Leading the homecoming parade

What has become a tradition at Topsail is just another way to spread EV awareness.  Each year the THS EV Team leads the way for the homecoming court around the football stadium at halftime.  We were only able to drive the Ranger since the Warp 9 motor has been sent off for repair.

Removing Warp 9 motor for repair

Wouldn't you know it, our MR2 motor has developed a very rare problem.  The balancing putty has broken off the armature and in turn has created a bad vibration within the motor.  Supposedly, this only happens if the motor has turned over 9000 RPM's.  Not likely this has happened, but nonetheless, NetGain is repairing the motor for free.  This week, we removed the motor in the MR2 and shipped it off to Warfield Electric for repair.  Of course, we have a competition November 3rd, so hopefully we will have the motor back in time to install before then.

Spot Festival 2011 display

We braved the rain and crowds at the 2011 Spot Festival in Hampstead, NC on Saturday to display our vehicles.  All 10 members were in attendance to help raise awareness of our program and the feasibility of electric vehicles as a practical means of daily transportation.  The crowd was a bit less than last year because of the rain, but that did not deter the class from reaching out to anyone who had questions.  A great day of camaraderie for the EV12 Team!

Presentation to Cape Fear Society of Professional Engineers

Today we made a presentation to the Cape Fear Society of Professional Engineers at Hugh McRae Park in Wilmington.  All 10 EV12 team members were in attendance to show the vehicles and partake in the catered Bar-B-Que dinner. Also in attendance for support were our Chemistry teacher Mr. Jeffcoat and lead counselor, Ms. Rabe. The event was a great opportunity to show Professional Engineers what a group of High School students are capable of achieving.  We were presented with a $500 check from Atlantic Tool and Die and also were able to have a 50/50 raffle to raise additional funds.  
  We made several very good contacts with area companies such as G.E, Corning, Sturdy Corporation, plus Cape Fear Community College and UNCW.  We look forward to developing our relationships with these groups.

PLUG IN 2011

Wow, what a week!  We had the awesome opportunity of representing the EV Challenge at the  Plug In 2011 Expo this week in Raleigh.  Not only were we able to gain experience about emerging EV technologies, we also were thrust into the spotlight as hundreds of vendors and guests viewed our MR2 and asked questions about our program.  Wonderful exposure!
   Three Topsail students, Stephen Henderson, Shelby Sessions and Ryan Berkey were on hand to field even the most difficult questions about the EV Challenge program and the MR2 conversion.  Most notable was the typical reaction of "A High School did this?".  Yes, it is out...High School students are capable of great things if given the proper education and motivation.  Nothing like being able to convert and drive an electric vehicle to stoke the fires of creativity and passion!
  Being the only non factory manufactured Electric or Hybrid vehicle at the show, the Topsail High MR2 seemed to stick out among the likes of the Volt, Leaf, ImEV, Focus and Prius.  With the newly installed Lithium Ion battery pack, the MR2 can achieve close to 100 miles on a charge, a fact that was not lost on the onlookers as they marveled at the creativity and overall workmanship of the High School project.

Advance Auto Fundraiser

Today we had the MR2 and Ranger on display at the Wrightsboro Advance Auto in Wilmington.  We had a great time talking about the vehicles and selling hot dogs as well.  Five of the EV12 team wee there including, Parker, Shelby, Tyan, Dylan and Roman.  A special thanks goes out to the Mowry family for their support.  Being on display helps the team to gain confidence in displaying the vehicles while raising awareness of EV's.

Classy Chassis car show at Poplar Grove

Today the truck had the opportunity to show off at a local classic car show, the Classy Chassis Car Show at Poplar Grove in Wilmington.  The show was rained out for Saturday and we had to cancel, but thanks to Ryan Mowrey and his family, we were able to show the truck today for most of the show.  Ryan and his brother Mike, a former EV team member from several years ago, picked up the truck and drove it to the show where they were already showing Ryan's classic pick up truck.  Needless to say, there were plenty of questions from a crowd that is not used to vehicles that don't make any noise!