World record attempt to cross the continent, powered by wind
The 'Wind Explorer' - powered by kite
They've managed to cross Australia, powered only by wind and breaking 3 world records in one road trip. They left from Perth 18 days ago, in a little white car - powered by a battery. This battery was charged each night by a wind turbine, and can power the car for... well they never had to find out - because they had a kitesurfing kite!
As soon as it got windy enough, the pair hot-launched the kite and cruised down the highway using it to pull them along. The kite wasn't even modified to suit their purpose, check out the video - it's just a kitesurfing bar to control it!
Arriving in Sydney they drew quite the crowd. Of course they had to drive through the city using the battery power (before you ask), but all that power was originally generated by wind. The collapsible turbine could also be plugged in to charge if needed, but the boys managed to get the whole way power-pointless!
On completing the road trip, they broke 3 world records:one for crossing a continent with a wind-powered vehicle for the first time, another for traveling the farthest in a wind-powered car over a 36 hour period, and a final one for the most distance ever covered by a wind-powered land vehicle. Not bad for a jelly bean with pink roll bars!
Check out the video below, and tell us what you think in the forums!
Hobart, TAS
