Race Day Schedule - Pack Meeting Thursday, November 15 - Cafeteria

(Tigers & Wolves should arrive before 7:00 to prepare for their races,

Bears & Webelos should arrive by 7:30)

7:00 Tiger and Wolf Scouts Space Derby

7:30 All Scouts Awards, Patches and Pack Announcements

7:45 Bear Scouts and Webelos Space Derby

8:15 Races End

Building the Space Derby ship is meant to be an easy and fun experience for the kids, especially our new Scouts, so don't worry about putting too much into it.  That said, we've learned a few lessons to help us all this year. 

PACK 33 TIPS

• Make sure to read the included directions (first) and the tips below (which will only make sense after you read the directions) carefully before starting, and check out some of the links at the bottom.  Not everything in constructing the vehicle is entirely intuitive or obvious.

• Put the little plastic straw on before you assemble the propeller - it's much easier that way.  Slide it on the straight end and push it all the way around the curve, but make sure to leave the gap open to hook the rubber bands on.  The plastic straw MUST go over the hook (not just the shaft as the drawing in the kit illustrates). This is where the rubber bands will hook on - the wire hook will cut the rubber bands without the plastic straw liner! 

• The propeller should have the rounded shaft-end pointing into (touching) the small metal bushing and nose cone. The other end has a little protrusion that faces forward and is designed to catch the wire when it is bent over. (For a visual example, see Steps 6 to 9 of the eTekGadget site).  Also, don't cut the wire too short - it can slip off the propeller catch.  Leave a little more than you think is necessary and bend it over to form an inverted 'U', with plenty to grab the prop notch.

• Do not glue the front nose/propeller assembly into the front of the space ship or put any glue around it - it needs to rotate freely and is pulled off to re-load new rubber bands!

• Groove out or V-notch the back of the fuselage so the dowel can sit in it without rotating, as it is the base attachment for the rubber bands to unwind and spin the propeller (don't cut the notch where the two halves join - there is a lot of force when the rubber bands are wound).  Do not glue the back dowel onto the fuselage - it needs to pulled off to re-load new rubber bands!

• The rounded end of the hanger (the plastic bullet-like piece which goes on the top) must point forward. The hanger should not protrude into the rubber-band chamber - it will interfere with the rubber bands.  The hanger must be very firmly glued on the fuselage.  Note the picture above also shows the rocket carrier attached to the hanger which allows it to hang off the line - this is not included in your kit and will be provided at the Derby. 
• The vehicle should be well-balanced to reduce drag on the line.  Test the rocket's balance by hanging it from a string through the hole of the hanger fitting. If the rocket is nose-heavy, carve or sand a little wood off of the end. It it's tail-heavy, remove wood from the tail area.

• Lubricate the rubber bands (spray silicon, ethylene glycol, castor oil, ...)! Pull the rubber bands through with a wire hook - you can make one from a wire coat hanger. Stretch them numerous times before loading, hand wind the bands numerous times before races (20 winds, then 40 winds, then 60, 80, 100) -- this helps relax the elastic properties of the bands and makes them  more pliable and durable (this is exactly why clowns stretch the balloons before blowing them up!).  Generally about 120 winds is the max.  Most people use two rubber bands at a time, sometimes three.

OTHER HELPFUL SITES

Below are some links to tips on how to build a good ship, and also an explanation of how the race is conducted.  There's a bit of duplication among the sites, but overall a lot of useful information.  If you come across anything else useful that you think should be added to this page, please let us know.

Buckskin Council Site - Lots of good info and help, but not well organized - hunt around

Pack 80 Site - Includes improved, enlarged assembly instructions

Pack 532 Site

eTekGadget Site - Step-by-step directions with lots of helpful pictures