Balsa Has Been Framed

Well, yesterday (for me - I'm writing this on Wednesday but this won't be published until Friday afternoon when everyone's had a chance to test and I don't have to risk influencing people for better or worse. Perhaps I should say Tuesday) we broke our balsa wood frame, the culmination of a process that had begun a few days earlier. Sunday afternoon, we met in that room high in the corner of the Engineering building - 317 - that room which, if our teachers are to be believed, we will be considering our home by the end of the semester. But for now, it still felt like a bit of a vacation into another world - a world full of excitement, but also a world of danger - where else (except maybe Australia, where they say you are never more than 6 feet from something that can kill you) can you glue your eye shut, inadvertently make a permanently attached accessory of a piece of balsa wood, and eliminate unneeded digits - all without walking more than a few paces (excluding trips to the hospital afterwards) . Fortunately for us, construction went relatively smoothly. As you can see in the photo below, our frame consisted of an outer triangle frame, and reinforcing pieces within. On Sunday, in about 1 1/2 hours, we constructed the outer frame and added the major structural triangles (the ones made of the fat balsa wood). Considering that a fair accomplishment for the day, and requiring time for the glue to cure before adding a second layer, we left the lab and the fumes of CA that never seem to completely vent even with the windows completely open. But the next day we were back for more. This time, we used the remainder of our thick balsa wood to create the triple-thick stiffening triangle which would transfer the majority of the force from the block in the center outward to the side supports of the Satec frame. We used the thin pieces of balsa wood to add additional reinforcement, and placed leftover scraps of balsa over critical butt joints as gussetts. Then we were done - with the construction. I might have wanted to take the frame down to the lab, test it, and end the suspense, but we had to wait at least an hour for the glue to cure, and if you're going to wait that long, you might as well wait the full 24 hours. So Tuesday, right after our classes ended, we took our frame down to the lab and prepared for the worst, hoping to get at least 50 lbs. Imagine our surprise when the numbers passed 50 and kept clicking upward into the triple digits. The experience itself is impossible to describe - the report says that it took almost 4 minutes but it felt like less than a minute - a minute of incredible tension, the beating of my heart fighting for attention with the sound of balsa wood straining and threatening to crack. We thought that it was over at around 140, when the glue joints holding our top beam popped and left the center bar in a v-configuration. But by that time the pressure was enough to keep the top from falling off, and the numbers kept clicking up - 150...200...300, at which point the top of our frame was starting to slant to the side. But it still kept holding until 319.9 lbs, at which point the top bent off to the side and the pressure dropped to the mid 100's and the test was declared finished with a final amount of 319.9 lbs - they tell us it's the highest the school has ever seen. I still can't believe it - none of us had any building experience before. We went into this completely blind, and about halfway through the building we stopped calculating the sizes things should be and started just measuring them by appearance, then cutting and sanding them to fit. All I can think of is that it was a combination of our triple-thick bracing (which kept the taller single-triangle design from folding to the side) and the fact that our butt joints were all done at 45-degree angles rather than the right-angles usually used. But overall, it was a fun project, and I guess now I feel a little more comfortable going into the rest of the design competition knowing that we were able to at least build one thing, however small and simple it may have been. The design project seems rather far off still, although we are pretty much down to our final design decision, with the only remaining decision being about the details of the steering. I'll try to write a more detailed post about that process soon, as I promised in my first post (but right now test tips were more interesting and more pressing to get out while it was still talk like a pirate day)
So, we're celebrating our success, but of course, there's the possibility that someone may come along and beat us yet. We're crossing our fingers, but if someone does manage to do that, I congratulate them as well. I also congratulate Section B as a whole, who so far is maintaining an average of over 100 - Great Job everyone! And seeing as I'll know the final results shortly after I publish this, I'll update with the final results when I know them.
Until next time...

The Initial Structure Before the Crunch


Starting to Feel The Squeeze

"You Look Like You've Been Through A Satec"

Note the main breakage point at top left. If you look closely you can see how the wood started to splinter as the top tipped sideways. The most obvious damage - the separated joint at the top left, was the one that occurred in the mid 100's - that portion seems to have been superflous to the structural integrity of the frame.
These images have been scaled down in consideration for people's download times. You can see them in full resolution in the Pilot's Ponderings Photo Gallery

UPDATE: I have been informed that the results are in, and our record stands. Congrats also to all of Section B on achieving the highest class average - 106.80 lbs, and to everyone else who participated. Now on to the design competition.

