Balloon Powered Vehicles

Dual Balloon vehicle--powered by father and daughter!
A dual ballon-powered vehicle.

Every so many months, our fellowship enjoys the challenge and fun of building something new. This past month, we attempted balloon-powered vehicles! Each team designed and built their own vehicle with an array of cartons, lids, straws, tubes, and other odds and ends. Everyone had different ideas about getting the most mileage out of their balloons. After an hour or so of construction, we lined up our wheels and let them fly. The surprising results were not only fun but also instructive reminders on some of the basic principles of physics.

How exactly does this work?
How exactly does this work?
Preparing to launch.
Preparing to launch.
Let it fly!
Let it fly!
The elation of success.
The elation of near success.
Disappointing results...
Disappointing results…
We can fix this.
We can fix this.