OT: A challenge for Gags

Since 2001, over 90,000 cyclist's have joined Cycling Forums to discuss topics from general cycling to equipment, training, racing and travel or vacation destinations (especially in europe during the tour de france). We also feature an great deals in our online store, 100's of articles, classifieds and product reviews.

Gags, the challenge has been laid down. ;)

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080217/K021704AU.html

Ken Schellenberg, who has adopted the alter-ego on his company website,
wants to put a simple but highly engineered bottle rocket into orbit.

This could be impossible, but the CEO of AntiGravity Research already
holds the altitude record for boosting an elongated plastic pop bottle -
propelled by a bicycle pump, water and a bit of soap - into the air.

On Feb 20, 11:01 am, DaveB <dbuerck...@NOSPAMMOgmail.com> wrote:
> Gags, the challenge has been laid down. ;)
>
> http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080217/K021704AU.html

Weird, I was just thinking last night that it's time my 4 year old was
introduced to the joys of water rockets. Combine that with my wife
saying we should install a flying fox and a proper climbing wall in
the back garden and it looks like I'm^H^H my son is in for a fun
time! :)

Graeme

On 2008-02-20, Graeme Dods (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> On Feb 20, 11:01 am, DaveB <dbuerck...@NOSPAMMOgmail.com> wrote:
>> Gags, the challenge has been laid down. ;)
>>
>> http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080217/K021704AU.html
>
> Weird, I was just thinking last night that it's time my 4 year old was
> introduced to the joys of water rockets. Combine that with my wife
> saying we should install a flying fox and a proper climbing wall in
> the back garden and it looks like I'm^H^H my son is in for a fun
> time! :)

Don't forget to engineer the flying fox with a safety margin of a
factor of 5 or so. Remember, if it's not safe enough to take a
father, then it's not safe enough to take his son performing aerobatic
maneuvers.

--
TimC
Anyone seeking the "Relativistic Quantum Mechanics" soft option
course, may wish to leave now. -- Peter Robinson -- Intro lecture to RQM

"DaveB" <dbuerckner@NOSPAMMOgmail.com> wrote in message
news:47bb89ee$0$18606$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
> Gags, the challenge has been laid down. ;)
>
> http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080217/K021704AU.html
>
> Ken Schellenberg, who has adopted the alter-ego on his company website,
> wants to put a simple but highly engineered bottle rocket into orbit.
>
> This could be impossible, but the CEO of AntiGravity Research already
> holds the altitude record for boosting an elongated plastic pop bottle -
> propelled by a bicycle pump, water and a bit of soap - into the air.

Quote from site:
"With (my) rockets, there's no burning fuel. The pressurized bottle is 25
feet away from you and the pump, so if the bottle should burst it's a good
safe distance and at only 60 grams, if falls and hits anyone it doesn't
hurt."

Mmmmmm......When I pump up my rockets it is a case of getting the kids back
about 20m or so and making sure they are well away from the launching
string. I then use my track pump with the standard hose length of under a
metre although I keep safety in mind by wearing safety glasses and basically
facing away from the bottle so that it would only be my back that copped the
schrapnel from an explosion. Once I get to 100 psi or so I leg it back to
the kids and then get one of them to pull the string. I am pretty sure that
mine weigh more than 60 grams and when they come back down they are really
moving as the tail forces them to fall like a big plastic dart. I reckon
that I have had mine up to above 50m or so and it is actually pretty
impressive to see them taking off as all of the water pretty well dumps out
of the bottle in the first 5 or so metres!!!

I once had one of the fins fall off during the launch and that destabilised
the bottle and sent it back into the ground - thank god we were well back as
it was really moving when it hit the ground!!!

I might have to get it out on the weekend for a few launches as I haven't
used it in a while - it is normally good for a few laughs!!!

Gags

On Feb 20, 4:34 pm, TimC <tconn...@no.spam.accepted.here-
astro.swin.edu.au> wrote:
> On 2008-02-20, Graeme Dods (aka Bruce)
> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>
> > On Feb 20, 11:01 am, DaveB <dbuerck...@NOSPAMMOgmail.com> wrote:
> >> Gags, the challenge has been laid down. ;)
>
> >>http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080217/K021704AU.html
>
> > Weird, I was just thinking last night that it's time my 4 year old was
> > introduced to the joys of water rockets. Combine that with my wife
> > saying we should install a flying fox and a proper climbing wall in
> > the back garden and it looks like I'm^H^H my son is in for a fun
> > time! :)
>
> Don't forget to engineer the flying fox with a safety margin of a
> factor of 5 or so. Remember, if it's not safe enough to take a
> father, then it's not safe enough to take his son performing aerobatic
> maneuvers.

I'm sure it will have been well and truly tested by several heavy
buggers many, many times before my son gets a look in :) I'll probably
set it up so it can be used with just a bar to hold for the big kids
or with a harness for the little ones. I just need to find somewhere
in Perth that sells steel cable.

