"Sling Shot" Pumpkin Launcher

"Sling Shot" Pumpkin Launcher FARM HOME Novelty Items 27-6-27 There are all kinds of pumpkin shooters out there but teacher Norman Wilson and his physics class at Pana High School, Pana, Ill., have come up with a new idea. He and his students recently built a "sling shot" pumpkin launcher that shoots pumpkins with greater accuracy than ever before. "We built it to compete in the Illinois Punkin Chuckin' Meet sponsored by the Morton, Ill., Chamber of Commerce," says Wilson. "We managed to shoot our pumpkins 763 feet to hit an old car that had been placed there as a target, breaking its windshield. The next closest competitor was 400 ft. away." The launcher works something like a sling shot, using a 20-ft. length of PVC pipe as a barrel. Elastic bands made of amber latex tubing are stretched from the outside base of the barrel, then over a series of pulleys down the center of the barrel where they're attached to a basketball net. The net is closed at the bottom to provide a pocket for the pumpkin. A cable is attached to the net containing the pumpkin. To stretch the elastic bands, Wilson and his students use an exercise bike that powers a winch. The pumpkin is fired by pulling a pin. The launcher can be equipped with anywhere from 12 to 36 of the elastic bands. It takes about 2,000 lbs. of pressure to pull down on 36 bands. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norman Wilson, Pana High School, Pana, Ill. 62557 (ph 217 562-3931).

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