IHPVA Observer's Report Dexter Hysol "Team Cheetah" 200 meter record attempt Report filed by Brian Wilson 8 October 1992 Summary: Location: 6 Mile Road, Alamosa County, Colorado Time: September 22, 6:55 P.M. Wind: 1.12 m/s Elapsed time: 6.510 seconds Speed: Timing equipment: Bill Gaines /IHPVA Survey: Mark S. Luchetti 8591 Hwy 285 S Alamosa, CO 81101 Rider: Chris Huber, Campbell, California Builders/Designers: Jon Garbarino Kevin Frantz 235 Martinvale Lane San Jose, CA 95119 phone: 408-372-0573 James Osborn 749 Allston Way Berkeley, CA email: jrosborn@lbl.gov Support crew: Kenzo Akamatsu, Gorman Gong, Julie Skopal IHPVA Observers: Brian Wilson 2427 Marilyn Court Santa Rosa, CA 95407 phone: 707-576-7649, 707-664-2182 Robert Sainato 316 Butch Cassidy Dr. Fort Collins, CO 80524 phone: 303-498-9567 On Friday night, Julie and I arrived in La Garita. We were greeted by stormy weather. I wouldn't consider this to be a good omen, but I know how changeable weather in this region can be. In the morning, the weather cleared enough and one practice run on La Garita Road was done. The Cheetah team had been practicing here for a week, but Survey notes: Two sets of traps were used. The first set was surveyed on the morning of September 20, by James Osborn and myself. On the evening of September 20, James Osborn and Kevin Frantz surveyed the entire course, to measure slope and total length. At that time, they also decided to move the traps further down the road to give the rider more run-up room. Consequently, on the morning September 21, James and I surveyed a new set of traps. This second set of traps was then surveyed in the evening of the 21st by the licensed surveyor, Mark Luchetti. His determination was that the trap was 1.5 cm short. On the morning of the 22nd, we surveyed out a new starting line to make the traps a total of 200.03 meters; the extra length to make certain that the IHPVA rules were strictly adhered to. The table below, therefore, has the speeds calculated for a nominal 200 meter trap before the 22nd, and for an actual 200.03 meter trap after the official survey. Because the traps used on the 20th were never surveyed, I can't tell you how accurate the readings were- but no records were set then anyway. Date Time Elapsed Speed Speed Wind(cf) Wind(m/s) (sec) (mph) (200.03m) 20-Sept-92 8:57 AM 8.126 42 1.13 9:15 AM 7.737 10:?? AM Timing equipment malfunction; time not recorded. 21-Sept-92 8:10 AM 6.823 65.57 20 0.89 8:36 AM 6.902 64.81 22 0.97 9:20 AM 6.988 64.02 45 1.96 * 10:02 AM 6.888 64.95 16 0.71 22-Sept-92 7:52 AM 7.071 63.27 16 0.68 6:55 PM 6.510 68.73 24 1.12 24-Sept-92 8:20 AM 7.826 57.16 39 1.18 9:10 AM 10.891 41.07 115 3.21 * * Wind speed exceeded legal maximum of 1.67 m/s. Other items of note: The timing malfunction indicated above was due to the operator's failure (that's me!) to reset the timer after laying out the timing strips. (Didn't look like he did more than 66 or so anyway!) The two runs on September 24 were primarily for the benefit of the news media. The wind was gusting too much to make a serious attempt. Measurements and calculations: Elapsed time: The timing equipment was provided by IHPVA. Speed: Speed was calculated as follows: Wind measurements: wind was measured in cubic feet on the gauge provided with the timing equipment. The reading was taken as the vehicle was travelling through the traps, and then the elapsed time was used to calculate the wind speed in meters/second.