Wheels-On-Air Thanks You

Wheels-On-Air would like to thank you all for this experience; you guys were more than worthy competition.

-----Future balloon cars to be still tested and then finally manufactured-----

;D

What An Experience (RACE DAY!)

Wow, the race day was very entertaining, i don't know about you guys but Wheels-On-Air found it to be a wonderful experience, and it has taught us a lot about how important physics is in playing a part in making an air-powered balloon car, and how even the slightest modifications can change how the balloon car performs. First and foremost, congratulations to Ludwig, Kelly and Rachel for exceeding 5 meters and making it all the way to an astounding 16 m. (Ludwig) and 13 m. (Kelly and Rachel), it was very thrilling to watch. Also, congratulations to Cyro because we're pretty sure his car had the highest average speed when crossing the 5 meter mark. Second of all, we would like to thank our teacher Mr. P for being merciful and gracious in reducing the requirement to only 3 meters =].

As for Wheels-On-Air's balloon straw car (now officially named the Straw-Mobile) we found it disastrous. We thought that we had our car under control and that it would not swerve like crazy during race day, but we were wrong. Maybe it was the way we positioned our car, because the balloon was leaning towards a certain side or the bottle cap wheels were a bad choice, but we felt that if we used both toy wheels it would make the car too heavy; we tested it out so we decided to try a mixture of both bottle cap wheels and toy wheels.

Now for more details regarding our trial runs. The first two were a complete mess. We remember distinctly that in the first run the car swerved and went out of control from the get-go, and headed towards the office's outer window in the front voyeur; it did not past the 5 meter mark, let alone the 3 meter mark. The second trial (not too clear or sure) we believe ended up swerving towards the right side in the front voyeur this time, and didn't pass the 3 meter mark either. The third trial was the most successful (although later on after we finished the third trial one of our peers gave us constructive criticism on how we should've blew up our balloon more because it was leaking air). The saying "third time's the charm" definitely applied to us here. Boy, Wheels-On-Air was beyond relieved to see our Straw-Mobile pass the 3 meter mark travelling fairly straight. Although it succeeded in all those things and on top of that had a fairly fast speed, we were disappointed because it failed to reach the 5 meter mark also (we think it was about 3.3-3.5 meters it achieved).

Now, what would we do differently for next time? As far as we're concerned, we would definitely change the wheels on our cars and try something such as styrofoam; which is light but if it would aid our car in travelling in a straight line without turning we have yet to test that out. Aside from the wheels, we will continue sticking with our model because we design our balloon cars to be extra light to go fast; it is not built for distance.

Overall, the race day as we've stated before was an amazing experience and Wheels-On-Air hopes that you all had as much fun as we did.

Wheels-On-Air Plans Third Model Trouble

So Wheels-On-Air's third model is performed (reached about 7.6 meters), but the problems lies with reaching the 12 meters. We do not know how to modify it so that it reaches the 12 meters. We are considering shrinking down the torso (egg carton) but our balloon won't be stable this way. It goes relatively slow, but steady and straight unlike our previous models. Further updates regarding our opinion on race day.

Problems With The Wheels Second Model

So Wheels-On-Air's second model (the one with the bubble tea straw and 4 wheels attached to the side) has been tested, and like our first model, it has problems going in a straight line. When we tested it, it goes straight and then takes a sharp turn whether it be left or right into a wall for some reason. It could be the wheels, so we'll continue trying to add heavier wheels or lighter it. As for the speed, it meets our expectation and after more testing we will update you on how it all unravels.

Wheels-On-Air Plans For The Competition

So the ultimate race is coming up, and Wheels-On-Air wishes everyone good luck. For now we are going to use the model we previously stated, with the bubble tea straw and set of heavy wheels. However, we are still experimenting through different sizes of straws along with different sets of wheels (plastic, wood etc.) to see what one will be sure to have the fastest record in completing the 5 m. dash race and to see how straight it performs. Looking forward to win, updates next week regarding it and our opinion good luck to you all.

Wheels-On-Air's Final Model

Wheels-On-Air is proud to share it's new... let's call it a backup plan. Despite out previous models, we are currently adding on finishing touches to another new model. This one consists of it's torso as an egg carton, carved out wheels (made out of wood), and it's axles supporting the wheels as a regular barbecue stick (shape like a toothpick but longer and slightly as think as a straw). On the egg torso, the straw will be glued securely on it and using a huge balloon that has superb air capacity, we hope for this one to not excel at a fast speed during the race, but excel a long distance (the 12 m. mark we believe it was) to get the bonus marks. Though we are still hesitant on what one to use, we'll leave it as a surprise towards race day, see you there.

Wheels-On-Air's Newly Announced Model

Wheels-On-Air is proud to announce our new model. We have yet to try it out, but instead of using heavier wheels we decided to use a simple bubble tea straw for the body (yes that's it) along with the wheels we have stuck with from the beginning. So to give you an image there's 6 parts in total, the 4 wheels attached to the sides of the bubble tea straw (2 on each side) and the straw itself along with the balloon attached at the end back of it. Wheels-On-Air Corp. will let you know how this turns out a.s.a.p.

Wheels-On-Air's Minor Problem

Recently our corporation has tested our new model out (which is our logo as well), we are sad to say that it hasn't been going as well as planned. Our model is fast for sure, but it doesn't quite go straight. It has gone in random directions, and I think the problem may have been because of our wheels. We thought the wheels would be heavy enough considering the body part isn't exactly heavy but we were wrong. We will have to test our model out with other sets of wheels and see how well that works. As soon as our model works fine and meets our standards to fit your needs, Wheels-On-Air will let you know.

Wheels-On-Air Logo

Wheels-On-Air Corp. First Global Announcement

Wheels-On-Air has decided on it's first idea towards making a balloon powered car. We will make the car with a typical straw laid on a rectangular cardboard piece cut out and a heavy set of wheels to stabilize the car. Wheels-On-Air believes this idea will prove to be effective because while aerodynamics plays its part to make sure the car can go as fast as possible, the heavy set of wheels will be able to keep the car in a straight line if all goes well according to plan.