Omega Supremus in Solidworks

A while back I posted about putting Omega Supremus into Solidworks. Now you can see the animation video (I just learned how to do it, so I might as well post about it!) Enjoy.

Work on Supremus to Begin

Well it's now time to get working on Omega Supremus. Hopefully I can have something done by mid-May! I'm not sure if I can get to the CNC machine, but I sure can use a dremel and get in there real good. The weather is good so this is perfect for grinding outside! Hopefully my engineering prowess won't let me down when I send a duplicate back down to the high school for next year's races.

More Solidworks Fun

I have been having fun in my Solidworks course lately- learning new techniques in order to make some crazy parts! We are now getting into more advanced techniques for solid part modeling and here is some of the work I have been doing. My picture galleries are down so I will need to load images through blogger. Now that I learned about the trim command, I may just put my dragster into Solidworks. It will be tough but I think I can do it (multiple blocks then trimmed). If I can do it, then it's going to be really neat putting my dragsters into Solidworks. Dimensions, dimensions dimensions... I think it is about time I use my knowledge I have learned here at Penn State to design Omega Supremus (Firevird V) using Solidworks only with rough manual drafting.

Firebirds Receive Royal Treatment

In order to preserve the legacy that brought me into the field of engineering I took extreme measures to protect my C02 Car assets. In the back of Tranes and Lanes Hobbies was an entire section dedicated to display cases. I ponied up good money and got these display cases for all four of my firebirds. I will place Omega Supremus, the final Firebird in a case (base painted gold) once I complete it in the not too distant future.

Plexi-glass display cases are nice pieces and can be dusted easily. Free of dust, exposed to limited (trapped) air and free of pathogens, my C02 Cars will be protected for many years to come and can be passed down as family treasures. I love these cars and it is worth the money to protect them.

Pitsco Releases TSA 2007 Results

All I have to say is engineers have taken a backslide! The fastest time for high school dragsters this year was 1.152 seconds. At least 4 of us (including myself) in my former Engineering III class can beat that score by a mile (no pun intended). Some of the car designs are staple, such as the 1st place car in the 2007 finals. The 2nd place contestant featured grooves in the rear of their car; something the 1st place winner in our Engineering class did, but to a greater effect.




The rest of the cars appear to be mediocre in shape, appearance and performance (Cars 3,4,7,9,10,12,13,15, and 16 are all mediocre or subpar). I'm not sure what the judges were drugged on, but these cars shouldn't even be near finalist material.

Finalist #14- Pink Panther

Out of the bunch, car #14 is my favorite. Although it is a staple design, the constriction is well done, sanding is well done, top coat is well done, and the paints well done (but not to my liking, I would have painted it another color). Im not sure why the surface drag was 18 grams, but it seems like a lot of these kids did not use proper lubricant, did not assemble the wheels in a free-flowing manner, or just didn't design the cars right. It's a TSA National event; I highly doubt the cartridges or track were to blame.


So what happened peeps? My two champion cars would have fully blown you off the track! (Revenge of Firebird- 1.043 Rage of Firebird- 1.072). I'm slightly disappointed in the results this year, and I hope Engineers next year will come out with 16 awesome cars.

Murphy Defined: Rage of Firebird Roars

Rage of Firebird (Lane 2, Far Right)

Here are the pictures from the races yesterday. Everyone did much better, and our cars went much faster when we fixed the issue with the track. Rage of Firebird clocked in at 1.072 seconds, just a tad slower than Revenge of Firebird. Rage secured 2nd place in the races, and has more than pleased me as a racer and designer. In the high speed shot, Rage is in lane 2 (the farthest to the right), and broke the initial inertia so fast that it is just BARELY visible with a camera. I am very pleased with the result of all of my hard work, and I look forward to sending down Omega Supremus (Firebird V, the final Firebird) down to be raced while I am at Penn State.

