‘THE QUIET ACHIEVER' BP SOLAR CAR CROSSING OF AUSTRALIA Perth to Sydney Sunday 19 December 1982 to Friday 7 January 1983 'THE LITTLE CAR THAT COULD' Tom Snooks was the Project Coordinator and he has compiled a record of the BP Solar Trek, using press clippings from the day, a video made on the project, monitoring records, and memories. A great shot of The Quiet Achiever traveling through outback New South Wales. 1 THE QUIET ACHIEVER An endurance test, the first of its kind ever held anywhere in the world, occurred in Australia in late 1982/early 1983. It was conducted under the auspices of the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS). This test was the first trans-continental crossing by a solar-powered car, when Hans Tholstrup and Larry Perkins successfully completed the historic BP Solar Trek across Australia, when they brought 'The Quiet Achiever' from Perth to Sydney. They had no overseas technology to draw on, no plans to follow, no previous mistakes to look at or learn from, yet in eight months they designed and built a whole new machine that ran for over 4000 kilometres with only some broken wheel spokes and a number of punctures. They took 20 days to make the crossing, but had all the roads been as smooth after Wilcannia when they covered 307 and 287 kilometres, they could have run the vehicle in high gear and completed the trip in around 14 days. Hans got the idea for the trek in 1980 when the combined pedal and solar powered 'Gossamer' plane flew across the 35 kilometre English Channel. However, this distance was not enough for the adventure-hardened Hans, who wanted a purely solar powered vehicle to cross the sun-soaked Australian continent - a more respectable 4000 kilometres!! There was a fair amount of strain on the drivers. Taking a turn at the wheel they endured temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius with the only fresh air being that which was admitted through small holes around the axles and the wheel openings in the fibreglass body. They ate oranges and drank fluids to prevent dehydration. They had the constant noise of the electric motor just centimetres from their heads. They camped out overnight, for they could not plan to pull up at motels, and therefore did not have the comforts of home. Although the conditions may have made many people give up these two fellows were, because of their backgrounds, used to the worst. The journey of The Solar Trek would coincide with the 70th anniversary of the first crossing of Australia by a motor car - when in 1912 Francis Birtles drove a Brush car from Fremantle to Sydney, in 28 days. Thus, this period gave Hans and Larry a target to aim at, and to achieve this they would need to cover, on average, 150 kilometres (90 miles) per day. 2 THE VEHICLE The Quiet Achiever was not a conventional car! It was engineered in Melbourne by brothers Larry and Garry Perkins, and was designed as a space- framed lightweight tubular steel chassis surrounded by fibreglass flaring to give ultimate aerodynamic efficiency. It was powered by energy generated from the sun's rays and no other form of energy, such as a bank of batteries, which are recharged from electrical mains (as in an 'electric' car) were used. Larry and Garry ascertained what power could be obtained from a practical size solar module and were able to determine the aerodynamic resistance, the rolling resistance, the approximate weight of the vehicle and driver, and designed the vehicle specifically for the Perth to Sydney trip. It was 4 metres long, 2.1 metres wide and 1 metre high (13' x 6'11" x 3'3"), and ran on four wheels, and was specially designed to provide minimum rolling resistance, and also to absorb energy if the vehicle was jarred severely, This was to prevent damage to the solar modules through flexing or twisting of the chassis. The wheels were 70cm (27") diameter, constructed with an aluminium rim and hub, with stainless steel spokes. They ran on low rolling resistance Michelin bicycle tyres. The braking mechanism was standard bicycle brakes mounted on the four wheels. The broken spokes experienced were a result of the torque produced by the electric motor, which drove one of the wheels. This torque, the low gearing and rough roads were too much for the spokes and the best solution was to keep the speed down to an average of around 25km/h. The Quiet Achiever was constructed to carry one person, the driver, who was in a reclining position and who controlled the vehicle by tiller steering. Total weight of the vehicle was approximately 150 kilograms (330 pounds). Twenty solar modules, each 100cm by 40cm (39" x 16") in two rows of ten (holding a