Our Pack received their cars at Monday evening's meeting, along with plan sheets they can use for design (available at
http://www.richardcmoeur.com/cub/pinewooderbyplan.pdf" target="_blank )
Our Pack Derby isn't until March 2nd (as part of our spring campout at Pioneer Arizona History Museum), and the District Derby isn't until March 23rd. So, we have a bit of time to work with.
This is slightly complicated by the fact my work takes me to DC for 2 weeks in January, so we can't get the workshops properly started until late January. But we still have about 5 weekends for workshops before the Pack race.
All this talk about ducted fans and other propulsion has me wondering how many entries we'll get from leaders, parents, & others in the Open Class at the Pack Derby - last year, the other leader's ducted fan wasn't as fast as my bungee-powered car, but the other car did have a higher tendency to make it through the finish gate in the correct lane.
But I have an almost-foolproof Secret Plan for this year, involving a car design that can race stock, unpowered, or even perhaps powered.