Buggy

One of Carnegie Mellon's most famous traditions is the sport of Buggy. It originated as a rivalry between fraternities, but it has since expanded to include all kinds of student organizations, who compete with the vehicle known as a "buggy". The buggy is usually three wheeled, made out of aerospace grade materials, and operated by a small driver. The course consists of various hills that "pushers" wrestle the buggy upward. It also features a lengthy downhill section culminating in a high-speed turn where the driver's skill is tested.

We practice running the full course on weekends from 7-9 AM, and have push practices on weeknights. As the chairman of Phi Delt Buggy, I was responsible for making sure that these practices run smoothly and safely. I was also able to lead the creation of our first buggy, Argo, which is a reverse trike style buggy with a shell made out of carbon fiber and Nomex honeycomb. Argo, together with our fantastic pushers and driver, led us to our first finals appearance. We also improved our personal best times for both the men's and women's team.

Argo with a new paint job

Argo during a pass test

Each driver must show that they are able to safely pass another buggy.

Argo coming up to the turn

The turn is taken at high speed, without braking. This is where drivers prove their skill.

Argo on raceday

We run heated wheels with special rubber in order to extract the maximum amount of speed from the buggy.

Ready for the start

The race starts with two hills, followed by the downhill portion, and is finished with three more hills.

Honeycomb shell

The shell consists of four layers of carbon fiber sandwiching a Nomex honeycomb core.

Honeycomb detail

Lining up the hardware

The baseplate is made out of high density foam, and has Delrin hardpoints embedded within for hardware mounting.