TerraBreak.org: An independent Design/Build/Fly (DBF) support site

This year, TerraBreak.org has designed commemorative patches for the DBF 2006 contest year. They're 3.5" wide, and are fully embroidered with an iron-on backing.

They are available right now, for $4 each. For orders of 5+, they're $3 each, so coordinate with your team. Shipping is $3.

What does the patch look like? Well, it looks like this:

We'll take check, money order, or paypal. If you're interested, email me.

Well, competition is over; we had fun judging. More stuff to follow, but TerraBreak is hungry and we're going to dinner.

To take us through the summer, we've got a nice soothing green theme for you all.

More stuff soon!

If anyone ever wondered what aeroelasticity was, take a look at this wing:




And here's one just for fun:



We've got up a little bit more data, and are now heading for River City Brewery. . .if yall read this, head on out!

Okay, well it took a while, but some info from this year is up.

It doesn't look very pretty (we've decided to change how the data is displayed this year, and haven't quite figured out all the details yet) but it's there!

If you click through and get a 404 error for one of the team links, it's cause we don't have data for it up yet (duh!).

To save yall some time, here are direct links to the pages we do have data for from Friday:

Auburn: AUAV/1 "Freeloader"
CalPoly-SLO: 24" Wood
CWRU: The Rust Belt Revenge
GT: Spirit of the Competition
ITU: ATA/7
MIT: Ostrich
MIT: Team Uno
MIT: Alpha Team
OK-State: OSU Black
OK-State: OSU Orange
Technion: STINGRAY
UCSD: Tempus Volat: TLAR 7
UFL: The InstiGator
USC: SCting Ray
UTexas: Swan Song
VT: Divided by Zero
Wichita: WSU Black

Well, that's about all from here, we're off to bed and will see yall bright and early Saturday!

Its on everyone's mind: "Who's got the lowest RAC, and battery weight!?"

And the answer is: OSU Black = 4.75lbs; battery weight = 0.96lbs

Another not-so-popular question (although one battered around the TerraBreak staff some), who's got the largest plane? Of the 17 teams that we've been able to gather data from (thanks y'all!), the heaviest plane we've seen so far is:
MIT Ostrich with an empty weight of 16.92 lbs, and massive maximum takeoff weight of 39.76lbs! So far they're the only team we've seen capable of carrying all 5 bottles! Way to go y'all!

Alright, well we've got a long day ahead tomorrow... and plenty more beer to drink tonight! So y'all sleep well, and we'll see ya in a couple hours.

Hello! I hope all of the teams have/had a safe journey to Wichita.

Most of the TerraBreak staff is now in Wichita. Tim, Mike, and I arrived around 1 AM after a very long flight from DC to Atlanta (including holding patterns and a diversion to Columbia, SC). Luckily, we were still able to make our connecting flight (barely). Larry drove in from Colorado and beat us here...

This year, we have another one of our fun TerraBreak surveys, as well as another surprise--in addition to our cute new T-shirts! (You'll just have to find one of us to see what it is...but we think you'll like it...)

Well, competition starts in less than 2 hours, and we can't wait to see you all! Good luck with tech inspections today!

Lets see, accounting for time zones... 24hours to go!

If you're like most of TB staff, you're scrambling around trying to get packed. As such I'm dropping in some notes about the page.

1. Yes, we're gonna be updating the pages w/ info most nights... but Saturday night might be a stretch (because...)

2. In case you didn't/don't read the forums, we're inviting everyone out to our favorite wichita microbrew to hang out on Saturday night starting around 7.30ish (Google Maps). No, they don't know we're coming. No, we don't have reserved seats. Come as you are, come meet other teams, and come have fun.

3. So you were thinking: "yeah, but how are we gonna know the TB staff members!?" Or perhaps you were thinking: "Dude, those TB peeps are the bomb, yo! Hows dos I'ze meets dem?" And a final possible thought is: "Those TB fellas are the worst ever, how do I avoid them!?" Well, we've managed to satisfy all of those problems (mostly for saturday)... while the Staff Page will help you identify us, we figured these t-shirts would make us stand out better. So, keep an eye out for them (for whatever reason).

Have safe travels, and see you in 23hours and 50 minutes!

By this time, seven days from now I'll be checking in/boarding an airplane bound for my second most frequently traveled airport: 'KATL'. The anticipation of DBF are making me jittery, Either that or the corporate air conditioning and loads of caffiene. Let's go w/ the former ;).

It's pretty busy in the DBF world, with a flurry of posts in the FAQs section. I'd highly recommend perusing the new and old FAQs, as well as a through refamiliarization of the Rules. Its a lot better to figure out now that you goofed, than in tech inspection Friday.

In addition to the FAQ activity, our forums are showing a growing amount of test flight videos, which is in itself a testament to the amount of work being accomplished by the competitors in these last few weeks.

As such, this is a perilous time for competitors. The ever-looming prospect of crashing tempers the elation of actually flying.

"Can it be rebuilt?" Is a question often confronted in this last week.

In my personal experience, the answer to that question is a definitive "Yes!" Whether it be all-night rebuild sessions, or showing up to competition w/o a gearbox, or buying a row of seats on the plane for the wing to sit... there's always a way to pull it out, and show up. And I think you'll learn more about yourself after attempting it, than if don't... and that's why you started this adventure after all, wasn't it? Even if you eventually decide "it can't be done", let me encourage you to attend competition regardless. There is a wealth of knowledge at competition for all levels of DBF participants, and the only way to truly partake of it is by showing up. Besides, you can study on the plane ;)!