total of 720 cells), covered an area of 8.5 square metres (90 square feet), and were supported on an aluminium rib- sparred lid, forming the flat top of the vehicle. The sun’s rays striking the top were converted to electrical power which was then fed into two conventional automotive 12 volt batteries coupled to provide 24 volts, were located in the front of the vehicle. The stored energy provided the driving force for the vehicle. The modules were some 11 per cent efficient, that is, 11% of the total energy striking the solar panels was collected. The solar panels were 'off the shelf' and were not specially constructed for the project. Some 70 percent of the power delivered from the batteries transferred to the driving wheel, with the remaining power lost in cabling. 3 The vehicle had four gears, with a high ratio of 13:1, and a low of 33:1. A 24 volt, 1 horsepower Bosch DC electric motor, producing 4300 revolutions, drove the rear left wheel through a variable transmission, and the speed, dictated by an ammeter, was regulated by the use of a transmission lever. Total power developed from a solar module was about 600 watts (0.8hp) and of this power, 70% was used to drive the vehicle. Top speed was around 65km/h (40mph) and the average speed across Australia over the 20 days was 24km/h (15mph). The throttle was simply to turn a switch from 'off', to '12v' or to '24v' to turn on the power current. When stationary the vehicle could be positioned such that its top, hinged to the chassis, could be located at any angle to absorb the sun's rays. Each morning and afternoon, before and after travelling, the vehicle was positioned to fully charge the batteries. The driver reclined in a thinly padded lightweight racing-style seat, and steer either with their feet - like in a child's billycart - or with the hand tiller. The Quiet Achiever was registered as a road-going vehicle, and had a stoplight, turning indicators but ....... no headlights! In all it cost some $15000 (1983 values) to construct, without taking into account the countless hours contributed by its constructors. Larry claimed that the principles for operating the Quiet Achiever were so basic that only one thing could go wrong - no sun! 4 The Quiet Achiever was constructed to carry one person, the driver, who was in a reclining position and who controlled the vehicle by tiller steering. The tub was made of fibreglass. Twenty solar modules, each 100cm by 40cm (39" x 16") in two rows of ten (holding a total of 720 cells), covered an area of 8.5 square metres (90 square feet), and were supported on an aluminium rib-sparred lid, formed the flat top of the vehicle. THE ROUTE 5 The BP Solar Trek started at Scarborough Beach, on the Indian Ocean, and finished at the Sydney Opera House, close to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. From Scarborough the course passed along the main transcontinental highways, through Southern Cross, Coolgardie, Norseman, Cocklebiddy, Eucla (all in Western Australia); Ceduna, Port Augusta, Peterborough (South Australia); Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Narromine, Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and Katoomba (New South Wales). The entire run was monitored by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), to ensure the authenticity of the use of the sun's rays to power the vehicle. In summary, the course was 4130 kilometres (2560 miles) and was covered in 173 hours and 15 minutes at an average speed of 23.8km/h (15mph). The Quiet Achiever silently slipped along the highways and stirred up incredible interest as the journey progressed. Even across the Nullarbor people came from all around the countryside, traveling hundreds of kilometres just to see it pass, and take photographs. Coaches full of tourists passed and then pulled up to wave, and also take photographs. On the passage through major towns it was literally mobbed by hundreds of people, and on the approaches to the Opera House on the last day tens of thousands came to the roadside to greet Hans, Larry and The Quiet Achiever. The finish at the Opera House was timed for the Friday lunch period, and resulted in huge crowds greeting the arrival of The Quiet Achiever. 6 THE JOURNEY Sunday 19 December 1982 The big journey started at 11am from Scarborough Beach, with the Premier of Western Australia, The Hon. Ray O'Connor, handing over a bottle of water taken from the Indian Ocean to be carried across the nation to Sydney, where it was to be ceremoniously poured into the Pacific Ocean. It was a symbolic gesture of joining two great oceans by solar power. The start of the journey was at Scarborough Beach, Perth.