Testing, Testing.....

PRACTICE SESSION

Having driven a few tarmac roads, finally the rains abated enough for us to take the Falcon out into slightly wilder terrain and see what happened. We managed to burn the parking brake and identified a wobbly universal joint in the front prop shaft, otherwise everything went very well.

In the video there are a few things to look out for / take note of.

1. The driver needs practise too! I am always a little tentative when we first go out and it takes a while to summon up whatever lies deep within to really hit the pedals hard. The German offers words of encouragement and then up and over she goes!

2. The x3 locking diffs worked beautifully. to begin with only the centre diff was on and you can see this when the rear wheel stands still while the front one moves. Soon enough we engage all three and then the x4 wheels move as one, which is great to see.

3. The articulation of the rear axle is pretty awesome. The new heightened wheel arches look good. However we need to see if they are at the extreme because add 300-400kg of human flesh onto the load and we may get a rear tyre touching the metal work. This may be resolved by stiffer springs and given the current ones have run many Charges, it may be time to replace them.

4. We have increased the headroom at the rear for the runners. With the new larger tyres the Falcon is somewhat higher than previous years but it is a necessary trade-off. Hopefully not too many low-hanging branches to trap us.

5. We also agreed to plate in the rear cabin, to prevent the thorns etc from coming through the expanded metal. Game viewing windows will be cut in the front to allow additional ventilation and forward perspective.

6. Simon rode in the back and found out first-hand why there needs to be rear foot-plates so they are being worked on with greater urgency than before.

New LOGO

Stinky's grand-daughter has provided us with a new logo (below) which we will stencil onto the side of the car. I think it looks really cool !!

WEBSITE

The Falcon website is now updated with the new Logo and also the addition of our mechanical/bush-hugging team-mate Josh Knowles who has finally been able to confirm his place on the team. We still need the Support Car crew members to submit photos and bios for inclusion on the site.

These team update articles are included on the Blog section of the site (http://ermjohnstone.wixsite.com/rhinochargecar30/blog) so everyone will have a place to go back and see what has been happening. It also makes it possible to share the site and blog with others who are interested. We are building quite a following from current and ex-team-mates.

We also have a Page on FaceBook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/124152920961331/?ref=bookmarks) which gets less regular updates and has about 30-40 followers. At the end of the day we are raising awareness of Rhino Ark's conservation activities as well as raising funds for them, so please feel free to invite your contacts to join in and follow us.

SPARE PARTS AND ACCESSORIES

Saturday saw me start on the inventory of the spare parts that needs to be carried with the team, in the support car and on the Falcon herself. Found some useful bits and pieces that we need to test now to see how they function (fuel pumps, wiring, spades etc).

A full inventory will be complied and published over the next week. We have sent a list to a suitable supplier in the UK to gather together a number of items that are missing or need replacement and are hoping for delivery of these towards the end of next week, if he gets them to the shippers by Wednesday.

CAMPING

We have identified a suitable camping operator who will provide the main camping equipment (tents, showers, loos, tables and chairs) on location, a team of guys to set it all up and run the show for the 4-day duration. Just need to sign the contract this week and pay the deposit. More lists needed to make sure it is all run to required standard!

One of the best bits of the Rhino Charge is the ability to go and camp in remote and beautiful locations, at the invitation of the local people who own and live on the land. Rhino Ark ensures that all visitors pay a Land Access Fee, which then is used to finance a project chosen by the community but supervised by the Rhino Charge committee.

So endeth the update for this week. Lots of progress and hopefully this all gives a decent idea what it takes to launch a Rhino Charge entry.