Rotor Egg Drop B

Locked
Jim_R
Admin Emeritus
Admin Emeritus
Posts: 283
Joined: May 13th, 2001, 4:22 pm
Division: Grad
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by Jim_R »

Discussion for Rotor Egg Drop B

Rotor Egg Drop Wiki
2012 Thread
-The path of the Administrator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.

-Nothing\'s gonna get deleted. We\'re gonna be like three little Fonzies here. And what\'s Fonzie like? Come on, what\'s Fonzie like?
-Cool?
-Correctamundo. And that\'s what we\'re gonna be. We\'re gonna be cool. Now, I\'m gonna count to three, and when I count three, you let go of your mouse, and back away from the keyboard. But when you do it, you do it cool. Ready? One... two... three.
Itsanthonguise
Member
Member
Posts: 26
Joined: December 22nd, 2011, 1:25 pm
Division: B
State: CA
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by Itsanthonguise »

Hi guys, do any of you have any tips for me?
2012 Events
State: Shock Value - 8th place
Nationals: Helicopter Egg Drop - 6th place
2013 Events
Regionals:
Helicopters-2nd place
Rotor Egg Drop-3rd place
State:
Helicopters:-5th place
Rotor Egg Drop-5th place
Nationals:
Helicopters:-17th place
Rotor Egg Drop-46th place
jander14indoor
Member
Member
Posts: 1653
Joined: April 30th, 2007, 7:54 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 29 times

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by jander14indoor »

Kind of generic, works better if you have more specific questions.

But, as it is a new event, here's some pointers.

The science behind this is aerodynamics, the basic principles behind Wright Stuff, Balloon Launch Glider, Helicopgter Duration & Gliders all broadly apply.

Keep it LIGHT. You are trying to minimize descent rate to reduce impact to the egg, that's the same as maximizing flight time. KEEP IT LIGHT. For everything that flies weight is critical to increasing flight time.

The rotor is a wing flying in a tight circle. This is the same thing as a propellor. See last years helicopter discussions for hints and tiops on rotor design and construction. You'll need to maximize rotor size to minimize descent, challenge will be to do so with minimum weight gain.

Like the other flying events you are trying to get the most flight out of limited energy. You need to really understand that your ONLY source of energy is the potential energy from your drop height. You have to use it efficiently if you want to maximize flight time.

Since you are starting from a complete stop, there is one big difference from helicopter rotor design. Lower pitch results in slower flights, but take longer to spin up. Higher pitch spins up faster, but doesn't slow as much. Depending on drop height, you may not reach full speed with a low pitch before hitting the ground so may still be dropping fast. Optimum pitch will be a tradeoff and require experimentation to figure out.

This a need to spin up also affects design. It takes energy (altitude) to spin up the egg, so why do it? You should have the rotor spin independant of the rest of the device.

So, start designing, start experimenting, and start modifying.

Oh, suggestion on the test process. You don't need to risk an egg every flight. Use an equivalent mass to the egg, similar shape for dynamics. Judge design by flight time and maybe speed (if you can measure it) at impact. Do most of your testing that way and then confirm with eggs when you are satisfied.

Jef Anderson
Livonia, MI
CMShong
Member
Member
Posts: 5
Joined: September 16th, 2012, 7:45 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by CMShong »

*Deleted*
Last edited by CMShong on November 19th, 2012, 8:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1st for rotor egg drop at nationals 2011-2012
2nd for reach for the stars at states 2011-2012
5th for storm the castle at states 2011-2012
1st for helicopter for states 2011-2012
hebblethwaite
Member
Member
Posts: 2
Joined: September 25th, 2012, 8:24 pm
Division: C
State: NE
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by hebblethwaite »

Do you have any ideas on how to or what materials to use on the rotor egg drop.
User avatar
InfiniCuber
Member
Member
Posts: 171
Joined: October 20th, 2012, 6:15 am
Division: C
State: IN
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by InfiniCuber »

hebblethwaite wrote:Do you have any ideas on how to or what materials to use on the rotor egg drop.
I remember last year I helped my bud a lot in this event... I agree on the materials he used, they were logical. Just use some thin balsa wood and make the thing with that and super glue (don't use gorilla glue) and use Mylar for the rotor covering things.... :D
Scioly isn't a club, or an organization. It is a lifestyle.
~Munster High School Science Olympiad Captain 2016~
JimY
Member
Member
Posts: 81
Joined: May 14th, 2001, 6:54 pm
Division: Grad
State: IN
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by JimY »

I built a couple prototypes for this event last season, as it was a trial event in Indiana. I can't say they were that great, as drop times from 6 meters were not that high. We used golf balls instead of eggs for testing the devices, even though they are about 10 grams lighter. You could add a 10 gram lump of clay to one side of the ball, but we didn't do that. Ours had either 6 or 8 blades. As Mr. Anderson says, you need to experiment with the blade pitch to get the slowest descent time. Our builds were tested three times in competition (two for two teams at our regional and one at state), and while the shell cracked two of three times, it did not leave a wet spot on a paper towel. One time, the egg did not crack. So, it is possible to not get stuck in tier 2. Maybe this part will end up being quite easy, especially if you have some good ideas to start with and spend enough time working on it.

I don't have a copy of the rules for the event this season, since I do C division instead of B. One construction rule that bugged me like crazy last season was regarding placement of the egg. We used the Indiana rules, which at one point said "The bag will be mounted or suspended from the bottom of the helicopter device in such position that the egg it contains is the first thing to contact the floor." I saw a draft set of national rules for the event over the summer, and they had the same sentence. I could 't believe it. So, can someone quote for me what the final rules say on this? I hope that the first part of the sentence was simplified, as to me, the second part (beginning after "in such position") is the part that really matters.
qiqishi
Member
Member
Posts: 2
Joined: October 18th, 2012, 8:05 am
Division: B
State: MO
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by qiqishi »

Can anyone help me with what designs I should use for the propellers?
User avatar
InfiniCuber
Member
Member
Posts: 171
Joined: October 20th, 2012, 6:15 am
Division: C
State: IN
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by InfiniCuber »

qiqishi wrote:Can anyone help me with what designs I should use for the propellers?
Well i know that some sorta square wings in the aerofoil shape works (curve the rotor). Cover it in Mylar and it works pretty well. Make it out of balsa. This worked well last year as my friend got 1st at state. But it could definitely be improved on, so try different variations.
Scioly isn't a club, or an organization. It is a lifestyle.
~Munster High School Science Olympiad Captain 2016~
e_sully
Member
Member
Posts: 2
Joined: September 5th, 2012, 8:32 am
Division: C
State: OH
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Rotor Egg Drop B

Post by e_sully »

Be very careful with laminated rotors that they are not arched, or at least have a solid bottom. A curved rotor will act like a parachute and can get you DQ'd.
Locked

Return to “2013 Build Events”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests