Burlington was super fun this year. They were pretty sure it was a record crowd. My new machine, UFO 4.0, sucked though. Our main problem was that we got started on the new machine so late we had virtually no time to practice. We hadn't had a single successful throw before the Pitch and we got there so late on set-up day that we didn't get a test shot fired. Our machine had a bunch of little problems that are super easy to fix, but we didn't have time/parts on site the day of the Pitch to fix them. As a result we had two options:
1. Use only 100 lbs of CW and throw about 60 feet
2. Add CW, have the pumpkin come out too early, and roll the pumpkin backwards
We ended up sort of going back and forth between the two. It was just sort of frustrating because I could've ran to my dad's house for an hour and been able to make some quick fixes that would've let us use 200 lbs and throw a lot further. We had fun either way and we already know how to fix all the problems. We also got the People's Choice Award again which is always my main goal for the day anyway.
As for the new machine, I call it a DPT (Disc-Powered Trebuchet), but that's mostly because I wanted to see if I could get the newspaper to print the phrase "DP Trebuchet". Basically the weight drops straight down. A cable is attached from the weight, running through a pulley, and then wrapping around a disc. The disc turns as the weight drops and the arm is attached to the disc. It kind of gives all the benefits of a whipper (in theory), but with a straight weight drop. With 100 pounds it was pretty weak, but when we upped the CW to 200 pounds the arm really flies around. I've actually compared videos and the new machine with 200 lbs has a faster moving arm than the old UFO whipper did with 400 pounds. That machine threw almost 500' at its best, so there's no reason this new one can't throw 500' with only 200 lbs of CW. If we up the CW to 400 or 500 lbs . . . who knows? Like I said, we already know how to fix all the problems so expect us to have the kinks worked out next year and throw much, much further.
Video of our first forward throw -
http://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=101 ... 5507912623