By Louis Hoglund
From the drawing board to the racetrack; four Perham students designed a jalopy, built it and took a ride around a major league race track.
The team of young "automotive engineers" were Gerrit Wierbos, Nathan Adams, Marie Hauge and Tim Erickson.
The unit they designed, resembling a high class go-cart, was transported to Brainerd International Raceway. There, the contestants drove their rigs around the track.
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This is the first year Perham Yellowjacket science-technology students have participated in the Annual Supermileage Challenge sponsored by the Minnesota Technology Education Association,
The objective of the competition is to combine classroom learning experiences together with ingenuity and teamwork to produce the most fuel efficient vehicle.
The program provides industrial technology students with a challenging project that includes practical experience in design, fabrication and testing. The competition is consistent with the "standards for technological literacy," which have been established by the International Technology Education Association.
"Our average was 180 miles per gallon, with a top of 195 mpg," said Perham-Dent vocational and science instructor Carl Aakre. There were a total of seven, six-mile-runs, with a total of 60 miles --including all partial runs.
The students began working on the design in January. The crew manufactured the rig--from scratch--with a steel frame and body, and plexiglass covering. More than 100 cars were involved in the Supermileage Challenge, noted Aakre.
Competing students and clubs are challenged to build a one man, fuel efficient vehicle powered by a single cylinder four stroke cycle engine. The vehicles ran the Brainerd International Raceway course at a certain speed.
The competition is open to entries from School Industrial Technology Education classes and student clubs.
