Punishing Pumpkins Through Engineering

By Keith Raynor
          The skies were alive with the chucking of gourds on the outskirts of Oakland Maryland.  The third annual Pumpkin Chucking Contest is just one of the festivities taking place during the Autumn Glory Festival held in Garrett County this weekend. 

A total of four gourd hurling devices lined the sprawling field with hundreds of spectators eagerly watching the pumpkins sailing across the blue sky.  The launchers ranged from a medieval trebuchet, centrifuge, and compressed air cannon. The organizer of the event is Chuck Trautwein and a member of the Garrett County Board of Education.  Trautwein said, “This is our third year for the event.”  The contest consist of two classes which are amature and professional.  Since the friendly contest has begun, more and more people have come out to view the orange gourds being thrown, shot, and slung into the air.

Two of the four pumpkin launchers were built by area high school students, Southern High School and Northern High School of Garrett County. Both schools are part of the First Robotics Competition (FRC) which engages young people in science, technology and engineering.  The program is supported by the Garrett County Board of Education, Beitzel Corporation, Pillar Innovations, and Wilson Supply.  When asked about his role with the students of Garrett County, Trautwein said, “I’m a lead mentor for the students.”  Southern High School students developed a centrifuge type of pumpkin launcher while Northern High School went with a medieval trebuchet.  The distance that the devices would hurl the pumpkins ranges from 100 to 270 yards.   Although the event displays the area student’s skills in engineering, they also encourage professional developers to participate.

One of the biggest pumpkin pounders is the compressed air cannon built by Phenix Technologies.  “The cannon will shoot as far as 600 yards,” Trautwein said.  The cannons velocity sometimes turns the gourd into pumpkin pie filling before it reaches the ground.  Phenix Technologies is based out of nearby Accident Maryland.  The company develops and manufactures high power test systems and components.   

For more information on the FRC team in Garret County please click the link http://www.team1629.com