The center of gravity is the balance point of the car. Think of the car in three dimensions. If you found the one spot inside the body of the car somewhere that you could magically balance the car on that point no matter which way the car was sitting, no matter which end of the car was up, that’s your center of gravity.
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- Pinewood Derby in Iraq Feb 7
Some military personnel held a pinewood derby in Iraq and posted the pictures from it. The track is fairly decent and some of the cars are amazing. I wonder where they got all the materials and kits?
- Maximum Weight Jan 2
I constantly hear from dads who remember from high school physics classes that mass doesn’t affect the rate at which something falls. If dropped in a vacuum, a bowling ball and a feather fall at exactly the same speed, so the same should be true of a Pinewood Derby car as well, right? If this […]
- Even easier race day weight adjustment Jan 1
It’s important to make sure your car is exactly 5 ounces on race day. But I’d suggest keeping it slightly underweight until you get to the race. It’s always easier to add weight than it is to remove it. Last year our Scout District race was held outside on a car lot in April. Almost every […]
- Why modifications are needed (Rules, Part 3) Nov 30
Other leaders and race organizers often ask me why a boy would need to modify the parts that come with their kit. Other than to gain an unfair advantage, why would someone lathe their wheels, change the axle slot location, or buy replacement axles? Wouldn’t it be best if everyone were using the exact same […]
- Rule complexity (Rules, Part 2) Nov 28
I’ve seen race rules that are 3 pages long and set in small type. They cover wheel location, building materials, lubrication, sportsmanship, and even list allowable construction methods. This is madness. All this complexity is going to lead to mistakes, arguments, and more problems than you would believe. When creating complicated rule sets, people tend to create […]
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