I'm sticking with my guns on this one. I'm applying things I've learned in graduate level classes, and there are times I still feel I'm out-classed in FSAE. Look at the way many teams struggle with the help of their colleges, faculty advisers, or even just a bunch of old folks like me who played around in the real world a few years before coming to college. Look at the issues beyond building the car, like project management, team building, sponsorship, PR, etc; hell, it's a wonder college kids can even pull it off.
A few short years ago, all it took to get a top 10 finish in FSAE was a well-tuned, reliable vehicle that made it through endurance. We did just that in '06. But looking at how things went down at MIS last week, the competition is just getting too fierce to be a top finisher without applying the kind of engineering fundamentals that really smart high school kids don't find out until they become really smart college kids.
Imagine trying to understand Milliken or OptimumG without having taken at least a basic course in dynamics. Maybe if they spent a couple more years busting their butts in high school physics and calculus; at which point they would no longer be high school kids. Sure, high school kids could get a car built, and no doubt get it to pass tech., but they would have almost no chance at a top finish. Imagine talking to Claude in design back when you were 15. I almost wet myself when I was 27.
On the other hand, if they entered a simpler class like Formula Vee, they could get 90% of the experience, and have a really good shot at beating a lot of folks. They could apply all the rules of basic design, mechanics and fabrication without getting tangled in all the BS that goes along with an engineering competition, and have a lot of fun.
By eliminating all the higher level stuff involved with FSAE, more people would get involved. And I would try to get them all to come to ISU