Before the rain descended, I was able to get in some test firings with the kids. Here’s some Quicktime vids with the results.
First, the good news. The potato cannon works as expected:
The catapult works, but will need some structural tweaking before I can ramp it up to full power (sorry for the sideways vid):
However here’s my problem; that test firing was on Sunday and it has been raining non-stop since then. I estimate I have at least another 4-8 hours of work to do before I can crank the catapult up to full strength. Given the catapult is 10′ tall, that means I have to work on it outside. Weather report calls for non-stop rain. Yesterday ended up being a complete wash, with today looking the same. Out time for the trip is in less than 30 hours.
Soooooo, think its time to punt…
I’ve decided to hold off on the catapult till next year. This gives me more time to work out the kinks, and keeps me from rushing things which can only end badly.
Aaron suggested I try a pneumatic cannon. If you have no idea what that is, its a potato cannon based on air power. You fill a tank with compressed air and quickly release it. The release is what actually fires the potato. Think I could build a decent hand held unit in one night, so I’m off to Home Depot now to snag some parts.
So the catapult is off line for now, but the saga continues…
C
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