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I'm still unsure about this and it might seem like a stupid question.
Can we use metal for everything except for the launching force? Does launching force mean the WHOLE device?

Yes, you can use metal for everything but the power source. However, I prefer wood because it's cheaper and easier to work with. The only metal parts on our catapult are the screws and the rods for the arm. Launching force means whatever makes the arm swing and fling the projectile.

Yeah, wood doesn't bend as easily as metal.

We did our first tests with our catapult yesterday. With both cords and with the arm pulled all the way back, we managed to put three shots in about a 25-cm radius circle about 8 meters out, with wind. (We had to move outside after we almost took out one of the lights testing it in the hallway.) Is a 25-cm margin of error good enough to be competitive at the state level or should we try and be more accurate?

AlphaTauri wrote:We did our first tests with our catapult yesterday. With both cords and with the arm pulled all the way back, we managed to put three shots in about a 25-cm radius circle about 8 meters out, with wind. (We had to move outside after we almost took out one of the lights testing it in the hallway.) Is a 25-cm margin of error good enough to be competitive at the state level or should we try and be more accurate?

You always want to be more accurate...

It doesn't matter how competitive the state. Although in pretty much any state that is not good enough for first and probably not a top 3.

Whoops! I meant 15 cm, not 25. So my question would be, "Is a 15cm margin of error competitive at States?" (Since the wind wasn't very constant, we're guessing it messed with our consistency about 10 cm. I'll be more sure once we can test in the gym without fear of getting hit by basketballs.)

10 cm is actually good, its top 5 for sure

AlphaTauri wrote:I'll be more sure once we can test in the gym without fear of getting hit by basketballs.)

The trick is to make the basketball players scared of getting hit by flying projectiles.

Since the gym is where most tournaments hold trajectory, I'd wait to become overconfident until you test it there.

10 cm = 100 pts, so yes, that is very competitive. I don't recall what score we took state with last year, but I do know we got first and it was somewhere in the 100 range.

And be sure to test at different distances. It's great if you can hit a certain target distance, but it only ensures that that is not the distance it will be at state. I'm sure you know that already, though.

Do you mean 10 cm off on the first shot, or after both shots?

I better clarify what I meant. 10 cm margin of error means we set it at X and shot 1 goes 400cm right on the line, shot 2 goes 390 and 5cm left, and shot 3 goes 405 and 10 cm right.