iDash and AirMouse at the top of Pikes

Joey Rassool of Banks video team, spent his Sunday on the top of Pikes Peak operating one of the cameras at the finish line. During the moment when cars weren’t racing by, Joey analyzed the data displayed on his battery-powered iDash. “I took one of our iDash DataMonsters equipped with a battery and an AirMouse up to the summit at 14,115 feet,” explains Joey. “This was my first time at the summit and I immediately felt the effects of the lower ambient air density. I was drowsy and light-headed for the first 15 minutes. When I pulled out the iDash, I immediately saw why. Ambient air density as at 45.7 lbs/kft3! I’ll save you from doing the math. That’s about 63% of the air density we experience at the Banks office in Azusa, Ca.”

“Air density is derived from three measurements; pressure, temperature, and humidity. As pressure drops, so does air density. But it’s the inverse with temperature and humidity. For the highest air density and the most oxygen for your engine (or your lungs), you want a cool dry day at the lowest elevation. Up here though, I had none of those things. The elevation meant that ambient air pressure was as low as 8.84 psia, the humidity was 15.2%, and even though I was surrounded by snow, the ambient air temperature in the middle of the day was 60°F. All of these contributed to the lowest air density I’ve ever measured outside of a vacuum chamber.”

“The iDash was also displaying pressure altitude, a parameter derived from the air pressure differential to that of sea level, 14.7 psia. This measurement was reading 13,900ft which is a little lower than the true peak of 14,115ft. Maybe the higher pressure was due to the departing storm which was good news for the hill climb the next day as this ended up being some of the clearest conditions in a decade. With the AirMouse attached, the iDash goes from being helpful to invaluable.”