Rejuiced A Go Go: C02 Races Tomorrow

Rage of Firebird is greased, lubricated and ready to go for tomorrow's races! Now that we have all found that there was a problem with the track setup, we know how to fix this issue, and shave off valueable fractions of a second for a better score. I will request to race the newcomer "The Hornet", which was built to replace the car that was destroyed completely in last time's races. Regardless of Rage of Firebirds performance, I am very proud of it and my work I have done on the Firebird line: Rage of Firebird pushed the envelope on design theory and idea.

Heat 2 No Go Jo - C02 Cars

Heat 2 for the C02 Dragster races also did not perform at tops. Students received times at about an average of 1.100 seconds averaging 38 to 41 mph. What is attributing to this issue? That is highly debateable among the students racing their cars. All can agree that something may be wrong with the track, but that is not what some students say who clocked in at Class A Rankings. The fastest car speeded in at 44mph, and was designed delicatly with inlets for air passage from the side.


If aerodynamic design is not coming into play, than there is an issue with construction. Many frustrated students remember their cars starting off fine for a split second, then swerving on the track at an angle either to flip at the end gate, hit the end gate, or to come back in even through the finish line. Some blame the problem on faulty hardware while others accuse others of their designs being the problem.


My car on the other hand went down the track smoothly with no noticeable wobbling, but I can't fathom how this car is going so slow when I put so much work and effort into it. What could be the problem? Friction. Friction by definition is a force rubbing against another force, with one of the forces attempting to oppose the other force from moving/accelerating. There could have been an issue where Rage of Firebird had too much friction between washers/spacers to the wheels, or there was too much friction between the screw eyes and the monofillament line. This can be fixed, with a bit of lubricant and a better spacing option that will further reduce friction. If that doesn't help the dragster race faster, then I did not repair it correctly, or the design could have been perfected a bit better.

Heat 1 Races Disappointing - C02 Cars

Engineering III Students from Nazareth Area High School began racing their dragsters today as tensions rose high with excitement and some worry. Students set up the track to the races, and cars could be heard across the hall in the cafeteria zooming down the lanes. Checking out the times and the racing, students were overall disappointed with the performance of the class as a whole.


Three cars managed to score "Class A" scores, two being shell cars and one being a hybrid. The "bullet" design has become a cliche, originally designed by Tyler Marshall of Bloomsburg Area High School as the TSA 2006 champion. Those cars did not do too well, the fastest "bullet" reproduction clocking in at an average speed of 41.14mph (km/h) with a time of 1.102 seconds (B class). The fastest car by far in the races clocked in at a speed of 44.24mph (km/h) at a time of 1.025 seconds. While some students were disappointed with a slow score, others could not get their cars to properly race down the track, earning a DNF (Did Not Finish) for multiple reasons, including extreme wheel friction or snagging of the line. The races could not be finished, so students will race again Thursday.


"Im going to fix my car" a student said after I offered suggestions on enlarging the axel hole inside the wheels. "I can get this to work down the track by Thursday". Students (many times) have been given loopholes, and taking advantage of this one is no different. I commented "remember guys, performance is not the end of the road. There is a construction and drawing grade".


Our heat will be racing tomorrow during the same block. Rage of Firebird is planned to be against Revenge of Firebird, who took second place last year and has been enhanced (legally) for a faster time this time around. If there is an even number, Rage of Firebird will face a rival C02 Car in the race, which is of the "bullet" cliche design. May the best dragster win!

Rage of Firebird: Final

Looks like I am about 2 steps done with Rage! I need to repaint over the nose area with some gold and add screw eyes, and that's it. I plan on adding laquer after the races when I have time to add it. Check out Revenge and Rage:

Rage of Firebird
Length: 241mm
Wood Type: Balsa
Weight (Body): 14.6 grams
Weight (Car): N/A
Wheel Type: GT-F and GT-R Models
Wheel Design: 4-Wheeled Car
Wheel Placement: Shell Wheels, Revealed
Body Interior: Hollow at Wheels
Body Width: 41mm
Nose Design: "Pronged" Firebird I Design Incarnate
Recorded Time: N/A
Actual Speed: N/A
Launch 1: N/A
Launch 2: N/A
Body Color: Gold
Wheel Color: not painted
Axel: Steel
Pin Stripe Color: Royal Red

Revenge of Firebird Refurbish

I've gone back and repainted Revenge of Firebird (III) into Firebird colors. When I send down C02 cars from college, I will paint them in Penn State colors. Take a look at this nice paint job! Rage of Firebird is 2 steps from the same completion as well, let the final paint coat dry then attach screw eyes. I'll post pics ASAP.