Graeme

Graeme Dods wrote:

> I'm sure it will have been well and truly tested by several heavy
> buggers many, many times before my son gets a look in :) I'll probably
> set it up so it can be used with just a bar to hold for the big kids
> or with a harness for the little ones.

Umm, generally a good adult flying fox is not good for kiddies. Of
course, devil is in detail. I occassionally run one diagonally across
front yard for kids in street. This one runs from fork in big tree at
front, high point, to fork in hakea near house, low point.

The secret is in adjusting the sag so kids slow down before they slam
into or hit the Hakea. Of course I also have a old single bed foam
mattress for them to drop off onto as the run ends over the driveway.

It is usually adjusted so the lightest kid just touches tree,but as it
is sisal rope, it quickly sags further.

As to wether a harness is needed really depends if then can hold their
own weight for the distance. Also, we started from a mesh on frame on
top of trailer, about 7' off ground and there wasn't a drop off on start
that put a lot of strain on kids grip. Only problem child was plumpish
and just didn't do anything really physical.

If you build it just to clear the ground for son, aka build it for him
and he doesnt achieve high speeds, and you're a wrestling dad and son
team (oaka okay wit rough and tumble), there shouldn't be any grief.
Aka, if he does come off, he'll just bounce straight back off and want
to go again. When he has positive experiences, then increase hight.

Alternatively, I actually have a swing seat for timid kids. Kids
actually had a choice of straight bar, a largish (16") ring or the seat.
Trios on the ring were popular.


I just need to find somewhere
> in Perth that sells steel cable.

Good hardware shop.
The proper pulley might be the hard part. Nothing cast and 2"+ wheel
recommended.

On Feb 20, 10:47 pm, Terryc <newsthreespam-s...@woa.com.au> wrote:

<snipped lots of good info>

I'm probably thinking along similar lines to what you're suggesting.
The height would be pretty low for the kids and it would be a
relatively short run with not too much of an incline, not the most
exciting thing for adults but I'm getting old and more sedate these
days! :) We've got a gentle slope along the side of our house and I'm
thinking of having the slide start at the bottom of the slope and
finishing at the top, that way you can finish fairly low to the ground
without having too steep a ride. I'll probably go with the harness
idea as my son has poor muscle tone (which the climbing wall will
hopefully help, if not, I'll definitely get some enjoyment out of it).
There's a bit of dual use equipment between the two activities too,
the harness (not on our home wall, but on big commercial ones) and the
crash mat (an old mattress covered in an old vinyl advertising
banner).

I can't help thinking that one of the reason my wife's so keen on the
idea is that it means we don't have to make a decision on what to
plant in that bit of the garden!

Graeme

Graeme Dods wrote:

> I'm sure it will have been well and truly tested by several heavy
> buggers many, many times before my son gets a look in :) I'll probably
> set it up so it can be used with just a bar to hold for the big kids
> or with a harness for the little ones. I just need to find somewhere
> in Perth that sells steel cable.

It's called rope in the trade. Try "Wire &/or Synthetic Ropes & Fittings" in
the yellow pages. The stuff they sell at hardware shops is not load-rated.

Theo

On Feb 20, 10:47 pm, Terryc <newsthreespam-s...@woa.com.au> wrote:

> Good hardware shop.
> The proper pulley might be the hard part. Nothing cast and 2"+ wheel
> recommended.

There is a place in Welshpool that I went to a year ago to get some
pulleys and cables for repairing a broken gym machine, I can't
remember what their name was exactly but it was something like T&L or
T&W or something along those lines.

I think I didn't find them originally in the yellow pages, or maybe I
did, but I might have been referred to them by someone else after
calling someone who sounded promising but they suggested I call these
other guys instead. I've just spent several minutes rifling among my
collection of business cards and was unable to find it, sorry. I
guess you'll just have to look up "Pulleys" at yellowpages.com.au and
start from there...

(Actually, I just spent a few more minutes looking around Yellow
Pages, I think that the company I went to was "The Lifting Company",
based on the location and their initials...)

http://yellowpages.com.au/onlineSolution_moreInfo.do?z=200053&listingPosition=13&iblName=The+Lifting+Company+Pty+Ltd&iblId=2428830&pageNumber=1&authToken=11839c0453b%7Cef72219c3c748cec3efcf1d72c066acc&st=cs

Anyway, they sold steel cables, pulleys and all that sort of thing. I
only paid a few dollars for a professional quality pulley made from
high strength steel and with proper bearings. It wasn't particularly
big, this little pulley is smaller than the palm of my hand, but
apparently it is rated for a couple of tonnes of load so it should be
ok to lift your kid and the car he's sitting in.

Also, they can cut the cable to length and put loops on the ends for
you to string your cable between two points.

Hope this helps...

Travis

Graeme Dods wrote:

> I can't help thinking that one of the reason my wife's so keen on the
> idea is that it means we don't have to make a decision on what to
> plant in that bit of the garden!

Plant a wattle tree. It will grow fast and he will soon be climbing on
it and in 10 years time, you can take it away and built a real climbing
wall {:-).

