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“Yearn to win. If you don’t have that competitiveness, you probably aren’t going to stick around. People are working incredibly hard.“
Hoyt Hicks is exhausted.
You can 麻豆精品 S檛 blame him, really. The days and nights before competitions are long; sleep is hard to come by. There 麻豆精品 S檚 much to worry about: whether the spark plugs are clean, whether the gear ratio will give you the thrust you need, whether the car 麻豆精品 S檚 agility is what you imagined it to be.
As the team leader of the formula side of , UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Engineering Motorsports club, Hicks will be driving the team 麻豆精品 S檚 car this morning. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a Friday in early August, and he and his team are in Homestead, Florida, competing in a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) invitational against Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a relatively low-key event 麻豆精品 S� friendly and almost quiet, taking place in an empty speedway that smells of sunblock, gasoline and burnt rubber 麻豆精品 S� unlike the larger, more strenuous national competition in Michigan they 麻豆精品 S檒l compete in next May, the prize they have their eyes on.
In between events, Hicks is often slumped over, his orange racing suit unzipped in the morning heat, resting in the shade, gulping bottled water and pushing his hair out of his face. He 麻豆精品 S檚 calm and focused, occasionally laughing and joking with his teammates, then returning his attention to the car.
Today, they 麻豆精品 S檙e testing acceleration, maneuverability and handling.
A few minutes before the acceleration test, Hicks jumps in the UCF team 麻豆精品 S檚 car, which is smaller than you 麻豆精品 S檙e probably imagining, almost resembling a souped-up go-kart, only faster and louder and plastered with sponsor stickers. He turns the ignition, but the car doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 start. Hicks jumps out and begins sorting out what 麻豆精品 S檚 wrong 麻豆精品 S� but time isn 麻豆精品 S檛 his friend. The event is supposed to start in mere moments.
With the clock ticking down, he and his teammates finally arrive at an answer: a sensor was dislodged, and the spark plugs got wet. But an answer isn 麻豆精品 S檛 a solution; they 麻豆精品 S檒l have to MacGyver something, using only what 麻豆精品 S檚 around them. A team member grabs a water bottle and quickly cuts the bottom half off. Hicks places the spark plugs in it while he frantically uses a toothbrush to clean them. Then he lets the plugs dry in the warm morning sun.
A few minutes later, and just in time, he replaces them and the car is ready to go.
Now, wide awake, Hicks jumps in and drives the car to the starting line. There, he revs the engine, a loud, piercing roar, and then floors it. It 麻豆精品 S檚 over in a few seconds 麻豆精品 S� 4.76 seconds, to be precise, a half-second behind the victorious FAU.
麻豆精品 S淭he car actually did really well, 麻豆精品 S� Hicks says. The team was able to predict its performance almost exactly, within two percent, and the car dominated in the handling event. But he 麻豆精品 S檚 racing last year 麻豆精品 S檚 car 麻豆精品 S� and every year, the team designs a new one, if not from scratch then with large chunks of new material, using the previous model to figure out what to do better. The design for this year 麻豆精品 S檚 car is already underway. Over the fall and winter, it will be welded into place.
麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檒l fall in love on Valentine 麻豆精品 S檚 Day, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
Hicks grew up around cars, as did many members of the UCF formula team. His father owned a Sprint Cup car years ago. When he and his twin brother, Harley 麻豆精品 S� who is also on the Knights Racing formula team 麻豆精品 S� turned 16, they both got manual V-8s and began tinkering with them.
The brothers came to UCF to study engineering. Hicks says he knew immediately that he wanted to get involved with SAE, both because he loves cars and because SAE offers an almost unassailable gateway to the automotive profession. At first, he found the formula side disorganized, the result of a team who had all graduated at once. In his first year with Knights Racing, 2015 麻豆精品 S�16, everything broke. But fixing things 麻豆精品 S� finding a better way to do something 麻豆精品 S� is why many students join Knights Racing in the first place. And so the second year, that 麻豆精品 S檚 exactly what they did. They scrapped the old design and started over, building the car they raced at Homestead. They saw a substantial improvement, but it still wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 good enough.
For this year 麻豆精品 S檚 car, they 麻豆精品 S檒l build a new frame, finish the car earlier and take more time testing it. Hicks is hopeful they 麻豆精品 S檒l have more success in Michigan, where they finished 59th out of 109 teams last year.
His team members, he says, 麻豆精品 S測earn to win. If you don 麻豆精品 S檛 have that competitiveness, you probably aren 麻豆精品 S檛 going to stick around. People are working incredibly hard. 麻豆精品 S�
That 麻豆精品 S檚 true on the Baja side of Knights Racing as well. The Baja team 麻豆精品 S� which races off-road 麻豆精品 S� has a longer and much more storied history than the formula team does. While the formula team began in 2000, the Baja team has been around since the 1970s, and for a time was one of the top Baja teams in the country. UCF, in fact, hosted the annual competition several times between 1978 and 1996. That last year, 1996, the Baja team came in second at the Mini Baja East competition, recalls Donald Minderman 麻豆精品 S�88, a former Baja team leader who has worked for NASA ever since graduating.
麻豆精品 S淭he quality of the car itself was obviously a top-10 car. I’m excited to see what happens this year. 麻豆精品 S�
Vicente Porcar, the current Baja team leader, wants to recapture that former glory.
