Eden

Foster

Port Fairy

St. Kilda

From Eucla to Ceduna

The batteries are nearly fully charged. The laptop shows more than 7 kWh.. Around 5:30 we set off once again. Stefan's the first driver to the South Australian border. Fruitfly control. We're waved through. The winds are weak as expected. Stefan continues on battery power toward the east at about 45 km/h. There's not much happening on the road at all as far as traffic is concerned. Then the wind picks up. It's coming in directly from the south. We're in the vicinity of Yalata, the Aboriginal Reservation. Dirk readies the kite. It's now or never: we're at force 3 to 4 crosswinds to start. Then the wind picks up even more: 4 to 5 with gusts to force 6. We're now kite-powered for hours on end. The Explorer is covering kilometer after kilometer at speeds between 40 and 70 km/h. Then the inevitable happens: Dirk and Stefan both overlook a telegraph line running straight over the street to a nearby farm. At 60 kilometers per hour it slices right through the kite's steering lines. Dirk pulls the emergency release to break free from the kite, Stefan slams on the brakes. Once the kite is recovered, a new set of lines is attached and the journey continues.

10 kilometers later it's another line across the road. It just was not to be seen against the sky. This time the steering lines aren't severed because Dirk manages to hit the release in time. But now the kite is snagged in the telegraph lines and tangled up in the trees. 10 minutes later everything is ready to go again. Then, after 100 kilometers, the front right tire blows out. The kite's constant lateral force wore out the running surface. Changing the tire takes 5 minutes. On we go again.

A police car approaches the two of them on the opposite side. The kite is still high in the sky as the police officers wave cordially from their squad car. Roadtrains, the giant trucks, beep and wave as well. Thumbs up. Thankfully, the kite brings out the best in everyone.

After a fulminant 130 kilometers, the high-speed kite stretch comes to an end. The road curves off and the wind suddenly comes in from the front again. Dirk gets out and packs up the kite. Stefan urges onward.

The Wind Explorer has proved itself as kite-powered vehicle. It might cost a front tire every 100 kilometers, but it works splendidly. If there are trees too close to the edge of the road, Dirk is able to steer the kite directly above the car and Stefan can control it as well by accelerating. This is also the way we bridge short lulls. The combination of electrical and kite-power is ideal.

Around 9 p.m. the day comes to an end at Ceduna. The navigation system's odometer shows a marvelous 493.5 kilometers. We still have about 20% residual power in the batteries. So we set up the wind turbine at Pinky Point in Ceduna and charge up the batteries. By the next morning we've managed to replenish all the electricity we've used. We're delighted. The team and well-worn camera operators and escort staff break into a spontaneous celebration under the wind turbine. It is simply a wonderful feeling to have driven so far and to realize that the only energy involved has been supplied by the wind. We keep looking up to the rotors. The wind is so strong that the turbine keeps going into overload mode and turning itself out of the wind. We've got more than 12 amps flowing into the batteries right now. You can't see it, you can't hear it, but you can feel the electricity flowing. The Wind Explorer has finally distinguished itself by name and shown what it can do. Conditions weren't the best. The wind could always have blown from the southwest, for example. But the concept of a wind-powered vehicle, the combination of wind turbine, lithium-ion batteries, kites and lightweight, aerodynamic construction, has passed the test.

The next morning brings the moment of truth: Dietmar hooks up his laptop to the batteries and checks cell voltages. It's disappointing. The wind turbine has barely stoked in enough power for a distance of 60 kilometers. Stefan, our wind generator expert, explains why it is that so little electricity has passed through the system. First, the night had relatively inconstant winds and secondly, our mast should have been at least 6 meters higher in order to be above the surrounding trees. Facit: it works in principle. We can generate power for our lithium-ion battery systems. But the turbine's set-up position now has to become a key element of planning our route. We need good, high and wide open locations – ideally, we should have locations with steady winds from the ocean. We are confident … but give the batteries a full charge off the grid nevertheless.

Our tour continues toward Eucla on the border with South Australia. It's still hot. That makes for thermic winds that are now blowing in from the north strong and gusty, but complicates things for the team. Stefan and Dirk trade off driving much more often than before. Each driver gulps down a liter of water at every stop. We're feeling the first effects of the sun and have headaches. Stefan has started dousing himself with water while driving. We hope the circuitry puts up with it. The Explorer is built for dry and not soggy environments ...

The first stretch takes us to Cocklebiddy, 66,2kilometers. The Wind Explorer is using an unbelievable 19 Wh at an average of 43 km/h. We enter the Western-Central Timezone and set our watches 45 minutes ahead. In Cocklebiddy: drinking, shade and on we go. Then it happens. 5 kilometers past Cocklebiddy the wind shifts to the south. It's still blowing at a bit of an angle, but we think it will work. Dirk and Stefan hook up a kite for the first time. They're still very cautious and start with the 5 square-meter version, then realize that it's only good for an average speed of 38 km/h. The next 40 kilometers are completely neutral when it comes to power consumption. The big, steerable kite transforms wind energy directly into movement. There's no turbine, no storage involved. It's a great way to move along. But conditions have to be right. The wind has to come in from the side and there can't be any trees on the side of the road …

Dirk is steering the kite, Stefan is driving. It's perfect teamwork and the two of them can't stop grinning about it. The sp-x kites from Spleene were truly the right choice. The de-powering zone is so forgiving that there's never a dangerous moment. Even with strong gusts, Dirk only has to press the steering bar upwards a bit to lower the overall force. It's all very well thought out. And the 25-meter lines keep the kite high enough over the road that the suction wakes of speeding trucks don't bother the kites at all.

