Alumni Affairs

KINSHUK PANDA (Head of Engine operations) , alumni of FM  and one of the founding members of Team 2013 along with Wasim Afzal (Structure) shares his experience and memories at Formula Manipal. Any efforts to type it or edit it would have tampered the emotions and feelings thus, i prefered not to edit it.
So, directly from my mailbox, here is it:    

Kinshuk Panda- when he is serious

I remember the first time I walked into the workshop. It had been raining incessantly that day and I had been called for my interview at a rather unusual time of 10 pm. As I walked in, the first thing I noticed was the car, it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. My interview began a few minutes later and went on till midnight. Thankfully it was a good interview and after the successive task phase, I finally made it into the team. 
Starting out in Formula Manipal wasn't exactly easy. It was unlike any club in manipal. It was a project. There were strict deadlines that had to be met, a canon of research to be understood and learn different software, the names of which sound alien. We clocked long hours late in to the night but just getting enough sleep to wake up in time for the class the subsequent morning. One month into the team only a few recruits had left, the majority stayed. It was because we like doing what we did. We got to design components, learn concepts not only in design but even manufacturing that were not even the part of our curriculum. Put things into perspective, only a handful of the large number of people out there will ever get such an intimate chance to build a car in their lives.

Recreation time

Now coming to the engine, the subsystem that I had opted for. I got really great pragmatic seniors in the form of apurva and pradeep who helped me while they were a part of the team. This further served as an incentive to give in all that I had into the project. But come october and the FMX launch, we ran into a hurdle, a really BIG hurdle. On the eve while we were packing up to take the car to manipal.edu, The engine refused to start! Ohh the pains that we had to go to. The new guys in the engine couldn't do anything ( we knew so little compared to the seniors) I remember staying up till 4 am in the parking lot, assisting apurva and nishad in whatever possible way I could. Well the launch didn't see a running car. 
We had no option but to ship it to racedynamics bangalore where a fault was found in the electrical system (electronics team, I really detested you at this point of time) finally the engine coughed up and ran. What a joyous occasion was that. 
The car came back and we started with the manufacturing phase. We saw a few vehicle runs during this time and different components had been sent for manufacturing. And we finally got a dyno run in late april early may. The car clocked a 71.4 bhp rating on the dyno and we couldn't have been happier. That month also saw me stranded in Pune 4 days before my end semester examination. Fortunately I got back just in time to attend all the papers.
The summer holidays after the end sem exams saw the maximum activity. The engine team had been reduced to two people, shubham and me. The new intake manifold had arrived and the exhaust system was built in coimbatore. Now coimbatore lies in Tamil Nadu. Its a funny little palce. The people there for some particular reason refuse to understand english, forget hindi. Even the mosty dingy hotel will charge you 600 a night and for some particular reason I saw a lot of drunk and stoned people. One had been a bit too adventurous. He was lying in a drain upside down. I don't know what he was doing. 

With Nagamalla Thrilok 

So we finally had an exhaust manifold ready and we came back to have the car ready for testing in hyderabad. As usual nothing can happen in FM without a major scene being created. the first group had left for testing without the radiator! Jimmy and I literally had to chase a volvo in a honda Dio. I know it sounds stupid but that was the only mode of transportation available at that point of time. Finally after literally cheating death twice, we caught these guys 70 km from manipal at a place called byndoor. The best part about this escapade was probably the return journey. The hondas lights didn't work, and it had started to rain. We took a pitstop near turtle bay and had some hot gobi manchurian and tea. Finally being guided by headlights of several trucks and buses we reached the confines of manipal and boy were we elated.
I finally went for testing to hyderabad and saw the car running at its full potential. However by the july the car had developed a major snag that seriously marred the reliability. It wasn't a good time for me either. I met with an accident and lost a tooth (I know of all the things).
Come august end it was time for europe! I was excited because I had never been there. We first went to paris and varano de melegari. Staying at the campsite was major fun. We played several beer games (and I outperformed several germans as well in drinking beer), sang songs and danced. It was a great experience.
We came back from italy and decided to build a car for 2013 so that we have plenty of time in the process to ensure reliabilty. The car is in the works right now and the juniors have taken over the reins. We shall see if it pays off or not by next year.

Orientation 2013 with
Divya, Divesh, Aditya and Wasim 

To sum it up, formula manipal was an experience. You worked with 20 people who become your closest friends. You have some light moments involving humor and little things that make the 5pm to 2 am working schedule enjoyable. Then you have the barbeque or the parties at deetee upon achieving something, but coming back the following morning to work again. And then you have testing times. People go without sleep for 50 hours at a stretch, come to the workshop after getting off the bus from bangalore, chasing a bus out on the highway, living under adverse conditions just to ensure the car runs. These things make life at Formula Manipal very special. Yes it took a toll on my social life but I think when compared with the fact that I helped build a car from scratch, I think I can live with it. FSAE helps one realize his potential through the challenges it throws at us. It tests our character, composure and leadership abilities. In a gist, It gives a glimpse of how the world outside is and helps us to grow.