CRESTVIEW — The Electrathon is a type of electric marathon in which the winner is determined by how far you go in a certain time with a given amount of battery power.
Everyone in the competition must follow the specific design rules and safety guidelines for building their vehicle. The vehicles these engineer students design and build are single person, lightweight, aerodynamic, high efficiency, electric vehicles with three or four wheels.
The students at Crestview designed their car, created a 3D model on the computer, and in a joint effort with the Crestview welding students, build an electric go-kart. Their current design is of the three wheeled variety and uses 24 volts to power the electric motor. The calculated top speed is approximately 40 mph.
The Crestview High School team was missing the majority of the members, as the Electrathon was held on the same day as the senior trip, and the team is mainly composed of seniors.
That didn't stop them. The students still raced the electric karts that they designed and constructed, on the 1/2 mile asphalt racetrack at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola on Saturday, April 16.
The team arrived with three karts, one from each of the last three years. The oldest kart had some mechanical difficulties with the chain during the first race and broke down during the second race, unfortunately completing less than 40 laps for the day. The other two carts where neck and neck during both races and completed approximately 75 laps each for the day and finished mid pack. April 16th
There were 13 teams present for the competition at Five Flags Speedway with a total of 20 karts on the track at the beginning of the first race. After the races, laps were tallied and the results were read. Pensacola High School completed the most laps and finished the competition as a third time winner with over 100 laps for the day.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview High engineering students compete in Emerald Coast Electrathon