Avast, me hearties!

Ahoy there. As some of ye may already be knowin', today, the 19th of September, be talk like a pirate day. It be a Wednesday too, the day of my First Year workshop, that hour per week designed to help us, still landlubbers on the sea of college life, find our sea legs to stand steady as Pilots at the University of Portland.. This week's session concerned test survival, an end toward which we collected the "13 commandments of test survival". As they may be useful to others, I present the results of our discussion here. But, as today be talk like a pirate day, I present them in pirate speak, the taking of a test allegorized as a stormy sea and, more commonly, a battle against that scurvy foe who be desirin' nothing more than to sink ye with a broadside from his cannons.
The two references to communism are simply the exception to prove the rule, and a test to see who remembers their cold war US history.

1. Be readin' the records of previous battles and talkin' with the old pirates – it be very likely they have fought and defeated t'enemy. Note especially those battles which ye have barely won and ye know will be hard fought if ye be fightin' the same foe again.

2. Know thy test – it is like the sea, prone to sudden and violent storms but navigable when carefully observed. Heed these words – the test is as thy enemy. If ye do not make note of every nuance of its behavior, it be boardin' ye when ye be least expectin' it, making ye walk the plank of ignorance and failure.

3. Stop yer procrastinating – now! Every minute ye wait without makin' preparations the enemy grows closer. Every minute ye wait before giving chase gives the enemy greater chance to escape.

4. Let yer notes be organized, and not scattered as the crew of an opposing ship on the sea after ye be firin' a broadside on them.

5. It be easier to sink a ship if y fire on them simultaneously from both sides, so work in groups. But if ye be true pirates, ye had best be plunderin' yer partners before they be plunderin' ye.

6. Review the logs after each battle – patterns may emerge to aid ye in winnin' the war.

7. Break the enemy through a continuous siege, not with a single broadside

8. Meet with yer captain frequently to discuss the course of the voyage and plans for the future.

9. Be communist in your studying – work in groups, each giving according to his knowledge and receiving according to his need.

10. Ye be not keelhaulin' yer enemy – fore to aft be only a suggestion. Some ships be more easily boarded from the stern.

11. Be anticommunist in your studying- have a list! Bring it to the HUAC meetings (Helpful University Academic Courses, not House Un-American Activities Committee).

12. Dead students write no answers! Make sure ye be gettin' yer slumber.

13. If all else fails, mutiny!*

*I suppose I should clarify this point a little, lest I be thought to be advocating violence against anyone. As the rest of this list is derived from an extended metaphor, mutiny could be interpreted to mean anything from dropping a class to transferring schools. But unlike the
rest of this list, point 13 is not derived from any serious point of our discussion in class, therefore it does not require a symbolic meaning, and may also be interpreted as simply the humorous play on typical pirate ways that I intended it to be. Whew...now I can breath easier. So much explanation for one line of text
Other standard disclaimers and restrictions may apply, see store for details, void where prohibited, or if transfered or sold. Offer expires January 17, 2038, like Google's preferences cookie used to before they shortened it to two years from your last visit.

Did anyone else notice that I ended up with 13 points on that list? What great luck will come to be all those who heed that advice.

First Post! (Second Week)

Well here I am, sitting at my desk looking back over what is nearly the end of my second week of classes here at the University of Portland, and my third week here on campus. It's been quite a change from my high school life of a few months ago. Of course, the nearest Catholic High School being 45 minutes away from my house, the dramatic reduction in commute time is quite an obvious shift, but that is somewhat superficial. Others may disagree, especially if they are not among that minority of teenagers who have yet to receive a drivers license and required the cooperation of others (read "Parents") for any activity. If I had to sum up in one word the most significant difference between high school, it would be "flexibility". You can do nearly anything you want, at any time you want. This can be a good thing - you can spontaneously decide to watch a movie or go for a midnight snack at 1 am on Saturday night. You can write a paper in an hour break between classes. But this can also be a bad thing. You can spontaneously decide to watch a movie on a Wednesday night. You can surf the web or play video games in an hour break between classes. At the risk of repeating what we were told over and over throughout orientation and first year workshop, you are in charge of your own time. Overall I see this as a positive. I have never found it easier to meet with partners for a group project, such as the Freshman Design Competition. What a perfect segue into another topic. And what a topic - I could write a whole separate post just on my experiences with the design competition to this date. Which, incidentally is what I shall do. I cannot think of a better way to build suspense and encourage you to come back. Stay tuned...