Born in Venezuela, Porcar says he was 麻豆精品 S渁lways interested in, maybe not cars, but vehicles 麻豆精品 S� motorcycles, off-road, getting dirt on you. 麻豆精品 S� The mechanical engineering student was also drawn to Baja 麻豆精品 S檚 hands-on aspect, to figuring out how things work in a tangible way: 麻豆精品 S淭he lawn mower went bad. How can I fix it? Where are things going wrong? How can I possibly improve them? 麻豆精品 S�
Whereas formula cars are built for speed and maneuverability, Baja vehicles survive uncertain courses and strange obstacles. To win, your vehicle has to be reliable. 麻豆精品 S淥ur courses are almost meant to destroy a car that is not well designed, 麻豆精品 S� Porcar says. 麻豆精品 S淸Formula is] basically fast. In our case, if we don 麻豆精品 S檛 do it well, our car is gonna wreck. 麻豆精品 S�
A few years ago, the Baja team was in a tough spot. In 2014, the team competed in national events but didn 麻豆精品 S檛 perform particularly well. In 2015, Wyatt Brooks 麻豆精品 S� first year, things stayed about the same; UCF was ranked somewhere in the middle of the national pack.
But the next year, 麻豆精品 S渢he car came together really well, 麻豆精品 S� Brooks says. The team finished 32nd at the national competition 麻豆精品 S� a big improvement, especially considering that the team made some mistakes during the event. 麻豆精品 S淲e already built a top-20 car, 麻豆精品 S� Brooks says.
In June, Brooks was the Baja leader, and the team saw even more improvement, placing 17th overall out of 108 teams and 10th in the endurance race. 麻豆精品 S淲e actually completed the race, something only 20 cars can do, 麻豆精品 S� Porcar says. 麻豆精品 S淲e weren 麻豆精品 S檛 very happy with the performance and dynamics events. We didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have enough time to test. If we had a little more time to practice, we would have been in the top 10. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭he quality of the car itself was obviously a top-10 car, 麻豆精品 S� Brooks says. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 excited to see what happens this year. 麻豆精品 S�
Melissa Tropeano has her own goal for 2017: to make Knights Racing a little less of a boys 麻豆精品 S� club.
She 麻豆精品 S檚 the club 麻豆精品 S檚 public relations lead, which means she 麻豆精品 S檚 in charge of 麻豆精品 S� among other things 麻豆精品 S� handling social media, arranging must-have sponsorships and recruiting new members.
Right now, she 麻豆精品 S檚 one of only a handful of women in Knights Racing. But maybe not for long. 麻豆精品 S淭he most recent new member days had several girls come out, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 tried to convince them it 麻豆精品 S檚 not so bad. I told them not to be intimidated. 麻豆精品 S�
Tropeano, too, grew up around cars; her father owns a repair and restoration shop. A sophomore, she spent her first year on the team learning the basics. This year, she 麻豆精品 S檚 more involved, learning how to weld and mill. Eventually, she says, she wants to land a job on a Formula One team.
That 麻豆精品 S檚 not a pipe dream. Talk with a dozen or so current and former Knights Racing members, and a central theme emerges: SAE opens doors to many engineering and car-related jobs, including Altec and General Motors. In fact, nearly all of the club 麻豆精品 S檚 active members get jobs within a few months, and the graduates often credit Knights Racing with their success.
麻豆精品 S淚’ve hired a lot of people, and generally what I look for when I hire is an engineer is someone who really enjoys what they do. 麻豆精品 S�
Minderman, now a construction chief for Kennedy Space Center, says being president ofKnights Racing helped land him a job at NASA despite mediocre grades.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e hired a lot of people, and generally what I look for when I hire an engineer is someone who really enjoys what they do, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S楧o you feel passionate about it? Do you have any experience that would back up what you 麻豆精品 S檙e doing? 麻豆精品 S� To me, that means a lot because it shows you have an interest in your field. 麻豆精品 S�
Participation in Knights Racing demonstrates both of those elements: passion, in that the students dedicate 25 hours a week or more to their cars; and experience, because they 麻豆精品 S檝e progressed beyond the theories that they 麻豆精品 S檙e taught in class and learned how to apply practical engineering.
麻豆精品 S淚n school, you get handed a problem, you go through a step process, and there 麻豆精品 S檚 one exact answer, 麻豆精品 S� explains Harley Hicks, Hoyt 麻豆精品 S檚 twin. 麻豆精品 S淚n real engineering, it 麻豆精品 S檚 the complete reversal. You know the answer, but the steps are unknown on how to get there. 麻豆精品 S�
But that 麻豆精品 S檚 only part of why they 麻豆精品 S檙e here, why they devote so much of themselves to not just building and maintaining these cars, but also to seemingly endless fundraising. After all, even though Knights Racing does receive some funding from the Student Government Association, it doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 cover the full cost to build a car. Members have to be scrappy, selling concessions at Daytona International Speedway and making deals with manufacturers for parts. And, sure, they 麻豆精品 S檙e competitive, but it 麻豆精品 S檚 not like they 麻豆精品 S檙e in it for glory.
No, what keeps them in the shop is something else. For some, cars are in their blood. They couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 not do this if they tried. But for all of them, the camaraderie 麻豆精品 S� the sense of fraternity that extends into the SAE professional world 麻豆精品 S� is what really matters. It 麻豆精品 S檚 why Hoyt Hicks and the rest of the Knights Racing team regularly push through their exhaustion. That, and the thrill of figuring out how to fix whatever might be broken.
seconds upshift/downshift with paddleshift system
coefficient of lift and 1.3 coefficient of drag. This car could drive upside down in a tunnel at 70 mph.
gravitational force while cornering and 1.5 G-forces while braking
base horsepower and 45 foot-pounds torque produced by a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R600 engine