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Air Trajectory for Science Olympiad

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Air Trajectory for Science Olympiad by mtairymd Follow Download Favorite

My 13 year old daughter designed this project for the Science Olympiad competition.
Although designed to meet certain requirements, it is a nice project for any STEM, 4H,
Boy/Girl Scouts activity.

This was my daughter’s plan; so I had to resist the urge to make it “better”. I did try to
convince her to add a few enhancements but they failed (see below). So the old adage
(KISS) still applies. My daughter and her teammate are currently taking data by
adjusting the launch angle and weight height. The results will be posted after the
competition.

Video of it in action

Air Trajectory for Science Olympiad

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Launch at Competition
 Air Trajectory for Science Olympiad by mtairymd Follow Download Favorite
Air Trajectory Launch at Johns Hopkins

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Step 1: Competition Overview

In preparation for competition, the teams will design, construct, and calibrate a device
capable of launching projectiles. At the competition, each team will be shooting at
targets 2 to 8 meters away.

Rules:There is a two page description of the rules/contest. Below is a simpli ed

Rules:
version.

Launching force must supplied by gravitational potential energy (PE) from a falling
mass (5kg max).
Gravitational PE must be converted to air pressure, which is used to launch the
projectile.
Max size: 1m x 1m x .8m
Mass must be detachable (impounded prior to event )
 The
Airlauncher must
Trajectory for have
Science a triggering
Olympiad device.
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Competitors must remain
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away from launch area during launch.

Tennis, racquet, ping-pong and /or plastic golf balls can be used as projectiles.

Competition:
Competition

Launch area is 1m x 1.5m.

The competitors must not be within 1m of the launch area while triggering the
device.
Targets are placed in front of the launch area at distances between 2m and 8m.
Shooting into a 1 to 5 gallon bucket gives bonus points.
As is typical with scoring, high score wins.
Final score = Best Close Target Score + Best Short Target Score + Graph Score –
Penalties + Bucket Shot. See website for complete list.

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Step 2: Build Overview

A weight (wood block) drops on a 2 liter bottle. The bottle is connected to a PVC pipe
through a exible hose. Air from the bottle propels a ping-pong ball out through the
pipe. Weight height and launch angle are adjustable.

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Step 3: Tools
Saw
Drill or Drill Press
Bits
Hole Saw (2 1/2”
Air Trajectory Diameter)
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Screw Driver
Scissors

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Step 4: Materials
Plywood: 34” x 20” x .5”
2x4 by 20” Long
1x6 by 18” Long
PVC Pipe: 1.5” nominal size by 12’
End Cap, PVC, 1.5” (x6)
90 Degree Fitting, PVC, 1.5” (x6)
Tee Fitting, PVC, 1.5” (x2)
PVC Pipe Cement
Pipe Clamps (x9)
Screws
Eyehook
5/16” Diameter threaded rod x 8” Long
5/16” Flat Washer (x2)
5/16” Rubber Washer (x2)
5/16” Wing nut (x2)
2 liter bottle w/cap
Flexible hose (2” inner diameter) – used old shop vac hose
Ping-Pong Ball (40mm)
Duct tape
Clear Tape
Paper Ruler
 Sharpie
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Step 5: Build

You will be building to this drawing.

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Step 6: Base
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Cut plywood for the base of the launcher. We used 1/2" thick to keep the weight
down. Keep in mind the overall size requirements (1m x 1m x .8m) during this step.

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Step 7: PVC Pipes

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Cut pipes as shown. You might want to hold off on the 3” long pieces until nal t
check.

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Step 8: Drill Holes

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Drill 5/16” clearance holes through the center of 3 of the 12” pipes

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Step 9: PVC Assembly

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Assembly the PVC pipes/ ttings as shown - don’t glue yet! For the launcher tube, feed
the 5/16” threaded rod through the holes. We used rubber spacer for the inner
interface. Flat washers and wing nuts were used on the outside. Note that this rod
also is used for the ball stop. Optional – add another through rod to the a few inches
from the bottom. This will give the vertical sections more support.

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Step 10: Weight

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Depending on PVC t, the dimensions might not match the drawing. Remove the top
piece and use it as a template for the slider holes on the 1x6. Use a drill and hole saw
to make these holes. Note that it took us two iterations for this step. For the rst try,
we had holes that were only slightly bigger than the outside diameter of the PVC pipe.
This seemed nice until the trial phase. The board would catch and not fall about 25%
of the time. We increased the diameter to 2 ½” and it now works every time.

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Step 11: Additional Weight

Attach the 2x4 to the bottom side of the slider for additional weight.

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 Step 12: Eyehook/Cord
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Add the eyehook to the top side (centered in both directions). Tie a cord to the eye
hook.

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Step 13: Hose

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Run a exible hose between the bottle and PVC launching tube. Duct tape was used
to attach the hose to the PVC tube.

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Step 14: Bottle Connection

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The bottle will most likely need to be replaced (good for ~ 100 hits). You can either use
tape or try the replaceable feature which we modi ed based on seamster’s
instructable. We chose the replaceable option. Connect the end cap assembly to the
other end of the hose with duct tape.

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Step 15: Failure

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I tried to make a tape free version using only ttings. Although it looks nice, the ow
restrictions limited the performance of the launcher. So, we were back to my
daughter’s original idea with a “Dad, I told you so!” thrown in.

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Step 16: Glue It Together

Once you are happy with the setup, glue pieces together with PVC cement. Note that
we didn’t include this step since the assembly needed to be broken down for
transport. Each joint was pressed together tightly and duct tape used for additional
strength.

**DON'T GLUE THE TOP SECTION - THIS PART NEEDS TO BE REMOVABLE SO

THE MASS CAN BE IMPOUNDED**

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Step 17: Attach PVC to Base

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Attach the completed assembly to base as shown with pipe clamps.

Add an additional clamp a few inches away from the 2 liter bottle. This does two
things: locates the bottle under the weight and helps with angle adjustment.

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Step 18: Launch Angle

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Again, we took the simple approach for this step. A 2x4 was placed between the
launching tube and bottle as shown. The closer the 2x4 was place to the bottle, the
lower the launch angle. Four board locations were marked off.

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Step 19: Weight Height

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A paper ruler covered in clear packing tape was added to the rear to mark the weight
height. An optional approach would be to use a sharpie to mark the tube directly.

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Step 20: Ready to Fire

Set the angle.

Drop the ball onto the tube.

Raise/drop the weight
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Step 21: Update 1 - Added a Trigger Mechanism

Add two eyehooks to the weight. Pull pin used for the release.

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Step 22: Update 1 - Added a Trigger Mechanism

A cord/latch was used from an old book bag to lock in Download
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Video of the trigger:

Science Olympiad - Air Trajectory (Weight & Latch Mechanism)

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Step 23: Update 2 - Video From the Competition