Carey Win National CO2 Dragster Competition

Each year our Year 9 Engineering students participate in the Interschool Co2 Dragster Competition.

This involves the students designing a small car using computer-aided drafting, 3D printing the car, and powering it with a Co2 cartridge. This is a fantastic design task as the students have to design within strict constraints to ensure the car falls within race specifications, and they learn about the all-important aspects of weight, friction, and aerodynamics.

The competition is conducted in seven different categories and our students entered into the STEM category due to the more advanced manufacturing processes involved. This is probably the most challenging and competitive category as more and more schools are opting for this format.

The students’ cars were judged by a panel against criteria including whether the car fits within design specifications, fastest race time, most consistent race times, design, including engineering drawings, construction and aesthetics.

As a school, we have always performed well and this was our most successful year yet.

We had thirteen students participate in the State Competition, with Kobe C. and Gabriel G. coming 1st and 2nd place respectively. Six students qualified for the National titles and three went on to win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Congratulations to:

Kobe C. – 1st Place with a race time of 1.06 sec
Gabriel G. – 2nd Place with a race time of 1.206 sec
Elizabeth F. – 3rd Place with a race time of 1.173 sec

Congratulations to Cara S, Brody O., and Harry S. who also qualified for the National Competition.

Again we are custodians of the perpetual trophy for Champion School for the second year in a row. Congratulations to all the students involved and also to Technologies Teacher Mr Griffiths who won both State and National titles in the Teacher category!