The morning of day 4 we woke to overcast, cloudy skies. This
morning only Tim and Steve arrived to meet us for breakfast as
the rest of the instructors were moving the fleet of H1s
to the Sand Operations Area so that we could have a new experience
from the mud, forests and rocks we had been driving on.
After breakfast we jumped in the van and meet up with the H1s
about 15 miles from the Sand Training Area. Here’s where
we actually got some seat time on the highways and by-ways of
America. At 75 MPH, the H1 is pretty stable but it’s loud. Not loud enough to stop conversation but you might have a sore
throat at the end of the trip. (On a side note, I don’t
think it's much louder then my Jeep with the Swampers).
Around 9:30 am we arrived at the Sand Training Area where we
learned to run in high range and the proper technique to crest
the dunes - get a good running start, floor it, and just
before breaking over the top take your foot off the throttle so
that the middle of the Hummer slaps down on the sand with just
enough forward momentum to slide the heavy truck across, then start
down the opposite side.
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Installing flags |
The check-in area |
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Looking down the dunes |
First one up |
This technique definitely took a little while to master. Either you ended up high-centered and needing a quick strap to
jerk you over the top, or worse yet, you launched the H1 into the air on
a ride that might give a whole new meaning to pucker power. None
of the students provided a Houston-worthy launch, however, a couple
of GM marketing people had come down to meet Tim’s team
for this excursion and they launched their H1 over the top of
one crest and landed it entirely on the front end (nothing broken
but a few smiles from those that saw it). Unfortunately, my camera
wasn’t handy but I can tell you that they were more than just a little
shaky upon stepping out of the Hummer at the bottom of the hill.
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Not quite right |
Common theme |
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I'm strapping him off |
Full throttle |
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Playing around |
Kicking up dirt! |
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Wagon's can play, too |
A motley crew, students, teachers &
marketing |
Lunch was brought in and we relaxed and laughed about our experiences
on the dunes. It was a great day outdoors with people who were
just having fun. The sandwiches were excellent and the weather
was cooperating.
During lunch, the instructors commented that they almost always
have a student who ends up launching one but that they were pleasantly
surprised that this class had avoided that. I can’t imagine
that feeling as the vehicle noses down toward the ground and the
violent impact on the other side. It was enough for me to just
drop the heavy hummer down on the skid plates as I slid over the
top of the dune.
Once we returned to the training facility we sat down in the
classroom and went through a quick orienteering course using GPS’s,
a compass and a UTM tool. They taught us to read coordinates on
a map, load them into a GPS and then find those coordinates by
following the instructions of the GPS.
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Compass for use with UTM map |
UTM scale tool for adjusting map scales
to useable GPS / Compass detail |
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After the conclusion of the classroom course we were lead outside
where we had to find coordinates on foot by hiking around
the facility. Then we were expected to go find navigation posts
around the property while driving some H2s (it was quite
comfortable but I do prefer the driving the H1 to the H2).
When night came we were shown a number of different types of
off-road lights and how they worked. We each got to got out on
the trails at the facility in H1s equipped with the various
type of lights and we also got to play with a night vision heads
up display (HUD) that allowed us to drive without any lights at all
(this was awesome). This concluded in a short night run which
was a great cap to the longest day of the Academy.
On a side note, have you ever noticed how great S'mores taste
from an open fire, in the middle of a forest with a bunch of people
you have grown to call friends?