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tag wrote:The projectile just stayed in the sling so we changed the design. We don't get great height but it is very precise everytime so I'm not sure I want to change it at this point with regionals tomorrow

You're right. Don't change it for tomorrow, but post again if you need help and let us know how you did. Good luck.

tag wrote:...We have a hinged counterweight trebuchet with a wire "scoop" shape to hold the projectile (not a sling). We tried a sling with our trebuchet and it wasn't successful. Needless to say it doesn't have a lot of height in shooting the projectile, but is consistent with distance...

We're in the same boat, switching from a sling to a "scoop". My concern is with the energy conservation rule. My understanding is that, with a standard trebuchet, as long as the arm does not move forward at 90degrees or less, that this construction would work. That is, with a scoop attached to the end of the arm, as long as it does not move it forward at 90degrees, this would be permitted.

I have searched the forums, wikis, website, rules book - but do not see anything restricting/permitting a scoop as long as it meets energy rule. Can someone else share their thoughts on this and help put my mind to ease?

BMSscienceguy wrote: I have searched the forums, wikis, website, rules book - but do not see anything restricting/permitting a scoop as long as it meets energy rule. Can someone else share their thoughts on this and help put my mind to ease?

Unofficially, I'd think general rule #2 applies: http://soinc.org/ethics_rules

Unofficially, I'd think general rule #2 applies: http://soinc.org/ethics_rules[/quote]

Chalker - thanks for your input. I guess I'm trying to figure out if a sling is "officially" part of a trebuchet, and therefore required. The more research I do, the more I am convinced that it is part of an official trebuchet.

BMSscienceguy wrote: Chalker - thanks for your input. I guess I'm trying to figure out if a sling is "officially" part of a trebuchet, and therefore required. The more research I do, the more I am convinced that it is part of an official trebuchet.

And where in the rules do you see the word trebuchet mentioned?

Does anyone have any sort of numbers as far as their person farthest distance? I was testing today, and I was getting something close to 20m with 1kg 20g.

We have a scoop and were not penalized for it at regionals. We got 7th place and our first shot was a hit. Heavier weight counterweight wasn't as good but was because we didnt have the trebuchet set up right and didn't realize it until it was too late, hence the 7th place. It's not a matter of distance you can throw as much as accuracy. If you say to put the castle at 3m and hit it, that's far better than 20m and missing.

tag wrote:It's not a matter of distance you can throw as much as accuracy. If you say to put the castle at 3m and hit it, that's far better than 20m and missing.

That's not really true because a 1meter miss at 20m still beats a 3 m hit

Nice job getting 7th place Tag. Our Regional is this weekend. What were the weights and projectiles? Oyster is right about the scores. If you stay in the target at 3m you will get 3.9 points. If you miss a 20m target by 5m you still get 5 points. If you are going to states you should try and make the sling work. You'll get a lot more points.

The projectile and counterweights were odd numbers so I don't remember them exactly. I know one projectile was 42.1g and the counterweights were also with decimal numbers too. I have read and re-read this years scoring for storm the castle and don't see anywhere where it states extra points for distance. Scoring is total distance(td)-3 times accuracy + bonus points for hitting target. I would love a better explanation to understand how the scoring works with longer distances since it isn't making sense to me based on the rule book info for this year.