Balloon Powered Car, Tips?

[attacklax17]

I'm working on a balloon powered car for an engineering project. I have a general idea of my design which I'll put together this weekend. But other than the basic concepts such as friction, weight, and force from the balloon, what are details you've discovered that work well? Thanks!

 

[Kero]

Make sure you use some sort of wheel bearing that keeps the wheels tracking straight. The biggest problem most people have with things like these is they end up turning sideways or going into walls. If you go mech E at USNA you'll probably do this or something like it again in the intro class.

 

[Kero]

Thought of another thing, use some sort of fixed nozzle, if the rules allow it, to control the direction of the trust from the balloon. (Straws work pretty good)

 

[2012Cadet]

Kinda off topic, sorry, but question just came to mind: I have an interest in pursuing an engineering degree if get accepted to an academy. However, I don't participate in any engineering classes or clubs. I have applied to attend 2 different engineering-related summer camps (USNA STEM and CalTech YESS). Will this detriment of preparation and involvement in topic of interest major affect me (i.e. not doing engineering related stuff in high school) if I choose to pursue an engineering major?

 

[Kero]

No, not at all, very few high schools really have any strong engineering study classes. I did a lot of carpentry and building in my younger days and liked engines. That helped me in some of the lab classes but not to an extent that I really had an advantage, other than being comfortable with a variety of tools and mabey being a little quicker getting things done.

They start everyone out with the assumption that you only know the base requirements to get in the academy.