From aa90710e88da0d3bac76bd88f94c6a5464f720fc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Pim van Pelt Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2024 17:50:08 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Add thursday --- content/blog/wk10day4.md | 106 ++++++++++++++++-- static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png | 3 + static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lszf.png | 3 + .../img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png | 3 + static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lszf.png | 3 + 5 files changed, 108 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-) create mode 100644 static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png create mode 100644 static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lszf.png create mode 100644 static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png create mode 100644 static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lszf.png diff --git a/content/blog/wk10day4.md b/content/blog/wk10day4.md index e572593..60788a6 100644 --- a/content/blog/wk10day4.md +++ b/content/blog/wk10day4.md @@ -1,22 +1,108 @@ --- title: "Week 10, Thursday: Polestars Testdrive" date: 2024-10-03T21:55:00+02:00 -draft: true --- -{{< image frame="true" width="17em" float="right" src="/img/headline/todo.png" alt="Credit: " >}} +{{< image frame="true" width="17em" float="right" src="/img/headline/aletto.png" alt="Credit: Aletto, YouTube" >}} + +We've had a Tesla Model S (with black nosecone) since 2015, and we still benefit from free charging +for life. We're a good twelve years after the introduction of Model S, and it's still quite tricky +to find an electric car that rivals the driving experience of Tesla. But, we are in the market, +eventually, for a new car and we'd like to come prepared with a set of alternative choices. I'm not +sure I'll want to replace this car with another Tesla. + +We booked a driving tour of one hour with the [[Polestar](https://polestar.com/)] 3 (a fullsized +crossover SUV much like the Volvo XC90) and also the Polestar 4 (a compacter crossover SUV). It's +fun to realize that Volvo and Polestar are owned by chinese megacorp _Geely_, which is a customer +of IPng! But, it could be fun to test drive and possibly become a customer of _Geely_ as well? Let's +find out! + +Since Tim and I went to bed a few bottles in and at 03:30 yesterday, the waking up was also a bit of +a just-in-time job. Our appointment is at 11:45 and at around 11:00 we both emerge out of our warm +beds, ready for the morning ritual. The game plan is that Marina and I pick up the car, then we +drive to our house to see if it even fits in the garage (should be, both Polestars are smaller than +the Model S), and then we take a good drive with the three of us. + +Our first car is the Polestar 4, with 2x200kW motor and a 100kWh batterypack. It has lots of the +options enabled, and it's a wonderful drive. The power is there, the entertainment screen is +horizontal in this car (like newer Tesla models), but it has Apple Carplay, which I am a huge fan +of. Driving experience is great, it keeps lane, follows cars, has adaptive cruise control, and a +really stunning internal trim with light effects, charging mat, USB C (60W PD), and even the rear +seats are adjustable. It's very spatious inside, the funk is laughably small, and the rear trunk is +pretty good, including a clever floor panel that can fold up and fold down into a lower position. + +After an hour or so, we deliver the Polestar 4, and swap it for a Polestar 3, which is a slightly +bigger, more premium car. They both were announced in different years, but ended up being on the +market at the same time, with deliveries starting in Q2'2024. The Polestar 3 has a few really nice +benefits: a Bowers & Wilkins pimped out stereo with 25 (yes, twenty-five!) speakers and a subwoofer, +a vertical entertainment screen, no interior lighting, missing screen in the back, no adjustable +seats, but a superior driving experience and 2x180kW motors with a 110kW battery, so clearly a +larger range (630km on paper). No apple carplay! It's just a bit weird, I feel, to have a premium +car which has less features than its smaller and cheaper sibling. I would've honestly expected _all_ +of those cool things from the Polestar 4 to be available. But it drives like a boss, it's really +really smooth but also punchy despite being the size (and weight) of a Model X. + +One of the nice things about this three-way review is that all of us emphasize different parts of +the car. Tim remarks that we really should be car reviewers as we feel like we do a very thorough +job judging build quality, driving style and experience, driving assist features, and overall +interior features. We gathered pics of both cars [[here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9knCTHbhWs)]. + +{{< image src="/img/arc.png" width="9em" float="left" alt="story arc" >}} + +After the testdrive, at 15:00 we do the last task in the story arc of Tim's visit. We meticulously +fiddle with all the buttons and switches and light panels, and make the finer details of the cockpit +work. We now have stall warning, master warning, oil pressure and engine fire alarms, and so on all +working. As a finishing touch, the engine startup mechanics, with both mags, all avionics and fuel +pump switches, radios and navigation computer, all work now in the Cessna 172, Cessna 152 (well, no +navigation here) and Diamon DA40NG. I could not be more pleased as we take a trip from Eindhoven +airport EHEH to Breda airport EHSE, navigating, ATC tower and all, over Gilze Rijen EHGR. We manage +to land the plane and refuel it. + +I myself take the same DA40 out for a spin from Dübendorf military airport LSMD to a very +popular Birrfeld LSZF, which I've flown the circuit of in real life, in one of the very few actual +airplane experiences. Tim did me a solid and recorded the flight on his GPS flight recorder. Cool +fact: that Sky Demon has a mode in which it can slurp in GPS info from the _flightsim_ rather than +the GPS receiver, so you can use it in such a sim in much the same way as you can in real life. That +was super fun and he took some screenshots as I was flying perfectly straight in the circuit, +albeit bouncing up and down vertically quite a bit, including the landing as I know not what I do. +See below the Sky Demon flight plan, the actual path (yellow), and the circuit I flew in this 21 +minute flight. Not gonna lie, it was a great reward after such an intense struggle to get this thing +to finally work. Thank you Tim!! + +While high on life, it was time to ground ourselves by introducing a huge amount of cheese fondue +into our bodies. Marina had prepared the table with tableware, bread, pine apple, sour onions and +little pickles, and drinks. She knows that once I start making the fondue, that there is a point of +no return: it will be created, carried to the table, and has to immediately be consumed by +vigorously stirring the pot, otherwise we may get in trouble. However, the so called +_Schwiegemutter_ (English: mother in law), the cakey cheese that creates a super-salty super-tasty +fondue trophy. + +If your fondue worked out, and people stirred vigorously _enough_, it comes out in once piece. Which +it does. Because we are professional fondue-eaters. We all eat a little piece of the mother in law, +but to spare our kidneys, we don't eat the whole thing. + +After dinner, we watch some news on TV, finish the bottle of red wine from yesterday, and retire for +an evening of two of our most favorite things: Trappiste beer and LEGOs! My buddy Sandra has made +the NASA space shuttle and loaned it to me, so we spend a few hours making the hubble space +telescope, and a good start on the under carriage of the shuttle Discovery. As we do this, Tim and I +swap stories of our favorite YouTube channels. It turns out, we have many of them in common, +possibly because we're somehow related, I don't know for sure, but I would not be surprised. + +We find a nice checkpoint on the shuttle undercarriage and call it a night at 01:00. ## Pictures of the Day {{< gallery-category >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1759.JPG" caption="" >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1777.JPG" caption="" >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1790.JPG" caption="" >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1799.JPG" caption="" >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1800.JPG" caption="" >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1802.JPG" caption="" >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-04/IMG_1803.JPG" caption="" >}} - {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-04/IMG_1804.JPG" caption="" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1759.JPG" caption="Marina and I are in the Polestar 4, a sporty car and fun to drive." >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1777.JPG" caption="Tim was also with us in the Polestar 4, sorry you couldn't drive, buddy!" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1790.JPG" caption="The Polestar 3 is a nice competition for Model X. Chinese, not South African." >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1799.JPG" caption="Tim is pointing at a point of interest in our simulator: Diamond DA40NG" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png" caption="My flight plan from Dubendorf to Birrfeld in Switzerland" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-04/lszf.png" caption="I'm quite proud of how well I managed to follow the circuit. Not visible here: how messy my altitude was." >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1800.JPG" caption="The Schwiegemutter, the last bit of caked cheese at the bottom of the pot. A+ would eat again." >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-03/IMG_1802.JPG" caption="To finish the evening, we enjoy a set of belgian trappiste beers from 2018" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-04/IMG_1803.JPG" caption="We finish Sandra's hubble space telescope and it's really cool!" >}} + {{< gallery-photo fn="2024-10-04/IMG_1804.JPG" caption="We also construct the under carriage of this Space Shuttle Discovery that Sandra loaned me. Such a cool build!" >}} {{< /gallery-category >}} {{< gallery-modal >}} diff --git a/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png b/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..40817c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:a91877da98bbc63bc29074d737867352b8f677592d4a3a004e78ce55e4f59b36 +size 3854053 diff --git a/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lszf.png b/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lszf.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..60486d9 --- /dev/null +++ b/static/img/fullsize/2024-10-04/lszf.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:81b0220070ac934df581da2b2f09b9b216a510eee781b0df5cd8f82d8ee64e12 +size 2152899 diff --git a/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png b/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3f73eda --- /dev/null +++ b/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lsmd-lszf.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:3d18c9964c3ea8c843950ca9f56c15ab4e65699412704d8ce6b8d4fbfa9db21c +size 243594 diff --git a/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lszf.png b/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lszf.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4dcd9d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/static/img/thumbnails/2024-10-04/lszf.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:e52ccc1f4fd8c3d980cd8f256033aff8f8715864b7777aed7866fb0bdeec6eda +size 158234