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200mph RADIO CONTROL CAR


The SR11 has undergone CFD development, but Case found that this was no substitue for real-world testing, where nature came into play


Just as with the absolute World Land Speed Record cars, the SR11 has undergone extensive development work on its carbon fibre wheels


Case’s experience at Ford, where he works as a model maker, has helped him develop the SR11 into a potential speed record car


It would be possible to do but, with a camera that low, you would need side markers a mile long to be able to judge.’


PARTY CRACKER Most people consider a radio- controlled car to be a toy, normally given for Christmas and birthdays, and it is hard to break away from that notion. The long list of technical innovation that has gone into the streamliner is enough to dispel such thoughts, however. Just as the outright land speed record cars have had to look at their wheels to run on hard salt, Case and his team has had to develop a wheel that will spin at 23,000rpm. They began with an off-the-shelf, vulcanised rubber construction fitted to a very successful carbon fibre wheel with cyanoacrylate glue, and then balanced. ‘Tyres have been a big issue,


but we think that has been solved now,’ says Case. ‘Another problem was the gears. The


typical species of gears available in a one-tenth scale RC are made of plastics and softer metals. To handle the kind of power we are putting down, hardened steel gears are the solution for us.’


A reliance on the goodwill of more than 80 people weighs on the project leader’s mind, hence the target to hit 200mph by March 2012


the range needed to get the car down a full length drag strip. The electric motor is brushless, 10 to 13bhp, more commonly used on RC helicopters and planes. It was designed by Steve


“The big unknowns right now are the aerodynamics”


The current car, named the SR11, is an Associated NTC3, narrowed and stretched. It is a four-wheel drive car, with independent suspension and shaft drive machined by Curtis Husting. The main shaft will have to spin at 57,500rpm at 200mph, one of the major technical challenges that face the team.


WEIGHTY ISSUES The radio uses 2.4Ghz to control the car, similar to that used by computers. The transmitter and receiver have had to be placed as high as possible to achieve


40 www.racecar-engineering.com • January 2012


Neu not to have a commutator assembly that can be abused by mechanical wear. The size of the motor is just 38mm diameter by 100mm length.


‘The typical scale electric car, fully equipped, weighs about 3.5lb,’ says Case. ‘If you were to scale that up to full size, it is still only 35lb. You can’t even get a set of tyres that light. I think that is why it is easier to engineer because of the mass. It is impressive to say that the record is 160mph but, if you scale that up, the capability is not 1600mph.’


The speed is controlled by


the electronic engineers at Castle Creations, who have created a unit that can handle 200amps and 50V. It can be programmed through a USB port on a laptop for timing and other fine-tuning adjustments. Batteries are lithium polymer from PowerEdge, and they are lightweight, delivering a massive amount of amperage. The batteries are currently 11 cells, but the team say they can go to 12 in future iterations of the racecar.


With all the effort put into


creating a record-breaking car, the target is to set the record before March 2012. ‘I am not taking for granted that we will be able to reach 200mph,’ concludes Case. ‘This is uncharted territory for a radio control car. I am sure that someone will break it. Our team has certainly put in the effort to be the first but, since records are made to be broken, I think this will be a never-ending story.’


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