Archive for July, 2009

Tyre Change Training at Wheel Fit

Friday, July 17th, 2009

"...see, if you make them round, they work a whole lot better..."

"...see, if you make them round, they work a whole lot better..."

Solar car wheels tend to be very light and will be very delicate. Getting tyres on and off is therefore a delicate operation. We have had help from Gary at Wheel Fit near Waterbeach (15mins drive away), and we went to get some instructions on how to do it ourselves…

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Solar Car Abuse

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Poor old Affinity has been taking a bit of a beating this year:

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The Saga of the Upper Shell pt 3

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

The Taming of the Mould

Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

At this point, Rob revealed that, by using magical drill-bits, our heroes had impregnated the mould with magical properties, and by rubbing it, they would be able to conjure up a genie. First the mould was rubbed with sandpaper to smooth out the filler. Next the mould was rubbed with wax. Eventually, after much hard waxing, during which our heroes developed many outstanding martial arts powers as a side-effect, a genie did indeed appear, whose name was Amber, and granted our heroes three wishes.

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Endeavour Launched (not the Shuttle though, hah!)

Monday, July 6th, 2009
Spot the odd one out

Spot the odd one out

Endeavour was unveiled yesterday at Goodwood Festival of Speed by F1 World Championship leader, Jenson Button. The new solar racing car was exhibited in the FOS-TECH pavilion amongst other environmentally-friendly vehicles and previously-unseen prototypes.

Button talked to members of the CUER team and signed the car, commenting: “There’s some very impressive technology in this racing car. It may be a world away from an F1 car in terms of power, but to get a car to drive at 60mph using 2 horsepower takes cutting-edge engineering.”*

It was glorious weather and, while all the loud engines made us feel a bit insignificant, we were quite clearly the crowning glory of the eco-tent. Even Mike and Barnwell tore themselves away from their own personal Disneylands to come in and run some shifts handing out leaflets and snapping up Friends.

The Red Arrows did a display above Goodwood, which was absolutely brilliant, and the childrens Wacky Races area was found to be…intriguingly enjoyable.

Hilarious sunburn was had by all.

More news to follow soon. But for now, pictures! A full press release and photos can be found on our press page. Huge thanks to Jenson for his support of CUER!

Uh, Mr Button, just because it's got your name on it doesn't mean it's yours...

Uh, Mr Button, just because it's got your name on it doesn't mean it's yours...

 

Please do not feed the solar car

Please do not feed the solar car

 

"You need to fix this bit..."

"You need to fix this bit..."

*He’s right, you know. We are of the Awesome. Just makes you, I don’t know, want to become a Friend, doesn’t it? (Don’t make us use our cutting edge again…)

- Lucy

Endeavour: Celebratory Poem

Monday, July 6th, 2009

Many thanks to Lucy’s cousin Alex for this!

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Launch: ENDEAVOUR

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Previously codenamed “Bethany”, CUER’s new solar racing car will be launched today with its official name, Endeavour. Named after the famous ship with which Captain Cook sailed from England to Australia, the car will be Cambridge University’s first ever entry into the Global Green Challenge in Australia.

Jenson Button will launch Endeavour at 15:20 today in the FOS-TECH pavillion at Goodwood Festival of Speed. The car will be on display throughout the weekend. Keep up with all the action at www.twitter.com/cuerendeavour