TAFE helps Dutton Rally off to a racing start
30 July 2003
Kangan Batman TAFE engineering students have been helping the organisers of the Dutton Rally to create a mobile headquarters for the event.
Late last year, Sam Beck, the Director of the Dutton Rally approached Kangan Batman TAFE’s Aviation and Engineering Department for help converting a semi-trailer into a mobile HQ to travel with the rally (which will run from 8-10 August, commencing in Shepparton and finishing at the Avalon Airport). Dutton Rally would provide the trailer and all materials, and Kangan Batman TAFE staff and students would provide the labour and skills.
Nick Viney, who coordinates Kangan Batman TAFE’s 12-month Aviation and Engineering Pre-vocational Course accepted the challenge, and built the project into the curriculum for the course commencing in February, 2003. The first six months of the course develops the students’ general engineering and welding skills, so the conversion of the trailer provided the 24 students with plenty of hands-on experience.
The project commenced with the complete stripping of the interior of the trailer back to a bare shell. The interior was then divided into three separate areas: a storage area, a middle ‘nerve centre’ area (to house computers and equipment for recording results during the rally), and a third office/lounge area. One complete side of the trailer needed to fold down to form a platform upon which people can walk into the trailer. It also features a nine-screen TV arrangement built by the students, which will enable spectators and competitors to view rally results and footage.
“This project has been a fantastic learning experience for our students and will place them in great stead in their chosen trades. It has provided them with skills in fabrication and welding, working with composite fibre materials and sheetmetal, as well as skills in planning their tasks and selecting the correct tooling,” Mr Viney said.
The project also involved teachers and students from other areas of Kangan Batman TAFE. 17 students from the Building and Furnishing Department assisted with painting and sealing the internal walls, while two students from the Light Engines area at the Richmond automotive campus repaired and serviced a generator to supply power for the HQ trailer.
The official handover of the trailer to the Dutton Rally organisers will take place at Kangan Batman TAFE’s Broadmeadows campus on Tuesday 5 August 2003 from 11.30am to 12.30pm.
For information on the Dutton Rally, please visit http://www.duttonrally.com/
