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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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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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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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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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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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Lube 4 Speed: Heard of dry powder graphite? It's a great lubricant for axles. |
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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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Rule Book: TSA competitive event guidebooks (complete with racing event rules and specs) can be requested online at the TSA Web site. Click the Competitions tab at the top of the page and then select Purchase Competition Rules from the drop-down list. |
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