Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Jay Alford and Hillary Colbert measuring the car to see how much foam board we'll need while Reagan Byrne and Hunter Powell practice aligning the tires!



Hillary Colbert starting to cut the first piece of foam board....How do you like her hot pink box cutter?!

Putting the first piece of foam board on Sundancer II :)


This week we have started the process of attaching foam board to Sundancer II. We have been getting the measurements of the car and have starting cutting out pieces of the foam board. We are extremely excited to start seeing our car have a more finished look after months of hard work! After we have completed adding the foam board, we will finally finish Sundancer II by applying the graphics which will include the logos of all of our sponsors!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010


The team raising Sundancer II's array so it can start charging!

Sydney Harrel and Elise Mobley practicing aligning the tires!

Karmen Spratlin and Whitney George securing the array down before taking Sundancer II inside after charging while being supervised by Mrs. Turman's grandson Grayson!

Jay Alford holding up Sundancer II's array while Will Turman helps Thomas Brown get ready for the day's training run!

Last Sunday, April 25 our team met to train for the upcoming race to Golden, Colorado! The girls and guys trained separately. The guys took a training run around Houston while the girls stayed at the school to practice aligning and changing the tires as well as other skills that will be needed for the race this summer!!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Getting to Know the Team

Having a competitive car is obviously a major factor in solar car racing, but the team racing the car is what truly makes a team capable to win races. We thought we would give you a little insight into the lives of our team members. Even though solar car takes up a lot of time,all of the members of our team find time to participate in other extra-curricular activities. These other activities include cross country, BETA, Anchor, tennis, cheerleading and golf.

Thomas Brown is a member of the Anchor, Volunteer, and Charity club.

Catherine Marsh is in Anchor and Beta club, is an HHS Diamond Girl, and in FCA.

Suzy Reese is in FCA, an HHS Diamond Girl, runs Cross Country, and is a part of the community theatre.

Hunter Powell is involved in FCA, Anchor Club, BETA Club, and runs Cross Country.

Reagan Byrne is a member of the BETA and Anchor Club, an HHS Diamond Girl, the Spirit Club, and run Cross Country.
Jay Michael Alford is a member of FCA and the BETA Club.

Nick Callahan is an Anchor and BETA Club member, a member of the Golf Team, and in the Cars Club.

Will Turman is on the Tennis Team and in the Wildlife and Fisheries Club.


Nolen Hood is a member of Anchor and FCA.

Hillary Colbert is a member in Anchor, BETA, and the Spirit Club; also, she recently became a big sister to Kaylee Alivia.

Sydney Harrell is a member of the BETA, Spirit Club, and in the community theatre.

Elise Mobley participates in cheerleading, BETA, is an HHS Diamond Girl, and is in the community theatre.
Whitney George is a high school cheerleader, a tennis player, runs cross country, in the Spirit, Anchor, and BETA Clubs, and participates in Houston Community Theatre.
Karmen Spratlin is a high school cheerleader, a member of the Anchor, BETA, and Spirit Clubs, a Houston Diamond Girl, runs Country, and also participates in the Houston Community Theatre.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Spring Training!!

Thomas Brown showing off his smile before zooming off in Sundancer!!
Stopping to make a quick driver change in Sundancer!

The girls taking Sundancer II out of the shop to start charging for the training run!!

Sunday, April 11, our team took Sundancer and Sundancer II on a training run through Houston! The guys and girls trained separately with the guys using Sundancer and the girls training with Sundancer II. Both cars simulated different scenarios that could happen at the race including flat tires and Code Blues (emergency). We are pleased with how well the training run went and love seeing our team improve with each run we take!

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

The PLC Special Project Class from ICC working with our team and learning about the cars!

Reagan Byrne and Hillary Colbert acting as Whitney George's brakes as she zooms around campus!

A close up of our back tire after Sundancer II accidently ran through a huge mud puddle!
Clay McNutt from ICC paid our team a visit this week and brought a few of his students from the PLC Special Projects Class to work with the cars!! Lately we have been putting the finishing touches on Sundancer II and have started testing it for any problems! We are getting closer and closer to fininshing our car and can't wait to start training runs!

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Three Day Training Run!!

With the Hunt-Winston Solar Challenge swiftly approaching, our team has started planning several training runs!! We will soon be taking a three day training run to Meridian to give the team a taste of what the cross-country race from Dallas, Texas, to Golden, Colorado, will be like this summer! We are still discussing dates but plan to go on the run in either April or May!