F1 Team: Flat Out Racing
Introducing Flat Out Racing, a group of determined TY students taking part in F1 in Schools 2021. Our aim was to be F1 in Schools national champions and travel to Singapore for the F1 in Schools world finals later this year. We aimed to achieve this goal by demonstrating a body of work that showcases the very best of youth STEM and enterprise participation through the lense of this invigorating challenge. We are currently awaiting the announcements of results.
In this competition, we were challenged with creating a miniature F1 car that is capable of going 0 – 80 km/h in under a second, obtaining financial investment while marketing and growing a team brand. Our team consisted of Charlie Sheehan (Team Manager), Ben Loughnane (Sponsorship and Marketing Manager), Zack O’ Brien (Graphic Designer), Kris O’ Callaghan (Design Engineer) and Conor Fitzpatrick (Manufacturing Engineer). We must say a huge thank you to our sponsors which included primary sponsors ThermoFisher Scientific, Flogas and Greyhound Express Freight and also to our associate sponsors Centra Kinsale, Kinsale Physiotherapy Practice and Rhino PDS Kinsale. Our numerous enterprise activities included presenting to local primary school students about STEM, holding a creative drawing design competition, running raffles and even giving back to the community through local clean ups. Our car was the result of a robust design and engineering process. We self-taught ourselves Computer Aided Design programs and then utilized countless sketches and extensive virtual analysis to create an innovative design. The team then used the brilliant 3D printers available to us within KCS to manufacture the wheels and wings of the car while outsourcing the CNC manufacturing of the car to a 3rd level institution.
During the national finals, the judging process consisted of various interviews, portfolios submissions, car time trial and even knockout racing. This was all conducted virtually due to the ongoing pandemic. As a team, we have learnt so much with regards to applying skills learnt in the classroom to real life experiences. This covered a wide base from the core manufacturing skills of using manufacturing machinery to improving our communication skills by presenting to judges and prospective sponsors. Our team motto of “Drive it Drive it Drive it” embodies our dedication to going the limit and maintaining a positive attitude at all times. F1 in Schools has been without a doubt the highlight of TY for us, and you can believe that!