It's not until the Madura Pass, the gateway to the famous Nullarbor Plain – a giant, treeless expanse stretching from the edge of the continent deep inland – that kiting comes to its abrupt end. Dirk rolls in the kite and Stefan keeps on driving into the distance. The batteries still have their full charge. This leg ends in Mundrabilla after 280.24 kilometers. What a great day.

At night the wind is gusty but strong. The wind turbine is protected by a hill. Dirk and Stefan were simply too drained and tired to do anything else. It's still 50 degrees C in the shade, the wind blowing into the kites is probably 10 degrees warmer, all of this has pretty well finished them off. They simply weren't able to find a better place to set up. Carrying the batteries and the turbine up the hill was out of the question as well. Still, the turbine pumps in a good three kilowatts this night. That's electricity enough for 150 kilometers at a cost of 75 cents.


Raventhorpe past Esperance to Norseman / Baladonia to Caiguna


We set off at 8:30 in the morning. The batteries have been fully charged in the wash kitchen. We've got a good 8 kilowatt hours at our disposal. That cost our host Peter about 2 dollars on his electric bill and it will power us for another 400 kilometers. While Dirk is getting ready to leave, the team is busy filling up the escort vehicles. Meanwhile a family from Western Australia is busily checking out the Wind Explorer's every detail. Three generations surround the vehicle asking all about what it is and how it works. The grandchildren climb into the passenger seat. It's the same thing every time. The Explorer draws a crowd wherever it is. Its striking design, the bicycle helmets from outer space and the purple and white paint job make it look like something from another planet.



Onward through the unending Australian bush. The road trains headed our way and passing us from behind present little danger. Temperatures are rising. We check the temperature of the batteries and wheel hub motor regularly. But they're cool. No problem. After 199.3 kilometers, the rear batteries are empty. We change drivers and switch to the front battery set. The hilly landscape and crosswinds have taken their toll. On level ground and without winds, we easily could have covered 20 kilometers more. Dirk is fascinated; he's developing a natural feel for how much electricity the motor is using and how far we can go on a single battery charge. Stefan and Dirk really don't have to read the meters and gauges anymore. They can estimate battery levely by simply looking at the odometer. Wind, inclines and stops for filming and taking pictures have an impact as well.



At 2:55 in the afternoon we're at the turn-off for Norseman to the north. We'd really like to see Esperance. It has the most beautiful beaches of the west coast. But this isn't a sightseeing trip. We want to press on further to the east. First northwards to Norseman. then our route forks off to South Australia ... theoretically we could take out the kites for the first stretch. The wind is blowing from the east and the kites wouldn't be in the way of oncoming traffic since, after all, we're driving on the left side of the road. But we decide against it. We first want to make it to the Eire Highway in the direction of the Nullarbor Plain. If the police were to stop us this early in the tour for having a kite attached to our car, we'd be in a great deal of trouble. We're surprised by the first rain. The weather is kind of strange. The cyclone up north has stirred things up alot.



190.46 kilometers further we arrive in Norseman. We've got enough power for about another 20 kilometers. We stop at a pub. Dietmar Spoden, our battery specialist, takes our batteries in and plugs them into an outlet to charge. This isn't a suitable place to set up the wind turbine. There are too many shrubs and little trees. Our turbine, after all, is perched atop a 6-meter high mast. A mast twice that height would be ideal -- but let's not forget that we're the very first in the world to embark on such a mobility experiment with a wind turbine this size (rotor diameter 2.7 meters). We only set it up when and where it makes sense. We hope to finish fine-tuning the regulator tomorrow. The treeless expanse of Western Australia lies just before us.



Our first little speed record. our onboard navigation system clocked us running downhill at 70.5 km/h. We'd like to point out that the Explorer takes off downhill almost like it does when you step on the gas... let's make that, 'turn the handle'. It accelerates so quickly by gravity that it's actually scary. That's all because of the aerodynamics and low-friction tires. 200 kilos plus driver can really take off...



Dirk pushes on with the Wind Explorer towards Balladonia at night. An escort car protects him from the road trains. The Explorer's two LED-headlights do a good job. For the time being, they're hooked up to a little motorcycle battery sitting on the passenger seat. That will all change in the future when the lights are powered by the main batteries. The current Wind Explorer is a prototype. Everything's still in flux. Kangaroos aren't a big problem, either. Trucks flying through here at 100 km/h run them down by the dozens. But we're cruising along at 50 km/h so there's nothing to worry about.



The team is on the way to Albany on the continent's southernmost point. First encounters with baffled Australians. They're used to muscle cars of all sorts and chuckle about our wind-powered roadster. We pull up to a vintage car that's at least as ancient as its owner. Oldtimer meets high-tech. We listen to our 1.9 kW Crystalyte 5303 wheel hub motor purr alongside his 50-year-old English 6-cylinder.

The team practices setting up the 6-meter bamboo mast and wind turbine on stones, fields and sand. We want to make sure sudden gusts and storms don't bring us any bad news.

We're getting a bit nervous since the mountains on the way through Bunbury on the south coast present considerable challenges. But the photo ops for our cameras are amazing, especially when we see the Wind Explorer atop yet another peak in the evening light.

Dietmar, our technical wizard, checks data from the battery management system and blackbox. The combination of wind-generated power and ultra-modern batteries that will soon power the e-smart is uncharted territory for all of us. We're the first in the world to learn about using these two technologies in mobility applications. The first thousand kilometers through Western Australia are just for tests in order to fine-tune the wind turbine and lithium-ion battery system.