My gripe isnt with the fact that FSAE
ers are building a car. In fact, had my high school had a similar program, I would have participated. What I am saying is that, no offense to the students from this school, I have serious doubts about the amount of engineering work that the students actually do.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">a good teacher could do a good portion of the engineering that FSAE teams do on their cars </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That is exactly my point- the object of the competion is not for the teacher to do the work. The car is supposed to be designed and built by the students, not by their professors.
As far as being an elitist, it is my opinion that Engineering is one of the three hardest fields that someone can work in during their career, and I am proud to be an engineering student.
And you are right, fabrication is a major part of the competition, since you cant compete with a car that doesnt run. But how much of the competition is scored on how well you fabricate?? Exactly 5 points out of the 1000. I would point to the fact that, as many FSAE'ers already know, the questions the judges ask can be extrememly detailed and hard to answer. I dont think that a students response to a question should ever be, "well my professor designed this part, so let me point you in their direction."