Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 19:25:45 -0500
From: rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca (Roderick Darroch Elliott)
Subject: VDS TL-12 Fusion+ contragrav pogo stick.

        You can do some fun stuff with Contra-grav and Fusion+.  Just
imagine; a pogo stick capable of reaching orbit if you hotwire it (re-entry
might be a bit dicey).  And just think about how pissed off the Mothers
Against Grav Cycle Carnage are going to be :).


Famille Spofulam Toys & Games MegaBoing Grav Pogo Stick


                                  Vol.        Mass      Area      Power

Displ.:   0.016 Td (USP 1-2)      0.222 m^3        -         -        -
Volume:                           0.222 m^3        -         -        -
Config: Pogo stick
Dimensions:
- -Handles, shaft & spring: 1.5 m long, .03 m dia. (0.001 m^3)
- -Footrest/drive & battery housing: disk 1 m dia, .22 m high (0.22 m^3)
- -Electronics housing: 0.001 m^3 slab, mounted on handles
Struct. Material: Structurecomp
Chassis:                          0.05 m^3      0.05 T
Armour: None; child rides on outside, feet on footrest disk and gripping handle
Armour rating: none
Power plant: TL-12 Fusion+        0.01 m^3      0.006 T     -       0.05 Mw/
Prop.:
- -TL-12 C-grav (0.5T thr.)         0.01 m^3      0.0062T    0.01     0.0035 Mw
- -Tl-10 leg (spring)               0.0006 m^3
Crew: 1 child, (safety harness provided, helmet & goggles not included)
Options: TL-12 computer, radar altimeter & speedometer, tassels on handles,
glove compartment.

Totals:                           0.222 m^3      0.0622 T (62.2 Kg)
Cost: 0.002900 Mcr (2900 Cr)

Operational Acceleration: special: computer controls Contra-gravity drive
so as to balance pogo stick (within safe operational parameters to permit
some lateral motion) and to nullify 95% of external gravity field save
between moment where spring first enters into contact with ground and when
spring has compressed over 75% (adjustable by parents to provide for more
or less impetus) of its total travel.  Once spring (actually a TL-10
smart-fluid variable resistance shock absorption cylinder) has reached
parentally approved maximum travel point, thrust resumes to completely
nullify external gravity field until spring has reached full extension, at
which point thrust reverts to 95% of external field.

        Parentally programmed safety cutoffs cut drive once maximum
parentally approved altitude has been attained, and adjust velocity during
descent portion of trajectory to remain within parentally approved speed
limits.  Other safety features include deadman switches on the handles to
detect child losing grip, and a safety harness to ensure child remains on
board.  Pogo stick will not operate without harness being attached.

        Theoretical acceleration is 8 G's (7.5 or so with child on board).
This is only attainable by tampering with safety overrides and removing the
hardware governor.  FSG&T will not accept any liability arising from such
dangerous misuse and strongly condemns the sort of irresponsible mind that
would contemplate it.

Box: Comes plastered with advisory warnings against tampering in order to
allow child to reach orbit, advisory warnings against operating near
potentially hazardous obstacles such as trees, tall buildings, swamps and
large bodies of water, overhead power lines and airports.


        Design notes: credit for the inspiration goes to Ross Coburn, who
gave me the idea purely by accident, and now sorely regrets it.  I didn't
bother calculating the acceleration rating figures; I bet that 50 kg worth
of structurecomp ought to be plenty strong.  I also fudged the volume some
to leave a margin for error, and didn't bother doing the numbers for fuel
supply and the glove compartment; they're well within the margin for error
in the volume and chassis mass numbers.  And I didn't bother computing the
cost of the radar altimeter; this would be a simple device whose cost would
be negligible at TL-12.

       I did this with the beta VDS pdf file I downloaded from Joe Heck's site.

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