Electric Kart award
KWL Fleet win an award for the design of an Electric Kart
KWL fleet, represented by Steve Wildbore, Tony Kirk and Ian Campion, were awarded with “Best design” in the Green power project and Hull street race car event.
In addition to the award the Fleet Team, were invited by the Lord Mayor to participate in a small event in the Guildhall to recognise the tremendous support Hull City Council have received and progress being made, supporting Care Leavers.
The Project – Greenpower – Inspiring Engineers
KWL was approached by Hull City Council and asked if we could assist with a scheme being run by the Greenpower Education Trust that provides the opportunity for young people to construct and race an electric kart.
The HCC/KWL project is aimed at young people leaving care who may be inspired by the construction of an electrically powered race kart and the opportunity to participate in a race team environment.
The project specifically involved the I.E.T. Formula 24 build of a kit form race kart (run on a 24-volt supply) to the specifications of the race organiser.
After discussions with HCC (Phil Morris), 4 care leavers were selected to form a team to construct, maintain and race the vehicle.
The Construction of the Kart
The KWL Fleet supervisory team volunteered to offer guidance and assist with the building of the kart, and their time was provided at nights and weekend, outside of their normal working patterns.
The safety of the young learners involved was foremost therefore a safe area of work in Fleets busy workshop was identified and cordoned off. This provided a dedicated area where explanations and demonstrations of assembly; engineering concepts; and, mechanical procedures could take place.
Steven Wildbore, Fleet Technician (also the fleet Apprentice training mentor) volunteered to oversee the construction and provide guidance to the learners in building the chassis and running gear. The aluminium bodywork was painted in a metallic silver.
Track testing
Once the build was complete, KWL took the vehicle to East Hull Karting where the vehicle was track tested and introduced to the drivers. Steve Wildbore carried out structural and safety checks and we agreed that the vehicle was fit to race.
Following testing, the kart was entered a race, (which was the first race of its kind) held in Kingston upon Hull around the Guildhall circuit on the 28th April 2019. Unfortunately, due to a collision the kart failed to complete the race.
The Outcome
The KWL Fleet employees that worked on the project are proud of what the 4 young people have achieved in producing the finished electric cart, particularly watching them develop, grow in confidence, working as a team and gaining a sense of personal achievement.