Transportation

[lllazar]

Lol just take the container to the testing area and take it out - assuming the tower is weighed within a few minutes of being removed, it can hardly gain any mass back.

[iYOA]

I know this was discussed before but anyway, how should I pack my brdige for the competition? I Have a cardboard box and two different sized plastic ones...and last year I heard something about rice???

When I test bridges at school I Leave the bridges in my locker and by the end of the day they have lost at least .10 grams

Rice, if it starts out really dry, is a....somewhat efficient dessicant; like silica gel, it will absorb moisture out of the air. However, unless you have a truely sealed/air-tight container, it - or silica gel - won't have any effect. The difference in weight between really dry (like on those 10% relative humidity days we sometimes get in Colorado) and humid - like 90% rel humidity will run in the 0.2 to 0.4gr range. A "dry" structure will come to equilibrium with .....wetter air pretty quickly; light balsa taking 5-10 min, bass 10-15; most of the change in the first half of the time window. Bottom line, unless your event is being run in a way that you can go from dry, air-tight box to the official scale in less than 5 min, you gain nothing.

Pack it to protect it for the trip. Couple foam blocks glued into the box so it can't slop/rattle around work nicely. Goood luck.

State for us is Saturday

here is some information on it from last year's forums. In general, this has been discussed quite a lot before so i am sure there will be a decent amount of information on this in the 2009 forums as well.

[deezee]

rice works really well for soaking up moisture too. I did that for bridges last year.

[Lowell]

We transport our towers in a plastic bin with newspaper lightly crumpled in a layer on the bottom and then around the sides. Seems to work well. Once we get to the event, we find a heat source, like a vent or radiator, or at least a hot room and store it there.

[deezee]

I also use those inflated air bags you sometimes get in a box in the mail to cushion.

[yousef213]

I used a rockband guitar box, they are about 55cm tall, about 25cm wide, and about 10cm thick making it a perfect fit for rectangular bases

[icyfire]

How much does moisture affect the tower? Should I be concerned enough to put a few packets of those water absorbing stuff in the tower box?

[thewinner]

How much does moisture affect the tower? Should I be concerned enough to put a few packets of those water absorbing stuff in the tower box?

Well, it can't hurt...
Unless they slide around and break your tower. Tape them down.

[havenguy]

How much does moisture affect the tower? Should I be concerned enough to put a few packets of those water absorbing stuff in the tower box?

I don't think that is necessary. My towers have never had trouble even when its been very humid or even raining.

Though, as thewinner said, it can't hurt to have them in there.

[anon y mouse]

For nationals, has anyone ever had an issue transporting a balsa wood structure by plane? I assume the pressurized cabin doesn't make a difference, but I figure it's worth asking. Thanks.