On Feb 21, 11:13 am, Travis <travismor...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> (Actually, I just spent a few more minutes looking around Yellow
> Pages, I think that the company I went to was "The Lifting Company",
> based on the location and their initials...)
>
> http://yellowpages.com.au/onlineSolution_moreInfo.do?z=200053&listing...


http://www.theliftingcompany.com.au/index.html

Yep, their website has the logo on it, "TLC", I'm now certain this is
the company I was dealing with.

They have all the pulleys and shackles and cables and stuff which
you'd need for putting together a flying fox.

HTH

Travis

Terryc wrote:
> Graeme Dods wrote:
> > I can't help thinking that one of the reason my wife's so keen on the
> > idea is that it means we don't have to make a decision on what to
> > plant in that bit of the garden!
>
> Plant a wattle tree. It will grow fast and he will soon be climbing on
> it and in 10 years time, you can take it away and built a real climbing
> wall {:-).

Wattle? Pfft! If you want something fast growing, plant a
poplar! ;-)

(Wattles make Springtime a misery for me!)


BTH

BT Humble wrote:
> Terryc wrote:

> Wattle? Pfft! If you want something fast growing, plant a
> poplar! ;-)

Boring to climb. {:-).

>
> (Wattles make Springtime a misery for me!)

commiserations.

On Feb 21, 11:20 am, Travis <travismor...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Feb 21, 11:13 am, Travis <travismor...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > (Actually, I just spent a few more minutes looking around Yellow
> > Pages, I think that the company I went to was "The Lifting Company",
> > based on the location and their initials...)
>
> >http://yellowpages.com.au/onlineSolution_moreInfo.do?z=200053&listing...
>
> http://www.theliftingcompany.com.au/index.html
>
> Yep, their website has the logo on it, "TLC", I'm now certain this is
> the company I was dealing with.
>
> They have all the pulleys and shackles and cables and stuff which
> you'd need for putting together a flying fox.

I might have time to nip in there tomorrow. Looks like a busy weekend
ahead :)

Graeme

"DaveB" <dbuerckner@NOSPAMMOgmail.com> wrote in message
news:47bb89ee$0$18606$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
> Gags, the challenge has been laid down. ;)
>
> http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080217/K021704AU.html
>
> Ken Schellenberg, who has adopted the alter-ego on his company website,
> wants to put a simple but highly engineered bottle rocket into orbit.
>
> This could be impossible, but the CEO of AntiGravity Research already
> holds the altitude record for boosting an elongated plastic pop bottle -
> propelled by a bicycle pump, water and a bit of soap - into the air.

Quote from site:
"With (my) rockets, there's no burning fuel. The pressurized bottle is 25
feet away from you and the pump, so if the bottle should burst it's a good
safe distance and at only 60 grams, if falls and hits anyone it doesn't
hurt."

Mmmmmm......When I pump up my rockets it is a case of getting the kids back
about 20m or so and making sure they are well away from the launching
string. I then use my track pump with the standard hose length of under a
metre although I keep safety in mind by wearing safety glasses and basically
facing away from the bottle so that it would only be my back that copped the
schrapnel from an explosion. Once I get to 100 psi or so I leg it back to
the kids and then get one of them to pull the string. I am pretty sure that
mine weigh more than 60 grams and when they come back down they are really
moving as the tail forces them to fall like a big plastic dart. I reckon
that I have had mine up to above 50m or so and it is actually pretty
impressive to see them taking off as all of the water pretty well dumps out
of the bottle in the first 5 or so metres!!!

I once had one of the fins fall off during the launch and that destabilised
the bottle and sent it back into the ground - thank god we were well back as
it was really moving when it hit the ground!!!

I might have to get it out on the weekend for a few launches as I haven't
used it in a while - it is normally good for a few laughs!!!

Gags

On Feb 21, 4:07 pm, Graeme Dods <GraemeD...@gmail.com> wrote:

> > They have all the pulleys and shackles and cables and stuff which
> > you'd need for putting together a flying fox.
>
> I might have time to nip in there tomorrow. Looks like a busy weekend
> ahead :)
>
> Graeme

So Graeme, hows the flying fox going?

Travis

On Feb 27, 1:14 pm, Travis <travismor...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Feb 21, 4:07 pm, Graeme Dods <GraemeD...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > They have all the pulleys and shackles and cables and stuff which
> > > you'd need for putting together a flying fox.
>
> > I might have time to nip in there tomorrow. Looks like a busy weekend
> > ahead :)
>
> > Graeme
>
> So Graeme, hows the flying fox going?

I never got round to it last week. My wife is nipping out to TLC this
afternoon to get the stuff if she has time, if not then they're open
on Saturday. A friend has the perfect end supports; old lamp posts. We
just need to work out how to get them here (I think it may involve an
angle grinder to get them to a manageable size)

Graeme

Graeme Dods wrote:
> A friend has the perfect end supports; old lamp posts. We
> just need to work out how to get them here (I think it may involve an
> angle grinder to get them to a manageable size)

Friend with a van with roof racks.
I can do 8m with rags on mine.