Fire and Fly

The Mission

Each team was asked to construct two devices. The first device is either an uncontrolled projectile or a controlled flying device. The second device is a launching device, attached to one of the two launchpads that must impart energy to the flying device and launch it in the proper direction. The goal of the competition is to get the flying device over a rope and as far as possible.

Design Challenges

The rope is located 30m from the launchpads and 5m from the ground. To encourage precision, a bonus area 4m in diameter has been placed straight ahead at 200 feet. Landing in this launch area will provide the team with a 50-foot bonus. Teams will compete in a double elimination to determine this year's champion. In each round, students will have 45 seconds to set up their devices followed by 15 seconds to prepare their devices for firing. After the flying device lands, it has 5 seconds to come to a rest. The team that shoots its flying device the farthest wins; however, if only one team gets their device over the rope, that team wins regardless of distance.