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World Championship Chunk 2007: Torsion Class
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Once again, the torsion class ruled the field with massively long distance shots and the usually great Torsion comraderie.
Chucky was back and performed very well. On Friday, he shot a pumpkin that split in half 1500ft away, and the large piece was measured at 3080 feet! Torsion truly does rule! Sadly, this number was disqualified due to the pie, so on day 2, Chucky II shot 2152.93 into the wind, setting a new world record. On day 3, he shot 2095.19. New items on Chucky II includes the "whiskers", which hold the stop-band up and forward, allowing more arm rotation, and a lower angle. The lower angle is useful because Chucky is now so powerful, wind resistance has become a major factor slowing down the pumpkin.
Roman's revenge was back, and much taller! By lifting the rope bundle high into the air, they now get almost 180 degrees of pullback. To manage all that pullback, they need a special pulley arm to hold the winch cable away from the arm far enough to have the right angle for cranking it down.
On Friday, Roman shot 1853.75 ft. On Saturday they shot a bit less at 1549.41 into the wind, and on Sunday, the broke the 2000 ft mark with a toss of 2017.22 ft. Good show Roman's Revenge! You are nipping the heals of Chucky, with a great comeback after pieing all three shots last year.
What's a Punkin Chunkin contest without Bob Carbo and Onager! I don't know, it's never happened. Now dubbing himself as the "Grandfather of Torsion" at the punkin chunk with the introduction of Hatra Ballista in the 10 and under catagory, Bob and Onager both performed as well as ever.
On Friday he shot 1645.22 ft. On Saturday 1447.7 into the wind, and on Sunday Onager shot 1509.99. During the contest, Onager's scutula plates caved in, and he was unable to add, or remove torsion from the bundle. That didn't seem to bother him though. He just kept shooting during free fire and contest shots as if nothing was wrong.
Well, this isn't a real division, but why not add this machine as an honorary Torsion Class machine from the 11-17 catapult division.
On Friday they threw 228.8 ft. On Saturday 264.45 feet and on Sunday they added 4 garage door springs to get some extra distance and threw 407.17 ft. The Plague came in 5th place amongst a field of tension-spring powered catapults like Little Feats and Tremors. Great job guys! They are hoping that more 11-17 Torsion machines will show up so that a new division will start up.
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Contact: Team Tormentum Copyright © 2000-2022 Eric M. Ludlam All rights reserved. Twas' brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe... | Last Modified: 05/10/09 |
Chucky I wasn't put together fully till Saturday's contest shot. Chucky 1 shot 234.08 ft on Saturday, and 378.75 on Sunday.
This machine is "The Plague". Team Captain Cooper told me that, they are suffering from the same issues the rest of us had suffered from. Bent Epizygii. Hard to twist up, and a broken arm. This machine is currently sporting a Home-Depot lumber special bolted together at the last minute after blowing an arm just before the contest.
Mista Ballista returned to Delaware for the 2007 Punkin Chunk. We didn't get everything done that we wanted, but we had high-hopes to improve over last year.
Hatra Ballista Jr took its first trip to Delaware for the '07 chunk to compete in the _Youth 10 and Under_ division. It came down on the roof of Grandpa's van, and didn't hit the field till 7:45 am on Friday.
The 10 and under catapult category had three machines in it this year, and everyone I talked to was plenty friendly. The families had a tendency to disappear after their shots, so I didn't get to chat with them much.
Various notes from other divisions, and events of interest.