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Pinewood Derby: Five Ounces at a Scale 200 MPH

Lansdale Cub Scout Pack 62, sponsored at St. John's United Church of Christ, held its annual Pinewood Derby Saturday morning

 
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With the turn of a lever, five ounces of wood and zinc sped at a scale of 200 mph in under four seconds in Lansdale Saturday morning.

No speeding tickets here — speed is the name of the game at a Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.

Cub Pack 62, sponsored by St. John's United Church of Christ in Lansdale, held its annual competition in the activity room of the church. Troop 62 Scouts volunteered in the kitchen, providing hot dogs, bagels, doughnuts, coffee and more to parents and peers.

Each Pinewood Derby car is carved and designed by Cub Scouts and their parent or guardian. After all the pizazz and decor, the cars are then raced in heats to find the first, second and third place winners in the end.

The four-hour event at St. John's UCC also had the chance for the Scouts and visitors to vote for their favorite car. That car is then awarded Best in Show.

Cubmaster John Squeri said they run as many cars down the tracks as they can in four hours. 

"Slowly, it builds up records for each car. We schedule it to give as many kids wins as possible, while still giving a final three," Squeri said. "We encourage dads to work with their kids."

Cub Pack 62 and Troop 62 are currently seeking new Scouts. Cub Scouts must begin at Tiger Cubs. Squeri said there are about 15 Cub Scouts in Pack 62.

"We're at a low spot," he said. "We're a strong group, but we're a small group. We are working on building that up."

Other events Cub Pack 62 organizes include a bowling party at Earl Bowl in Franconia, rock climbing at Doylestown Rock Gym and a summer campout at Musser Scout Reservation on the Unami Creek.

Interested? Questions? Contact Squeri at cubpac62@gmail.com.

Related Topics: Boy Scouting, Boy Scouts of America, Bsa, Cub Scouts, Pinewood Derby, Race, cub pack 62, cub scouting, lansdale pa, and st. john's ucc

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Tony Di Domizio

5:07 am on Sunday, February 24, 2013

Yes, I think so. I was there. Oh, let me be more accurate: 199.3mph

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Denton Burnell

10:00 am on Sunday, February 24, 2013

Tony, I think what Steven is struggling with is the physics don't add up. A typical pinewood track is 32 ft. long. Even if the car traveled that distance in 1 second, which even the fastest pinewood cars don't, they would still be traveling at only just under 22 MPH. What the pinewood timing software is doing is showing you SCALE miles per hour, recognizing that the pinewood car is a fraction of the size of a regular car.

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Tony Di Domizio

12:30 pm on Sunday, February 24, 2013

Now, if Steven had been more explanatory, then it would been a different issue. I admit, I've never taken one physics course in my life. Thank you for the explanation. The story has been amended to be more accurate.

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