Ceiling at Nationals

[chalker]

So you are the one whose Optics test I get to take . That is going to be the best part of my day . Unless I faint due to the heat and fall into the LS . In which case I think I would be killed by my partner, or walking back to Pennsylvania, so let's hope that doesn't happen.

Hate to break this to you, but I'm not running Optics at Nationals this year.

[earthbot25]

Has there been any consideration of placing a false ceiling just at the height of the rafters the way they did at the Twin Tiers invitationals this year in Athens, PA?

What did they use and how did they attach it? I've thought about it a little, but the ceiling is much higher than at a high school and we simply have less control over the site (it's pretty doubtful the facilities people will let us go up in a cherry picker to attach said false ceiling.)

From what I recall it was a square made from a border of 2 x 4's with a smooth plastic tarp filling the middle. As for the overall dimensions.. I'd have to say it was about 1.5 by 1.5 meters.. but don't quote me on that it was some time ago. It was suspended by several ropes. When it worked, it was very nice to use (except for having to use a pole with a sponge on the end at one point to poke our helicopter off of the top after it had flown above the false ceiling and landed) but overall it worked well.

[illusionist]

How do you tell when it has landed? Unless you're very far away, I'd think it'd be difficult to tell when a copter was sitting on top of the false ceiling vs. hovering just above it.

[earthbot25]

How do you tell when it has landed? Unless you're very far away, I'd think it'd be difficult to tell when a copter was sitting on top of the false ceiling vs. hovering just above it.

well for us, we weren't that far away, but the angle from which we could see it was still fine, and the tarp was transparent so you could see the rotors had stopped moving. I guess if you had to work with a higher false ceiling a transparent tarp would be necessary, and maybe binoculars?

[earthbot25]

oops double post sorry

[eta150]

I'd think that the Nationals ceiling would be pretty tough for a chinook team without the use of a false ceiling, since they've always seemed tough to keep stable without a ceiling to push up against.

[lucwilder42]

I for one would definitely advocate a false ceiling. Heck, I'd come the day before with a few able-bodied guys to help build it if needed

[Maletitas]

I wonder why tethering is banned...if anything, it worsens helicopter times. Also, isn't anchoring the helicopter in one spot different from steering..?

Is there any way to reverse the decision against tethering?

i think that allowing teams the decision to tether their helicopters would prevent luck from affecting the results as much. (and it would be much easier than constructing a false ceiling)

[wlsguy]

Look at the room for towers. It would be perfect for helicopters.
http://www.scienceolympiad2012.com/tour ... -building/

I pity you guys flying chinooks. Ours got tied up at the Ohio State Competition and came down in pieces and the ceiling had significantly less obstructions.

[chalker]

I wonder why tethering is banned...if anything, it worsens helicopter times. Also, isn't anchoring the helicopter in one spot different from steering..?

Is there any way to reverse the decision against tethering?

There was an extensive discussion about tethering amongst the committee members last year when we were writing the rules. It was nearly included in the rules (thus my brother's earlier confusion about it). I think some of the reasons it wasn't included difficulty specifying what is the mass of the tether versus the helicopter, concerns over how to judge when the helicopter finally touches the ground, and most importantly, concerns that it's an advanced technique that would potentially cause too many novice teams to get confused / poor results. My brother can likely chime in with more details, but the bottom line is the rules are as written, and aren't going to be changed at this late date.