CNC Made C02 Car

I was browsing a few google results and I found something absoloutly spectacular. I've known for ages that C02 Cars can be made completely by computer, but I have never seen the process or seen it in great detail for that matter. Here is what Mier Plastics has come up with for a C02 Model. Designed in CAM, and the CNC machine is told what and where to cut (HINT- The car is TSA Illegal). Amazing. This totally beats hand carving and sanding by a mile (although this is tradition). If you want to see more pictures, see my Galleries section to the right, the pictures are under "MIERSDRAGSTER".

Revenge of Firebird and Rage of Firebird: Paint

I have Revenge of Firebird back in paint now to give it a matching paint scheme to Rage of Firebird, a red pin stripe (as with all firebirds) but a gold color. Rage of Firebird is about 85% covered with its first coat, and I will be adding final touches to it to make sure it will be ready for raceday next Tuesday (this date may change, with all of the snowdays). Revenge will also be given another coat just like Rage, with all of the platinum paint covered in gold and the blue pinstripes in red pinstripes. Rage of Firebird and Revenge of Firebird will be racing each other on raceday to see who will reign supreme.

C02 Dragster Races: What's coming

Here's whats coming in 8 days, I am so pumped.

Rage of Firebird: Paint

Now I have been a REALLY lazy bum about this but it's time to go finish Rage of Firebird today and get some paint on it. Among other things I want to get Rage of Firebird done so I have room for physics study. Yeah and that english paper too.... better finish that before Tuesday.

Rage of Firebird: Final Sanding Preparation

Rage is coming along very well now. I've left no room for screw eyes, so I'm going to have the screw eyes stick out from the sides. Presto! were back in business.

It's a good thing I chose the heavier block: Rage of Firebird weighed in at 14.7 grams as a body, the lightest I have ever given any Firebird to date. With wheels and axels she ways in at 36.5 grams, so we need to add some weight. I have axel bushels on the way to reduce friction, and also picked up a bottle of graphite, a dry lubricant that is legal for the races. I will add steel axels and washers for weight just as I did with Revenge. Not too many, but enough to just hit 50 gram, the minimum weight. I had a preminition the other day, that Rage of Firebird will do extremely well in the races. The car will break 1.000 seconds. It has been final sanded, and I will add coats of sanding sealer as soon as I build the rear power plant back up to meet the 3mm thickness rule. The car should be done and painted by about Tuesday or Wednesday.

I've also began a Wiki on LSRAV if anyone is interested. Head over to Wikipedia.org and type in search "LSRAV" to see what I have started. Enjoy! (PS, for these races I have another ACE up my sleeve....)

Rage of Firebird: WHEELS!!!

Wheels have a perfect fit. I am cutting it so close! 3-4mm from the power plant. Check em out! Just need to final sand with 150 to 300 grit, apply some sanding sealer, sand with 400 lightly, rinse, repeat, and paint. Then laquer the paint!

Rage of Firebird: Shaping

Final shaping of Rage. Did some carving and Rage is looking NICE right about now. Needs some final prep and sanding but she is doing good. I got bored in Calculus so I took photos "on desk" =D

Rage of Firebird: Final Construction

Just got done Rage's construction. Here are a few pics =D. I moved the rear axel forward to give the wheels more room.

Rage of Firebird: Top Cut

Ready to remove the top dimension. The wood under the paper is exactly what the car will look like, roughly. Dremel ho tomorrow! Its been 22 hours since I last slept, so I want some hay action. Till then folks!