Fox Chapel Area High School and A.W. Beattie Career Center senior Logan McKaveney didn’t spin his wheels during a regional Peddle Car Challenge at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Instead, McKaveney is among a group of students who designed a car that won first place in the World of Wheels challenge on Jan. 8.
A total of 20 students in Beattie’s automotive collision technology program collaborated on the project — beating out 14 other schools.
This is the second year in a row that Beattie students have won the competition.
“The hard part with everyone working on it is just getting it all to be consistent,” McKaveney said. “That was huge for the peddle car whether it was the painting, the airbrushing, the metal work and more. We had to work together and build off of each other to make our work look as close as possible.”
The teen participated in the painting and air brushing of the car.
Students worked on the project for nearly three weeks and got creative by turning it into a replica of a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird.
“I’m absolutely excited for them,” instructor Joe Pelesky said.
“It’s a lot of fun, and these kids loved it. I think at first it was challenging, but it really came together quick.”
Innovation was key in making the Thunderbird a functional peddle car with all the bells and whistles that you would see on the aircraft, he said.
“We used a bicycle and everything under the sun for it,” instructor Pat Ciccone said. “We have a paint gun for the shifter, parts from a culinary arts oven. They just developed it from there.
“We used a lawnmower transmission for the propeller to spin. We used car parts and various things throughout the shop and got really creative.”
Students from the nine school districts that send students to Beattie worked on the car. They include Avonworth, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel Area, Hampton, North Allegheny, Northgate, North Hills, Pine-Richland and Shaler Area.
