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More Science: What other physical science topics are related to CO2 racing? Well, let's see . . . energy transfer, potential and kinetic energy, acceleration, momentum, Newton's first and second laws of motion . . . - |
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SOS: The Science of Speed curriculum includes an excellent introductory activity (Zoon Air Car) for exploring Newton's third law of motion. |
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Short Shot: Where racing on a shortened track is necessary, use 4-gram CO2 cartridges from Pitsco. |
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Safety is Priority No. 1: Use power and hand tools only with the guidance and supervision of a teacher or parent. |
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See the Champs: Wonder what it takes to be a winner? Go to the Showroom menu and see the fast and furious — TSA's national finalists! |
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Prototyping Pros: While the prototyping phase is often eliminated due to time constraints, it is an excellent learning opportunity and helps racers improve their designs. |
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Cutting Foam: The best way to cut polystyrene is with a hot-wire cutter. The heated Nichrome wire cuts through foam like a hot knife through butter! |
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Handy Gauge: For TSA specs, a Go-No Go Gauge enables quick checking of several body measurements. |
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Details Matter: A well-built car can be slowed to a snail's pace by carelessly positioned screw eyes. Make sure they don't cause the guideline to bind on the car! |
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Just Win Baby!: One form of cheating is encouraged in CO2 racing — cheating the wind! |
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Template Alternative: Use adhesive spray to attach blank-shaped templates to the top and a side of the blank. Drill and cut the blank with paper templates attached. |
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Drill First: Axle holes in the body blank should be drilled before doing any shape cutting. Otherwise, it's difficult to drill straight. |
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Waste Pieces: After cutting the profile view, fit the waste pieces and body back together and secure with masking tape. This simplifies the cutting of the top view. |
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Haste Makes Waste: Take time and care when using power tools to shape your car body. With soft balsa wood, it's very easy to remove more material than you intended. |
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Paint Adds Weight: Applying several coats of paint can add some weight to your car. Remember to plan for this. |
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Smooth Coats: Put your car under an incandescent bulb between paint coats. The warmth smooths the surface of the paint as it dries. |
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Fill 'er Up!: Want a super smooth finish on porous balsa wood? Before painting, use a wood filler and sanding primer to fill problematic end-grain areas. |
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Finish Protection: Clear coats provide glossy protection for paint and decals, but read paint labels for compatibility information. |
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Painting Caution: Take care when painting inside the power plant housing. Excess paint can prevent the cartridge from fitting properly. |
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Custom Graphics: Pitsco offers an extensive selection of decals and pinstripes specially designed for CO2 racecars. |
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Just a Lil' Dab: A drop of epoxy can help solidify screw eye mountings in soft balsa. But first, make sure the rules allow it. |
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Lube 4 Speed: Heard of dry powder graphite? It's a great lubricant for axles. |
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Screwy Eyes: Don’t use screw eyes that are partially open. Doing so can cause your car to detach from the guideline and slow or even damage your car. |
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Sweet Wheels: Custom wheels can really accent a nice paint job and give your car a look of its own! |
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Noses on the Line: Individual launch pods enable cars of different lengths to be aligned with their noses on the starting line. Older, one-piece launchers don't allow for this. - |
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Online: What exactly is the monofilament guideline? It's a fancy word for 50-pound test fishing line! Oh yeah, it also keeps cars from flying off the track. |
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TSA Bracket: Finalists in the national TSA CO2 race compete in a 16-car double-elimination bracket. |
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Rules: TSA competitive event CD (complete with racing event rules and specs) can be purchased online at the TSA Web site. Click the "Manage My TSA State & Local" tab on the right side of the page and then click the "Publications" tab. |
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