Aerial Scramble

Division:Div B & C- Middle & High SchoolNC Essential Standards Alignment:Science as InquiryEvent Rules:NC State Trial RulesEvent Score Sheet:Coming SoonNational Event Page:NoneRequired Materials:Eye protection and rubber band winder.Clarifications:In NC, participants will be required to wear safety spectacles while in the flight area.

Description:

This is a building event. Teams will build and test ahead of time the plane provided to them with their State Bid information.  Each team competing in the trial event will receive and unopened new plane kit to build on site and fly.

Teams may bring their own tools in one clear-sided container. Items allowed- are winders, assembly tools, fixtures (freestanding from airplanes), sandpaper, cutting boards, adhesive systems, thread, pins, tape, wax paper, rubber o-rings for motors, rubber motors, and clay.

Not Allowed- Extra Wood or Foam Plastic Materials.

Materials:

Teams MUST bring Safety glasses, and a rubber band winder. Teams may also bring any materials needed to trim and calibrate their plane(s).

Event Leaders will bring tools necessary to time the planes and the official scoresheet.

Scoring:

High score wins. Points are earned for seconds aloft.

Common Mistakes:

We don’t know yet, you are the first people to try this!

Recommendations:

These flights will take place in a gym, either a basketball court or an open arena, depending on where you compete.

Rubber band motors and winders can be bought at some hobby stores, or from Midwest or other online stores, search for rubber motor or contest rubber. Also, make sure you know the gear ratio of your winder. 1:5, 1:8, and 1:16 are all common, and will affect how many turns you make to achieve the ideal number of winds on your motor. The first number (1) is how many times you turn the crank compared to how many times your motor is turned on the output side (the 2nd number).

Event Resources:

 

Media:

NoneAlphas in action!How to wind your rubber motor. This video shows a helicopter, but the principles of winding and what to watch out for are the same.How to weigh, cut, tie, and lubricate a rubber band motor for one of the flying events.