.
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Here's some pictures Rico took of the testing session:
- wb0s
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Chris Kouba's final run of the day. A downhill run of 14.6 miles reaching a top speed of 62.3 MPH! He's not just fast with slot cars!
Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Nice run Downhill Racer.
I can't help but speculate how well brakes designed for a 20lb bicycle would stop that thing at 60mph. This time of year there are an awful lot of deer, elk, bear and even turkeys in that area, any one of which would change the aerodynamics on that car pretty quick. And in the case of a bear even if you got stopped in time, then what?
I sure does look like a lot of fun though, very smooth, and the steering looks nice and tight.
I would have liked to join you but I had to meet with our painter that morning.
270 July 15, 2017 10:30 pm (edited by ckouba July 18, 2017 12:09 am)
Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
For starters, a massive thank you to everyone who has volunteered to be a part of the Scuderia Kouba circus this year- and specifically, Jeff Burns and Beau Frazier, who along with Bill Bostic will be covering our official staffing obligations with the event organizers. For everyone else who will be helping in the pits, etc... thanks for being willing to give up your Saturday in August!
Thanks to everyone for making it out for push testing. I think we learned good things and the exercise was worth the effort. I was disappointed my lightweight pushpoles didn't exactly pan out but I was glad the other one will. It was also good to learn that the pusher can't cross the line (although we should seek confirmation on this- it made a ~2mph difference to speed at launch). Getting the starting blocks set up was also a good accomplishment for the day.
For the crew that headed up into the hills with us, again, thank you for your time and energy. This whole exercise makes it clear that this is not something I could do without the help of others. It takes a village to get this idiot to the races, so thank you for your help.
As for the testing, we were investigating the differences between standard wheels, wheel disks, and wheel pants. For the first run, the MkI had spoke wheels and the MkII had the disks. Bill has already posted the results:
Test Run No.1
MKI 37.1 MPH - Chris
MKII 36.7 MPH - Jeff C.
For the second run, we swapped wheel sets on the front axle and saw some pretty consistent results- MkI went up ~1mph, MkII went down ~1mph:
Test Run No.2
MKI 38.0 MPH - Chris
MKII 35.6 MPH - Jeff C.
For the third run, wheels were swapped back but I put the pants on the MkI. The MkII had a driver change and was run down the hill without its canopy on. The MkI went up .4mph and the MkII set its new baseline
Test Run No.3
MKI 38.4 MPH - Chris
MKII 36.4 MPH - Jenny
For run 4, the MkI had a driver swap and the canopy went back on the MkII. Jeff was able to squeeze another .7mph out of the MkI and the canopy improved the MkII's top speed by 1.4mph.
Test Run No.4
MKI 39.1 MPH - Jeff
MKII 37.8 MPH - Jenny
I wasn't aware of any changes for run #5. Jeff eeked another .3mph out of the MkI and Jenny had another strong run as well
Test Run No.5
MKI 39.4 MPH - Jeff C.
MKII 37.5 MPH -Jenny
And the icing on the cake, on the ice cream... 14 miles of bliss! I was able to carry the speed a little lower down the hill and managed to get a little further than last time, but there's a mild incline where we come to a stop and I couldn't clear it. With a little more confidence in the sweepers, it may be possible to carry enough speed to clear it, but making the run to there is certainly a treasure in and of itself.
Final Mountain Run 14.6 Miles
MKI 62.3 MPH - Chris
MKII n/a - Jeff C. (managed to leave the start without a GPS. What?!?!???!)
The flyer was deceptively slow at this venue. We know it's a fast entry, but the pavement at the test site, while it was smooth and unbroken from a macro perspective, was fairly rough on a micro-level and it hindered the ability of the flyer to reach its full potential. As we saw last year, the smoother pavement at Mt Tabor will bring this sled to life though!
Hawksbill Flyer MPH - 30.7 - Jeff B.
Hawksbill Flyer 33.6 MPH - Rico
Hawksbill Flyer n/a - Dennis
So by the end of the day, we had determined our final configurations for each entry. The MkI will go down the hill with its wheel pants on and the MkII will run with wheel disks and canopy. If the derby was tomorrow, we'd be ready to roll!
The line up outside the Stagecoach:
The circus crew:
L-to-R: Michael, Chris, Bill, Dennis, Al, "Sombrero" Jimmy, Rico, Beau, Dick, Jeff C, Jenny, Jessica, Jeff B, Johnny Cash
Jeff C flying low in the MkI:
I know Jeff C and Jeff B both took some video and I am looking forward to seeing some of that!
Thanks again to everyone who's been a part of this. It'd be a lot more work and a lot less fun to have to do it without you!
Chris
271 July 15, 2017 10:39 pm (edited by ckouba July 18, 2017 12:11 am)
Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Mitch58 wrote:
I can't help but speculate how well brakes designed for a 20lb bicycle would stop that thing at 60mph. This time of year there are an awful lot of deer, elk, bear and even turkeys in that area, any one of which would change the aerodynamics on that car pretty quick. And in the case of a bear even if you got stopped in time, then what?
Yes, the brakes are a bit under-spec'd for runs of this magnitude but for the derby and other mild recreational pursuits, they are more than fine. Bikes are built to support heavier riders and the bikes themselves are actually closer to 40 lbs. They actually did a fair job of stopping me this time (new calipers) but I wasn't confident to fully charge into the sweepers at the bottom of the course. No one is looking for a 26" high missile coming down the road, and while watching the testing it became apparent that despite being brightly colored, they are essentially invisible on the road from either in front or behind.
The next iteration (the MkIV) will have disk brakes for both front and rear axles. Truth be told, hardware has already been acquired to start the build, just focusing on other things currently (like getting the MkI and MkII finished).
On the wildlife end of things, I did get to see a deer (probably 2 but I was staring at the one hoping it'd go the other way) this time and two turkeys last time. These things are super quiet on the road, and obviously, pretty fast as well.
Mitch58 wrote:
I sure does look like a lot of fun though, very smooth, and the steering looks nice and tight.
It is a BLAST!!!
It does do extremely well and I am very happy with it. It got a little darty lower down the run with the wheel pants on it, when we had some cross wind gusts out of the trees in the open, but it was easy to correct and still pretty stable overall. It is a blast heading down the hill with it. I am very pleased with how it came out, especially for a first build and from scratch.
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We got some TV time on Channel 6 News this morning!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNkxipZSTic&t=11s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmaKvZHqSSo
- wb0s
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Here's the interview that aired on prime time:
http://koin.com/2017/07/17/rookie-at-73 … box-derby/
Great job Dennis!
- wb0s
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Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Thanks to Howie, the Scuderia Kouba gravity racers made it out to the Beaches Cruise In this evening.
Re: NASTE Gravity Racer Program
look fast just sitting there.
The secondnidator