Thursday, November 11, 2010

New England: Land of Innovative Pumpkin Hurlers

A nice wrap-up story about the strong showing by two New England teams at the World Championship Punkin Chunkin.

Members of the Launch-Ness Monster team pose with their pumpkin-tossing trebuchet at the World Championship Punkin Chunkin contest in Delaware

Nasuha Telegraph:
Area hurlers squash competition --
Two Nashua-area pumpkin hurlers didn’t break any records this month at the World Championship Punkin Chunkin contest. But they did steal the show, the teams said, as they returned from the 25th annual competition, held in Bridgeville, Del.

The American Chunker, an air cannon from Nashua, placed fourth in the competition’s air cannon division, reaching 3,535 feet in its second attempt. But the company drew more attention for its sleek design and corporate sponsorship from the Shipyard Brewery in Portsmouth...

And in the trebuchet division, the Launch-Ness Monster, built by a team from Merrimack, placed sixth after its best shot, of 1,618 feet, was disqualified due to a technical issue. But the 34-foot-tall, 11,000-pound machine garnered far more praise for its advanced, steel-framed design, said lead engineer Jay Goodell.

Goodell and his co-designer Michael Powers, both 27, incorporated several elements, including a rolling throwing arm and a curved weight track, that have never before been used in pumpkin chunking competition, they said...
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related:
Granite Greek:
Two 4th, one 5th-place finish for NH teams at Punkin Chunkin contest