2023-11-05 04:09:00
the essentials They traveled 9,500 km while consuming in total the equivalent of 20 liters of fossil fuel.
The route between Toulouse Montaudran and Tarfaya/Cap Jouby is well known to enthusiasts of the history of Aéropostale, but it was accomplished by plane, at the time just as much as today when it corresponds to the famous rally Toulouse Saint-Louis.
It was with a completely different mount, which made a stop on the way back to the IUT of Blagnac, that Bernard Cauquil, 64 years old, and two accomplices, Edgar Tournon then Jean-Marie Amen, who followed one another behind his back, completed this round trip.
A retired professor at the IUT of Tarbes, he has a real passion for developing a solar bike: “I’m on my 5th bike, and I had already won the Sun event in 2015. Trip, by completing 7,000 km in 3 weeks,” he explains. Before describing the latest model, to which Blagnac students contributed to its creation: “It is a solar tandem which has two head to tail seats in which we lie back to back, in a pedaling position. But here, no chain to drive the 4 wheels. Our action on the pedals produces electrical energy which complements that provided by a solar panel which covers the strange machine, 4.20 m by 0.98 m and 1.35 m high . According to a distribution which attributes 5% of the energy used to muscular effort, and 95% to solar power. Four electric motors for as many wheels drive the whole, with suspensions on the four arms and 2 hydraulic disc brakes at the rear. The front and mechanical discs at the rear secure the whole thing.
Nicknamed “sand dragonfly” before departure, it was very quickly redesignated “solar camel” by the Moroccans: “It is in fact very economical since we consumed the equivalent of 20 liters of fossil fuel to complete 9,500 km, at 26 km/h on average, while also carrying our luggage, tents and tools. A sporting performance too, with stages of 170 km on average, the longest being 325 km.
And we climbed to 3,200 m above sea level near Granada, at an average speed of 27 km/h, but our record could not be approved because it was not equipped with chains and was suspected of being equipped with an electric motor. “. Enough to delight the students of the mechanical engineering department of the Blagnac IUT, but they are preparing other surprises for the end of the year…
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