JAY— The Kit Katz Lego Team learned this week that equipping their helicopter with an air bag and parachute lessened damage in crashes.

On Monday night, the Jay Middle School team was in adviser Rob Taylor’s classroom, reviewing data from crash tests. The team has been working with Scott
Christie, a helicopter pilot and parent of two of the team members. Christie’s
son, Gabe, a seventh-grader, has flown with his father a couple of times and those experiences lead to the team’s project.

“We studied NASA Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity,” said sixth-grader Spencer Brennick, referring to the two mobile robots that are part of the Mars exploration. The system the team designed is based on the landing systems used by the rovers, Taylor said. The team also developed a slide
show and a five-minute play, team member Brian Jones said. And they studied helicopter crashes, including one that occurred over the Hudson River in New York this year.

“We found out that the use of a parachute and air cushions is softer for the landing,” Gabe Christie said. “We had to research helicopters and also did experiments to test whether a ballistic parachute and air bags would help in a helicopter crash.”

Christie’s laptop showed the Lego-built helicopter being dropped and the pieces scattering on the floor. Without an air bag or parachute, it broke into an average of 18 pieces; with an air bag, there were 14; with a parachute, 11; and with an air bag and parachute, 6.

“The airbag and parachute works best,” Gabe Christie said.

His brother, Alex, a sixth-grader, rebuilt the helicopter after each experiment.

Having Scott Christie and town mechanic Dan Latham volunteering time with the teams has been a very valuable experience for the students, Taylor said.

The team, along with their school counterparts, The Autobots, and Six Chics and a Dude, will demonstrate their projects at Community Night at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, in the school cafeteria.
On Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Augusta Civic Center, they will compete at the Maine Lego League Championships. This year’s theme is Smart Move, with all projects about transportation.

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