About
UCF-HPV is supported by the University of Central Florida's student government, corporate and private sponsorship. We are student led, driven and managed. Traditionally, the core team consists of senior students in their
senior design class, a two semester course. Members learn to collaborate with members, vendors, sponsors and gain valuble expirience while coping with ever changing team dynamics. We work, play, train and work a little
more.
History
Frankly, we don't know our own roots. We have found the dusty and battered carcases of ye olde HPV hidden away in the annals of our University. Records show we have competed since at least 2002. In recent history, UCF-HPV has retained members and mentors outside of the senior design courses - passing on valuble information from past years to a new group of designers and builders.In 2005, UCF competed with a deltra trike. After technical issues resulting in a complete redesign - this vehicle was an admiral piece of.... The important thing is, the team learned the "make it work" and "just get it done" ethos. Metal shavings on the hotel floor aside, the vehicle was lovingly called the phallus mobile but officialy, we were known as team anomaly. UCF has since stayed away from so much Aluminum.
In 2006, the team did a 160 degree turn. This was a two wheeled recumbent with a fixed seat and fixed boom. An internal gear hub solved much of the chain issues from the previous year. The frame was simple, robust and reliable
, but was far from a stable platform. The learning curve to ride was high, but once one grasped the skill - it was a blast. The fairing was strong (provided road rash protection) and had a small frontal area. 160 degrees as it was a great improvement
from previous years, but many improvements could be made.
In 2007, UCF teamed up with Catrike - a local frame builder. Paulo (founder of Big Cat HPV) invited us to his factory, showed us his implementation of "lean manufacturing" and gave us a crash course in trike dynamics.
Unfourtunatley, the weight of the fairing and a improper mounting resulted in a detrimental vibration at higher speeds. After competition, the mounting support problem was isolated and fixed making the vehicle
much faster. In summer 2007, the vehicle made an appearance in the 2007 Maker Faire in Northern California.
In all of these years, the team has recived advice from a composites guru, Dale Nalley. Dale's knowledge of composite design, manufacturing and processing has accelerated the team forward.