The Solar Eagle was designed and built by the Cal State L.A. School of Engineering & Technology students, faculty and staff. In July 1990, the Solar Eagle placed fourth in the 1,643 mile GM Sunrayce, the best performance among California entrants, and ahead of 28 other colleges and universities including MIT and Stanford. In the daily races, it placed first twice, second once, and third place three times, and the Solar Eagle was the only car in the race that had no mechanical or electrical failures during the race.[citation needed]
The Solar Eagle placed in the top ten out of 40 cars from 9 countries (13 Australia, 11 Japan, 9 United States) during the 1990 World Solar Challenge in Australia. The race took place on November 11, 1990 starting from Darwin[2] and ending in Adelaide, Australia, covering 1,900 miles (3,100 km).
The car also won three Department of Energy Awards: first place for "Best Artistic Design" ($500), second place for "Innovation in Power Train Design" ($800), and third place for "Teamwork" ($600).
Other honors include:
Society of Automotive Engineers: fifth place for "Engineering Design and Safety"
Engineering Excellence Award: Unique Mobility, Inc.
The Governor's Energy Award: State of Florida
Team Honored by Los Angeles City Council, August 10, 1990
Nationally televised appearance on Into the Night, Starring Rick Dees, August 15, 1990
Team Honored by Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners, August 23, 1990
City of Los Angeles, Mayor Tom Bradley: Commendation
Board of Directors, City of Pasadena: Commendation
City of Alhambra, Mayor Barbara Messina: Commendation
City of Monterey Park, Mayor Judy Chu: Commendation
U.S. Senator Pete Wilson: Commendation
U.S. Congressman Matthew G. Martinez: Congressional Award
Welded aluminum space frame with carbon fiber composite battery box and underneath pan to provide shear and torsional strength, carbon fiber skin with Rohacell structural foam core body
In June 1993, the Solar Eagle II placed third in the 1000 mile Sunrayce 93 — a cross-country race from Dallas, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Solar Eagle II started the race in the pole position having qualified with the fastest time. Solar Eagle II finished ahead of 33 other universities including such Stanford, George Washington University and UC Berkeley. The car and team were honored with a second place award in Technical Innovation for Chassis Design, Propulsion and Aerodynamic Systems by the Sunrayce 93 judges and they received a third place award from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for Design Excellence in Engineering Safety. In November 1993, the Solar Eagle II gained international recognition by placing thirteenth out of a fifty-four car field, and became the fourth U.S. team to cross the finish line at the 1993 World Solar Challenge, a grueling 1,882 mile race across the Australian outback.
Cal State L.A. was selected as one of 30 universities granted entry in the Sunrayce 95 competition as well, for which the Solar Eagle II was revamped.
The car has a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h) and can travel up to 300 miles (480 km) on a sunny day.[6]
Structure: Welded aluminum space frame with carbon fiber composite battery box and underneath pan to provide shear and torsional strength.
Body: Carbon fiber skin with Rohacell structural foam core
Solar power system: 754 single crystal BP Saturn cells (3.7" x 3/8") on top; 824 quarter-size cut cells on vehicle sides, cerium-doped and antireflective[7][8]
Wheel motor: (NGM-SC-M100) and controller (NGM-SC-C100) by New Generation Motor Corp. or Belt drive: DC brushless motor (BRLS8) and controller (110H) by Solectria Corp.
Battery
108-volt system (9x 12-volt batteries by U.S. Battery Mfg. Co.) (weight: 139 kg (307 lb))
Solar Eagle III was the third solar-powered electric vehicle built by Cal State L.A. Again engineered by students under the guidance of faculty and staff, the Solar Eagle III drew from the first two designs, the Solar Eagle and the Solar Eagle II.
On Saturday, June 28, 1997, the Solar Eagle III won Sunrayce 97, the national intercollegiate solar car race. Solar Eagle III set a Sunrayce record for average speed of 43.29 miles per hour (69.67 km/h) and finished nearly 20 minutes ahead of second-place Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[11] The combined team of Stanford University/UC Berkeley finished third. Texas A&M, whose team used the molds from Cal State L.A.'s Solar Eagle II to build their entry, the MACH V, finished fourth.
During the 1,230 mile course from Indianapolis to Colorado Springs, the Solar Eagle III suffered no breakdowns or other unscheduled stops, a distinction shared with only the Texas A&M MACH V.
Body and Solar Panel: carbon fiber skin with Nomex honeycomb core Solar Cells: 762 terrestrial grade silicon cells (4.05" x 3.94") by Siemens wired in four parallel strings
Panel Voltage: 85-volts peak string voltage
Tire Rolling Resistance: 0.0045
Drag Coefficient: 0.15
Wheel Base: 104 inches
Wheels and Tires: wheels have composite centers with aluminum rims; tires are Bridgestone Ecopia
Brakes and Suspension: front brakes are mechanical hydraulic; regenerative rear brakes. Suspension is double A-arm in the front and swing arm in the rear
Batteries: 108-volt system with nine 12-volt batteries by U.S. Battery Manufacturing Company; weight-307 lbs
Motor System: two interchangeable motor systems:
Wheel motor (NGM-SC-M100) and controller (NGM-SC-C100) by New Generation Motor Corporation
DC brushless motor (BRLS8) and controller (110H) by Solectria Corporation with belt drive[12]
King, Richard James; Vieyra-King, Melissa (1993). Sunracing. With contributions by J. Ward Phillips. Amherst, MA: Human Resource Development Press. ISBN9780874252279. OCLC29959342.
