The Roller Coaster Journal
by Chad Fry
Built by
Chad Fry & Josh Bush
Chad Fry |
Josh Bush |
| coolfry73@yahoo.com | crazeebush@aol.com |
11-3-99 Took the day off.
11-4-99 We researched a couple of roller coasters and decided we just needed to start our process with trial and error.
11-5-99 Came up with a preliminary drawing for this rollercoaster. We also laughed some more at how simple this project was actually going to be.
11-6-99 We tried to think of ways that we could follow the rules and yet be able to do a little better (cheat).
11-7-99 Took the day off due to overworked brain.
11-8-99 Decided we would build the roller coaster on 11-9 at my house. We talked about materials we would use.
11-9-99 Constructed basic frame of coaster from various pieces of material. Added roadbed and a loop. Put floor covering on it. Tested it, worked okay and needed some modifications. Made modifications with hot glue. Some how in this process our hotwheels broke down. Decided we weren't going for best looking and that our's was ugly. We made a few more basic modifications.
11-10-99 Took the day off due to tiredness.
11-11-99 We decided the importance of a good hotwheels and so we found some good ones and got them approved by Mr. Lewis.
11-12-99 Day off for family activities.
11-13-99 Met at 9:00am to go and work on roller coaster. Once we started working we came up with a better idea so we scraped the first coaster. Decided to use lightweight aluminum and be able to form the coaster to our specifications. We bent the aluminum and then cut it. We made a loop and a couple of inclines. Now we thought it should look better so we experimented with color coding and finally decided on a scheme. Mounted roller coaster and then looked at it for a while ("it looks good"). Many trial runs but still not perfect. More modifications and more trials. Finally, it works and we rejoice. Next we work with the egg. It's harder then we thought. After minor complications we got it to work pretty well.
11-14-99 Day off to sleep.
11-15-99 Drew a final sketch of our coaster. Also we consulted Mr. Lewis on some minor concerns and it seems we found a way to get around what the rules imply. We are happy.
11-16-99 Tested the track some more and felt a little concerned. I felt that we need to be 90% sure that it would work when we take it to school. It worked but not to the point that there is no sweat about it not working so I decided to adjust a few things. Raised the second incline about .25in and perfecto. Now there are no worries. Well maybe one or two.
11-17-99 Consulted Mr. Lewis about a technical problem with hot wheels and everything seems to be okay.
11-18-99 Day off because of lack of sleep and Physics homework.
11-19-99 Talked about anything else we could do and came up with no ideas.
11-20-99 I played with the roller coaster for the fun of it.
11-21-99 Made checklist of all specifications and made sure we were in compliance. Prepared the coaster for its grand appearance tomorrow.
11-22-99 Coaster arrives in the room of Mr. Lewis. The people were amazed. Everything works great and all is well. Time well spent.
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JOSH BUSH Journal
11-3-99 Did absolutely nothing. 11-4-99 Looked at some roller coaster stuff. Decided to forget copying design and just make it and hope it works. 11-5-99 Did the preliminary sketch of the roller coaster. Once again laughed at the simplicity of the project. 11-6-99 Thought of ways to "bend" the rules given to us. 11-7-99 Did nothing. 11-8-99 Decided that we might want to build this thing. Set tomorrow at Chad's house as the day and time to do it. Discussed possible materials to use. Decided to follow Lewis's suggestion of linoleum. 11-9-99 Showed up at Chad's house at approximately 3:30. Found some boards that we could use and cut them to length. Then we attached the base to the vertical support with an "L" bracket. Then we then added the ramp. Searched for more materials. Found a brass kick plate to make the loop out of. Played with the kick plate trying to bend it and making funny noises by shaking it. Eventually got out some a nifty air powered metal cutter and sliced it half. After much struggle we made a loop with the brass and got it screwed down. Laughed that if this thing broke, someone would be hurt. Then we cut the linoleum tile and placed it on the track with hot glue. Tested the car and found that the track needs walls to hold the car and ball on. Our basic layout proved to be very erratic in results. We began to make modifications to the track to try and keep it on the loop and not fly off and hit someone. After about 6 sticks of hot glue and much frustration we were left with nothing but one heck of an ugly roller coaster. Decided that enough was enough and departed Chad's house at 5:35. 11-10-99 Did nothing. 11-11-99 Got approval by Mr. Lewis of our hotwheels. 11-12-99 Did nothing. 11-13-99 Met at 9:00 at McD's to go work some more. When we arrived at Chad's house and saw the ugly beast before us. Decided to scrap the first design and make a new one. I tore the old one off and it made me feel better to see it go. Since Chad's house is power tool heaven, we bent some aluminum and cut it. Then we formed two inclines and a loop. Propped it up on our boards and got it to work. Decided that we might as well make it look good so we spent the next 90 minutes painting the boards and aluminum to make it look sharp. Then we spent the next 20 minutes admiring our work. Then we mounted the track and moved it around until we had a good design. Then we tested the egg and results weren't quite as good as expected. Finally bent up the edge of the incline to "ramp" the car on top of the egg. Egg survived several tests with this modification. 11-14-99 Did nothing. 11-15-99 Talked to Lewis about our modification. It seems we have found a way around his rules and that he'll have to change them for future classes. Drew final sketch. 11-16-99 Tested the coaster some more and decided that in order to go for the gold, we need to make a few more mods. The incline was raised about 1/4" to slow down the car more. The change proved to be good and now very confident about our design. 11-17-99 Bugged Lewis some more about designs, etc. 11-18-99 Yep, you guessed it, nothing done today. 11-19-99 Talked about it, but basically did nothing. 11-20-99 Did nothing. 11-21-99 Did nothing. 11-22-99 Brought in the roller coaster and laughed as people made comments like "Wow!" and "Good Job!" Then laughed as they ran cars on theirs and watched them fly all over the room. Ran our car and all is good, it made the trip very well. 11-23-99 Roller coaster voted #1 of all time. Engineers amazed at the effectiveness of our design. Sold design to Six Flags for serious money. |
First Attempt after I ripped it off the board.
Our coaster near completion, minus the pedestal at the end. |
