The final build of the 5th series of Scrapheap Challenge is a monstrous face off against Series 4 champs, The Cat-alysts, and the current champs, the Barley Pickers. Their task is to build a machine that is capable of hurling a Mini the farthest. Each team will have 2 tries to get a Mini to fly the farthest. Obviously, the furthest flung car will be the Champion of Champions for this year. This build is so difficult that the teams will be given 2 days (20 hours) to do their respective things and they will also be given a crane to help move around chunky bits.
 

The Cat-alysts are making a big catapult. The car will sit atop a trolley that will ride up a ramp. The trolley will crash against buffers at the end of the ramp and the momentum will carry the car forward and through the air. They will use a truck to pull the trolley down the ramp and a sheer pin will snap off freeing giant elastic bands to do their thing. What will they use for a ramp? How will the trolley stay on the ramp? Where do you find elastic bands big enough to ping a car skyward? It's straightforward enough but still a major undertaking.

The Barley Pickers are going to get medieval on their Minis. They will build an absolutely monstrous trebuchet. Essentially, a giant weight is on one end (and raised heavenward) with the car on the other end of a pivoting arm. As the weight falls, the arm comes down and the car goes up and over, flinging it at the horizon. This is going to have to be big...really BIG. And sturdy. The forces that will be exerted all over the trebuchet will be massive. It will be relatively easy to build BUT because of it's size, it will make things very difficult.
 
 
 

The Cat-alysts TC Richard Little	The Barley Pickers TC Paul Denney
The Cats Car Catapult	The Pickers Car Chucker
Not long into the day and a "fight" breaks out over some steel	The Barley Pickers are making their trebuchet out of wood
The Cats take delivery of a trailer chassis as a launching ramp	The Picker's trebuchet base is as large as the entire build area
The crane brings in a skip to be used to hold ballast	Expert John Roberts
Just a small fire. Anyone want a hamburger?	The Pickers steal some of the Cats steel for reinforcement
You've heard of a model citizen? Meet a model trebuchet	The Pickers assemble one of two GIANT A-frame supports
The Cats get ready to put their trolley onto the ramp	Day Two and the Picker's attach a metal cap to their 2nd A-frame
The Cats decide to extend the length of their ramp	The Pickers needed just a little help raising their 30' tall A-frames
The stands go in for the monorail which will keep the trolley on track	Lisa gets to try out the trolley first hand. That look doesn't say 'Whee!'
The Cats need to put in a stand to keep their ramp inclined	Oops! A low speed test of the trolley broke the welds of the buffers

back