Engineering tips for Space Derby

[Esel Mann]

Definitely let your son come up with the ideas as well as do the work.

The roll of the dad for this exercise is to:

- be a sounding board to kick around ideas your son comes up with;

- supervise and show your son the proper way to use tools;

- ensure your son doesn't burn down the house or loose any fingers, arms, legs, toes, or eyes, (hearing is overrated so no worries about ears);

- show him where the nudie mags, beer, and tv are hidden in the shop;

- show him how looking busy in the shop versus watching sports on the living room couch will ward off females who constantly come up with things to do for males if they don't look busy to the female.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by LWJ

Well. The thrust does have to be from a rubber band powered prop. The rubber bands and prop are supplied. I am just thinking that reduction of weight is one method of increasing acceleration and increased thrust is the other. I am open to ideas. (Not that the above was completely out of the question!)

Larry

Does the entire thing have to reach the finish line? We did this with rockets once. The object was to get your rocket farthest down range. The winner jettisoned a part of the rocket before the motor burned out.

[sammyg2]

DOOOOOOD ............ About 701,000 results (0.18 seconds)

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and lots more.

[teenerted1]

like others have said....teach your son how to use the tools and stand back. supervise is all you should do.

scouts are meant to make a man out of a boy, not a boy out of a man.

[GDSOB]

My 7 yo had the space derby last night and finished tied for second after the heats, and lost the runoff, so he ended up third. His ship was a tank compared to many of the others since he didn't like the sawdust from sanding the body down. He just rounded the corners and made a conical nose. A couple coats of black paint and a few decals and we were done. A few of of the lightweight ships literally fell apart, especially at the end of the run. The weak point is where the string mounting tab attaches to the body. Make sure there is sufficient wood to attach and use plenty of glue.

We also had the only electric drill winder which was odd since the directions tell how to make one. I think this helped. We used two rubber bands and lubricated with silicone spray. Seemed to work ok. I would have liked to try three rubber bands, but Owen won his heats so we didn't bother. I did see several kids (dads) with broken rubber bands or pulled the propeller hook straight due to excessive tension, so don't go crazy.

I was a judge and we awarded most creative and best use of paint, so there is more than one way to win.

Have fun, and enjoy the time with your son.

[LWJ]

Some good thoughts here. Thanks. BTW, my boy is making and designing his own. My question is all about having MY Space Derby racer whip the other Dads!

Thanks,
Larry

[Flieger]

As Capt. Ahab said, post the rules. Is it an ultimate distance event or time to distance?

[Flieger]

Are carbon composites allowed? make the fuselage on giant fan duct with a small, aerodynamic spar at the back to attach the rubber bands. rollers/ball bearings for the wire guide.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by Eric 951

We did the Space Derby when I was a Scout, along with the Pinewood Derby and the boat race(don't recall the proper name), and all were alot fun. However, I remember the ill feelings towards the scouts who brought in "ringers" which were obviously not built by them.
.

We had one kid in our pack whos dad had spent tons of time making a very intricate cheater car. Was so delicate they wouldn't let the kid hold it.


Was even funnier when I wiped the floor with him. I had just cut mine into a wedge, as thin as was needed for the axles, weighted it to spec, and made sure the 3wheels that touched rolled very smoothly.

[mikester]

We just did this in our pack but didn't race. We just made it a fun activity. Pinewood derby is up in January though. It's on like donkey kong!