UNLV students in mechanical engineering and kinesiology are co-hosting and entering the World Human Powered Vehicle Championship to be held in Las Vegas Aug. 16-20.
The competition is sponsored by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA) and consists of a variety of water and land races. More than 100 entries are expected for five days of racing on the UNLV campus and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
UNLV students have successfully competed in an annual collegiate competition sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). They won first place in the design competition in 1995 and came in fourth overall in 1996. There are usually between 25 and 30 universities represented at these competitions.
The UNLV vehicle was built in UNLV's Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. It is designed to reach speeds up to 70 mph. The vehicle is a recumbent bicycle which is fully enclosed in an aerodynamic fairing.
This summer, the UNLV students are customizing their vehicle for Justin Parsons, a kinesiology student at UNLV and a professional bicycle racer. He is training for the 200-meter sprint race and hopes to set a new world record. The current record stands at 69 mph.
Mike Febbo, a mechanical engineering student, is training for the one-hour time trial. The record in this event is around 47 miles in one hour.
Justin is a national-class bicycle sprinter who had intended to compete in the Olympic time trials this year but was unable to do so because of illness. The HPV competition is the first event of his comeback. He plans to put a professional cycle team together later this year.
A schedule of events for the IHPVA world championship is listed below:
Friday, Aug. 16:
Watercraft Competition
Events include: 100m sprints, 2K criterium, 200m slalom, bullard pull, static thrust test, mass drag race. Water races will be held at the Desert Shores manmade lakes.
Saturday, Aug. 17:
200m Sprints (land vehicles)
Fully faired HPVs can attain speeds of up to 70 mph in a sprint. The sprint races require a straight one-mile length of road for the HPVs to get up to speed. They are timed over a 200m interval at the end of the run-up length.
Saturday, Aug. 17:
Workshop at UNLV
Topics include cycling optimization for maximum rider performance, design of composite bicycle components, linear drive systems, human- powered submarines, and nutrition.
Sunday, Aug. 18:
Land Vehicle Races
Morning: road races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's 3/8-mile oval.
Afternoon: continuation of workshops at UNLV.
Evening: drag races under the lights at the LVMS.
Monday, Aug. 19:
Land Vehicle Races
Morning: Hour time trials
Evening: Last-man-out races.
Tuesday, Aug. 20:
Practical Commuter Vehicle Competition
Open competition at UNLV for unique commuter vehicles. Riders must complete an obstacle course consisting of stairs, curbs, doorways, potholes, etc.
For more information on the human-powered vehicle competition, please call Dr. Brendan O'Toole, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, at 895-3885.
