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| The Kaahele La is an interscholastic program sponsored by the State of Hawaii to fund and guide the design and development of photovoltaic powered vehicles. The solar cars are built by high school students and raced in a state-wide competition held at the end of the school year. In 1988, a pilot program was initiated and successfully executed involving two high schools and one intermediate school. The program received national acclaim as the U.S. Department of Energys Education Project of the Year. The Kaahele La program for 1989-90 involved six schools, provided nearly twice the funding to each school, and allowed for more freedom and design creativity. The grand prize, a $50,000 grant to be used toward sending the winning team to the 1990 World Solar Challenge in Australia. |
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Upon receiving a notice from DBED about the competition, the team began
to form. The challenge of actually designing a solar vehicle, much less
a vehicle at all, attracted a lot of talent to the team. The team achieved
its first objective by providing a winning proposal the thereby qualifying
as a competing school. Student and community help was enlisted as the team
discussed, critiqued, and refined different prospect designs for the car
and began to improve its knowledge and experience. The goal was to maximize
distance in a given time. Reliability, aerodynamics, and efficiency were
all important here.
With a few months left before the competition, the frame was built and the details ironed out. The actual construction went very quickly, although it consumed a great many man (and woman) hours. |
| The race began with a bang! The team was awestruck just to be in a
statewide competition with five other teams, some who had previous solar
car experience, was an amazing experience. The car passed scrutineering
(a regulatory safety check) without a hitch and went on to place first
in the speed trials.
Over the course of the next few days, the team did remarkable well and the car proved to be an excellent performer having greatly exceeded our original expectations. Despite the sometimes cloudy skies, the car steadily increased the lead it had over the rest of the teams, while we continued on at a slower pace, many teams had to pull over to recharge. The competition lasted three and one half days, with the Konawaena car finishing 66 laps ahead of the nearest competitor. The car had traveled 347 miles running only on the sun and the team and car received 7 out of 12 awards for the contest. Additionally, in winning the competition, the team was awarded the $50,000 and was on their way to Australia. |
