The Highland Fling
continued

We are making tremendous progress building the two trebuchet designs, one of fixed counterweight design and one called a hinged counterweight design (like the one built in 1997 in Virginia). Finally, the sun shines for much of the day. The views are breathtaking of Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle.

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY: Wayne Neel, professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Military Institute and principal designer of the fixed counterweight machine, has built scale models, and experiments are conducted on site to try them out. A meeting of all the participants Wednesday morning explores alternative designs for the throwing arm for the fixed counterweight machine. Hew Kennedy proposes a composite throwing arm design, though everyone agrees that cutting up a perfectly good tree to put it back together seems ludicrous. Hew responds, "If you are wondering what is ludicrous, what are we all doing here?"

Work proceeds with a team of masons from Historic Scotland constructing a wall (25' long by 15' high by 5' thick) of sandstone and mortar as a target for the machines.


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Key: (18) At the site, Ed Levin, carrying a model of one of the trebs, and Wayne Neel, designer of the fixed treb. (19) At the design meeting, Hew Kennedy proposes a laminated beam design for the throwing arm, while a cameraman for WGBH/Nova films the presentation. (20) Mary Brockmyre and Marti Louw, both of WGBH Nova's crew, confer on arrangements. (12) Urquhart Castle in the morning sun. (21) The view of the castle and work area from the walkway connecting the parking area and the castle. (22) The castle wall, built by masons with Historic Scotland, that will serve as the target for the trebuchets. (23) Frank perched on the 300-pound sandstone projectiles to be thrown by the trebs at the wall. (24) Assembly of one of the wheels for the fixed machine by Bob Manoogian, Peter Bull, Derwyn Hanney, and Dan Fadden. (25) Dave Crocco shows off his newest invention to Grigg Mullen, a device to assure the chisel has good contact with the wood. (26) Strings are layout lines for hewing the oak log into a throwing arm.

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