Happy St Paddy

This year’s St. Patrick’s Day, Best Dressed Contest was on Tuesday March 16th at the Mall site, and Wednesday March 17th at the Dublin Site, at noon on both days. I think both of the entrants for the Mall site deserved to share 1st place, as there was a shortage of other participants at the Mall.

Kavonndra Bennet-Winner

Erin Reed Runner-up

James Lanning-Mens Winner

Jeff Putnam-runner up

At this time, one of the four 20,000 kilowatt generators is in the process of being replaced.  The generator portion is connected to the water turbine by a 24 inch diameter solid steel shaft that spins at 1381/2 times per minute that travels to the turbines 65 feet below the water level.

Hi-Power hydraulics-for-wicket gates These small gates adjust the water into the turbine. The turbines must turn at a precise speed so the generators produce power at exactly 60 Hertz. Controlling the speed of the turbines is accomplished by controlling the amount of the water entering the turbines by the use of hydraulic wicket gates that resemble 20 small gates that regulate water amounts.

The Dam is so automated now that there are only two full time employees to run the whole thing. When repairs or replacement parts are to be installed, a team of skilled mechanics travel from one dam to the next and perform regular maintenance and repairs.

Hopefully next time you turn on a light switch or power up your PC, you will know that although the electricity comes from a national grid. We are generating our fair share right here at Claytor Lake.

Many thanks to the Staff at the Dam for taking time out from their schedule to show the Alternative and Hybrid Energy Class, ELE 176, their great facility.  Also thanks to Keith McAllister and Montie Fleshman for arranging the tour.

Self Contained Fire Equipment for Electrical Fires

This is the largest extreme sports gathering of BASE jumpers in the world and this year marked Bridge Day’s 30^th anniversary.  Bridge Day is always the 3^rd Saturday in October and it is the only day of the year that it is legal to jump from the bridge.

In the history of Bridge Day, there have only been 3 fatalities.  In comparison, West Virginia saw 53 ATV fatalities in 2006 alone, so BASE jumping has a good safety record at this event.

Out of the 450 registered jumpers, 12% were female, the average age of the jumpers was 33 and every one of them was required to complete at least 100 prior sky dives to qualify for the jump, although the majority of jumpers have also completed at least 100 BASE jumps.

The bridge was opened on October 22^nd, 1977 although the first Bridge Day was not until 1980. The Bridge is the second highest bridge in the United States, and at 1,700 feet it was the longest single span bridge in the world until 2003 when China built the Lupu Bridge in Shanghai which is 1,815 feet.

Although most people may never BASE jump from this Awesome Bridge, everyone can view and admire the engineering that went into the design and building of this 23,000 tons of steel and over 24,000 tons of concrete, making a total weight of more than 88 million pounds.

For more information see the Bridge Day website  http://www.officialbridgeday.com/

Porky Pig BASE jumper

The sheer size difference for this jumper is amazing

Walking on water - Briefly

A Painful Landing For Some

Minimal safety equipment!

This past weekend, the parking lot below Rooker hall was used by a group of people from four different states as a training arena for an unusual class.

NRCC offers a 3 day Motorcycle Sidecar/Trike Safety Class that is only offered in four other states, it is so rare that it enticed people to travel from Mariatta GA, Huntsville NC, Cleveland OH, Manassas VA, as well as Roanoke, Newport, Hillsville and Floyd.

The class consists of a four hour classroom session on Friday night, followed by two full days of hands on training starting at 8 am on Saturday and Sunday.

The Instructors Dennis Phillips and Don Early teach special safety techniques for handling three wheeler motorcycles in a variety of situations and also how to avoid those situations if it is possible.

The different three wheel setups available today include Trikes, Bikes with Sidecars, and the new Bombadier Spyder with two front and one rear wheel. All three setups require specialized skills a lot different than your three or four-wheeler ATV’s, as these vehicles all have the potential to run in the 100mph range or faster.

The new era of sidecars are a long way from the minimalistic styles from the 1960’s when they were more popular than ever. Now they are more reminiscent of an aircraft cockpit and the motorcycles have anti-lock brakes, Electronic Stability Control, and many of the high end computer aided safety devices found on today’s high performance sports cars.

The women outnumber the men 5 to 4 in this particular class, pointing out that these days, women enjoy the thrill of riding the open road just as much as the guys.

Every member of the class I spoke with gave the two Instructors, Don and Dennis, extremely high praise, for their relaxed teaching style and patience which made the long drive for some, definitely worth the effort.

You can see that everyone who attended this potentially lifesaving class had a great time.  It’s evident by the smiles on their faces right after completing two days of intensive instruction.

This weekend long class was a very smart investment for all who attended, the skills learned will help them make the right decision in that split second that really counts, and that can be a Life Saver.

Most of the students at NRCC have driven past the windmill in front on the Volvo Plant and some may often wonder why it is there!

Well, members of the Alternative and Hybrid Energy class ELE 176, had a chance to inspect the 80 foot high, 23 ft span, 10 Kilo Watt, Wind Turbine generator on Tuesday afternoon.  Thanks to our own Keith McAllister and Johnny Kincer from the Volvo Organization.

The Turbine powers the lights on the main Volvo/Mack sign, and any extra power feeds back into the main power grid for a credit that is then used when there is no wind.

The whole system is part of an experiment by the company to examine the feasibility and cost savings that the installation of a much larger system could offer the company which has a utility bill almost as large as a small city.

This is the first semester that Alternative Energy Classes have been included in the college curriculum, and considering the growing interest in clean, green energy. The classes promise to attract a lot more interest in Photo Voltaic Solar Power and Wind Turbine Energy as the technology becomes more affordable and utility bills keep increasing.