Re: Rotor (Helicopter) Egg Drop event for Science Olympiad division B

From: Yuan Kang Lee <ykleetx_at_gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:47:24 -0000

The difference with the SO event is that there is no protection of the egg allowed. The egg sits in a dixie cup, and the cup must be the first thing to touch the ground. No protection inside the cup is allowed.

- helicopter blades are ussed to slow the descent
- the whole device must fit inside a 51x51x51cm box (weird, why not 50cm?)

Simple. And may be stupid. I don't know.




--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "mkirda@..." <mkirda@...> wrote:
>
> I recall doing this in high school physics, dropping from the top of our outdoor high school bleachers (maybe 30-40 feet?). Lots of broken eggs. I recall using a thick cardboard tube with lots of foam in front of the egg and balsa fins (think ugly rocket), went nice and straight into the hulahoop drop zone and no breakage. My other design, putting the egg in a plastic pill bottle, filling with water, then putting in a cardboard box with lots of styrofoam peanuts also fared well.
>
> I recall having some fun at this event... I think half the class broke their eggs.
>
> Regards.
> Mike Kirda
>
> --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "Yuan Kang Lee" <ykleetx@> wrote:
> >
> > Bob,
> >
> > It is an official event for Division B for 2012-2013.
> >
> > -Kang
> >
> > --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "Bob Clemens" <rclemens2@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Don Steeb and I co-supervised this even earlier this year. The students gave it a good try, and there were more entries than either of us expected. The drops were made from approximately 15 feet. None of the entrants, even those few whose rotors actually helped slow the descent, achieved anything that could be considered a soft landing. Precise timing was all but impossible. Don and I never had our watches agree. We both thought that the foam egg carriers used really prevented egg breakage. As I recall we had only two broken eggs from approximately 12-15 entries.
> > >
> > > As far as the event itself is concerned we both felt it was ill-conceived. From 15 feet autorotation was just getting started just before impact, if at all, so the varied design approaches were hard to evaluate. Times were in the 1 to 2+ second area which made accuracy of timing difficult if not impossible. I wonder whether or not the perhaps delusional inventors of this event actually try it out first. Frankly, if the vent is still on the schedule, I’d like to see it dropped in favor of one of the flying events. It most certainly won’t win us any new indoorists among middle school students who struggle with it.
> > >
> > > Bob Clemens
> > >
> >
>
Received on Mon Oct 15 2012 - 14:47:26 CEST