Idea for "Practice Day" - Test Sled Teaching Tools

How to have useful construction workshops.
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pack529holycross
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Idea for "Practice Day" - Test Sled Teaching Tools

Post by pack529holycross »

As I read all the mind-numbing information on physics, COM, balancing point, friction coefficients, pendulums, and the like, it occors to me that I may be missing a great opportunity to impart some of this data in a practical way to the masses of our unit and the rest of the district and council.

My question that I pose to the group is this:

are there some "excersises" that I can create for the purpose of a practice day "demonstration" of the effects on the performance of a car for the following:

COM
Weight Placement
Balancing Point
Wheel Base
(any other demonstratible technique for performance enhancements )

I have read often about many of you who build "test sleds" to test theories about many of these concepts, and I would think that creating a conglomerate of the most useful ones would be a great way to actually TEACH this stuff, rather than just offer an environment for the race itself.

I would love to read about your designs for a "test sled" that can be manipulated during a teaching session to demonstrate performance enhacements. Thank you in advance for your input, as I think this could be a great tool for PWD "teachers" within each unit to pass on the knowledge to future generations.


Nicholas
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Re: Idea for "Practice Day" - Test Sled Teaching T

Post by GravityRacer »

OK, I'll take weight placement for 3.25 ounces, Nick.

Make two cars as equal as possible to each other, with the exception that the weight is in the middle of the car in one case, and mostly behind the axle in the other case. You can put the holes in the top of the cars, since they aren't going to be anything but test mules. If you do this with the 1 inch tungsten disks, the difference will be pretty spectacular, and would drive home the point about weight placement better.

This would also serve to show how the balance point moves.
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Re: Idea for "Practice Day" - Test Sled Teaching T

Post by ah8tk »

Maximum Velocity used to produce such a thing, it was their Pinewood Wizard car

Image

When I searched their site it is not listed for sale but you can see the attached page.

You can move the weight around and remove the “air brake” but you cannot change the wheelbase. It seems like a start.

Maybe Randy can answer if he still handles these.
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Re: Idea for "Practice Day" - Test Sled Teaching T

Post by GravityRacer »

WOW! Randy?
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Re: Idea for "Practice Day" - Test Sled Teaching T

Post by gpraceman »

I believe MaxV clearanced those out some time ago.
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Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
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Re: Idea for "Practice Day" - Test Sled Teaching T

Post by Stan Pope »

The MaxV-based test car should be easy enough to build. Rather than racing the clock, the suggestion early in the thread of a second car with speed comparable to the mid-range of the test car can run along side. Then the results of change are visual and more dramatic. Times need to be digested and interpreted ... an exercise better left to older youngsters.
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