Pitsco and CO 2. racing how it all got started. Dragsters. Launch, Anyone?

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1 Please note: This article originally appeared in the Pitsco Education 40 years, book. Dragsters Pitsco and racing how it all got started By Dan Eckelberry Land Speed Record Assault Vehicles (LSRAVs). Soon, dragsters became the description used by teachers. Through a contact with the World of Manufacturing textbook publisher, Harvey realized that teachers loved the dragster activity, but they had difficulty obtaining the needed materials particularly, the wheels. Timeless Engineering Fun The kids weren t the only ones having fun at dragster competitions. Above, Harvey conducts races at a national event. The history of dragster activity is so entwined with the history of Pitsco that it s impossible to discuss one without the other. This is the story of how Pitsco became involved in and promoted racing as a relevant educational experience. But it s also a story about how the activity helped make Pitsco what it is today. In the early 1970s, a seventh-grade curriculum titled World of Manufacturing was introduced and became popular around the country. This curriculum was developed at Ohio State University and featured an exciting activity in which students designed, built, and raced small-scale dragsters jet-powered by an onboard cartridge. The cars were originally called The February 1947 issue of Popular Science featured a story on Douglas Aircraft plant engineers building and racing cars on their lunch break. These may have been the earliest dragster races. Check it out on books.google.com. Launch, Anyone? Yet another important piece of the puzzle remained unsolved. To make the dragster activity practical in most classrooms, a reliable launching mechanism was needed. The original launching system provided by the textbook company performed inconsistently and frustrated students. Pitsco had experimented with other launching devices with very limited success. Some start gates used record player needles Pitsco start-finish race systems have evolved through the years. 40th Anniversary Page 69

2 Products Dragsters (continued) to puncture the car-mounted cartridges. These needles were too fragile and dulled quickly. Fortunately, Dr. Alvin Willems, a college instructor and friend of Harvey s from McPherson, Kansas, solved the riddle when he created his own reliable launching mechanism. With his permission, Pitsco borrowed his design concept to create the Manual Start Raceway, a convenient and dependable system for launching two dragsters at a time. Many improvements came over the ensuing decades to improve the experience for students and teachers, including better cartridges, wind tunnels for drag testing, electronic timing and starting systems, and many additional materials and accessory options for students to use on their dragsters. Over the years, many critical pieces fell into place to establish Pitsco as the leader of the dragster Early model Wind Tunnel revolution. The right people had the right ideas and conversations at the optimum time to make it all possible. Harvey credits divine intervention: God gives each of us a purpose (or purposes) throughout our lives. I am convinced that one of my purposes has been and continues to be to help teachers provide handson experiences for their students. Dragsters and the many products we ve developed to support the activity continues to fulfill one of my/pitsco s purposes to exist. Pitsco at the Races The dragster activity culminates in an exciting classroom race to determine which student did the best job of translating their knowledge of aerodynamics Page 70 Pitsco Education

3 and force and motion into a racetrack performer. Due to the growing popularity of the activity, it now seemed inevitable that racing would go beyond the classroom and reach the national stage. This happened in 1979 at the inaugural national conference of AIASA (American Industrial Arts Student Association). (We know it as TSA today.) Harvey was there at a Holiday Inn in Memphis, Tennessee, to support the event with an arsenal of Pitsco equipment: a Manual Start Raceway and an elevated track comprised of six-foot plastic panels. While the panels unfortunately sagged in the middle, the eight competitors didn t seem to mind! From these humble beginnings, this event has grown into a huge affair with multiple -based events: one for middle school, one for high school, and a Transportation Modeling competition. The state and national TSA events typically have 200 or more competitors. Pitsco continues to support the TSA by providing personnel and equipment (much improved now!) to conduct the national events and some state events. Pitsco employees have conducted dragster races at the national TSA conference for more than 30 years. Below, from left, are Luecrita Haraughty, Seth Stewart, and Dan Eckelberry. Pitsco President Lisa Paterni, left, is joined by area students at a dragster photo shoot in the St. Mary s-colgan Activity Center. TSA Road Warrior Steve Snider has driven the truck loaded with Pitsco gear to every TSA National Conference since He s had many adventures crisscrossing the country in rental trucks. (This includes a few unfortunate breakdowns, but he always delivers.) Over the years, he s logged an impressive 31,264 miles! Wheel Deal Pitsco and Dragsters Perfect Synergy PItsco played a crucial role in the establishment of the -dragster activity in hundreds of classrooms around the U.S. The dragster activity is just as important to Pitsco. The activity s popularity accounts for a significant portion of Pitsco s revenue, and it has inspired the creation of many proprietary products still available in the Pitsco Education Big Book. 40th Anniversary Page 71

4 Products Dragsters (continued) The activity remains popular today, partially because innovative teachers have incorporated modern engineering tools and techniques. CAD software, CNC milling, and computational fluid dynamics give students real-world, industry-relevant experiences. In one way, however, the activity hasn t changed students are still challenged, motivated, rewarded, and maybe even a little surprised at their own capabilities. Heading into the fifth decade of drag racing in schools, Pitsco continues to empower middle and high school students to develop STEM skills with this timeless activity! A young Jered Dean, center left, prepares to race against a booth visitor. Faster than Grandpa? drag racing is beginning its fifth decade as a school activity. Middle school students may soon be comparing their car designs to those of their grandparents! Suites high school students work on their dragsters and talk strategy. Page 72 Pitsco Education

5 Car sponsorships through the years haven t been limited to just dragsters. Below is a solarpowered vehicle sponsored in part by Pitsco. Pitsco Manufacturing employees prepared and raced a go-cart in a fund-raiser for the local hospital in the late 1990s. For many years, Pitsco sponsored a dragster owned and operated by a couple of teachers, Sam Parton and Jerry Porter, above and right. In the photo at right, Harvey holds his son Jered. In the 1990s, Pitsco sponsored the vehicle driven by Rhonda Hartman. Below are Hartman and her dragster at Mo-Kan Dragway near Asbury, Missouri. 40th Anniversary Page 73