PINEWOOD DERBY
We had a PINEWOOD DERBY challege on the Sunday (22/6/08) at Nine Ashes at County Camp, open to any Cub who has built a car to race.
Well done to everyone who built the cars......there will be another County race in 2009 and some packs are intending to build tracks.
One Car per Cub.
NEVER HEARD OF IT?
It is a very BIG event in the USA amongst Cubs there, and is basically a wooden car which is raced down a track (which Wulfhere is building!!).
They take it very seriously, but being Cornish we can do it our way.
The founder of Pinewood Derby was a Cub Leader in the USA who in 1953 finding his son was too young for a Soap Box Derby (go carts to you and me), designed and organised an indoor version for youngsters.
It was not till 1997, when tracked down by a interested Cub Leader, that the PW Founder found out that over 30 million cars had been built by Cubs all around the world since 1953 and it was a multi million doller business....yet he did not feel he had lost out on a fourtune but glad that Cubs and parents were able to do someting together and have fun...thats a real scouting attitude!
Want to know more? try YOUTUBE and in videos type in Pinewood Derby and watch the fun, or scan the internet for Pinewood Derby and see how they make the cars.
try these sites for starters......
WIKPEDIA... serch for Pinewood Derby
www.derbydominator.com
www.abc-pinewood-derby.com
www.scoutorama.com
THE CAR
The car is made of a block of wood (not another material) which you shape into your car, and paint any way you wish.
The car including wheels can be no wider than
2 3/4" (7cm) longer than 7", 3" high. The inside back to back distance of the wheels no less than 1 3/4" (4.5cm) and there must be at least 3/8" clearance underneath (so it can fit over the track guide any less and it will rub and stop your car ). Wheel base
is to be no less than 4 3/16"(10.5cm).
Wheels...in the USA they use a standard wheel, so unless your trained adult in the house wants to purchace over the web, we will do it our way:
wheels to have a tread width of 1cm and to be 3cm to no more than 3.5cm in diameter. (raid your local £shop for cheap toy cars and use the wheels.
Axles. each wheel is fitted to the car separetly with a small nail which acts as the axle. You can 'polish/smooth it so the wheel free runs on it.
WEIGHT the whole car cannot weigh more than 5oz (speak to an oldie about ounces...i will add the metric when i've worked it out).
NOs
No suspension systems, or drive systems allowed.
Bearings (ie beads) washers on the axles etc are not allowed.
The cars run on gravity only.
Extras you can add bits to your car as long as the car stays in size and weight and the bits are secured...look on the web to see what other Cubs have done.
