Ron: I had been experimenting with ways to improve the efficiency of trebuchets for a long time, and when I got an opportunity to be on the show, I wanted to introduce to the world my best design. It was kind of an ego thing. The engineers that work for the show didn't get it at first, and they tried to talk me into a more conventional design, but I managed to convince them that it would work and besides, it looks really cool. I think the "looks cool" argument was what won them over. It is a television show, afterall!

J: No denying that! It was amazing that it worked, considering it operated differently from conventional trebuchets. That brings me to my next question. Why a trebuchet? Are there any qualities that make a trebuchet a better launch system?

R: Trebuchet's are extremely consistent. I knew this was going to be a test for accuracy, so I wanted to build something as consistent as possible. There are also a lot of different ways to adjust a trebuchet. Cannons can only adjust power and aim. I could adjust the counterweight, the drop height of the counterweight, the length of the sling, the bend of the release pin, and potentially even the length of the arm. All of which have different effects on the projectile. This gives me a lot of options for tuning!

J: Some very good advice for budding trebuchet builders out there. While we're talking about how it worked, were you limited to what you could build?

R: They only told me to design a machine capable of throwing pumpkins 60 yards into a bathtub. When they saw my floating arm trebuchet design, they strongly suggested I reconsider the design, but ultimately they let me do whatever I wanted.

J: Interesting. Now, I have to say that I thought your win was very controversial. It looked to me that the pumpkin exploded on impact just infront of the castle and a piece flew forward, hitting the castle. Do you think you won fair and square?

R: Yes and no. They had a much more powerful machine, and in a test for distance they would have won handily. If they had used a direct strategy and aimed right at the castle wall, they would have won too. But they tried for the glory shot of lobbing one into the castle, and the wind kept blowing the pumpkin off course. Our first shot missed, and the second shot nicked the castle wall, giving us the win since the other team already made three tries and hadn't hit anything. I concede that their machine was superior, but their strategy cost them the competition. I claim a fair win.

J: I guess the camera can be a bit deceiving at times. Speaking of the other team's machine, any thoughts about it?

R: Air cannons are very interesting. Mechanically they are much simpler than trebuchets, and they are far less efficient in the way they use the available power. They waste a lot of energy. But they are capable of storing much more energy and in a more portable way, and can transfer that energy to the projectile much more quickly that a trebuchet, which is limited by the relatively slow acceleration from gravity.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, the junkyard is planted with all the necessary parts for the machines being built. The trebuchet really didn't need anything special except for lots of long straight pieces of metal. The air cannon needed a tube with a special diameter and pressure rating, a perfectly good and working butterfly dump valve, an air compressor, an air tank, etc. etc. Waddy's genius was apparent when some of the key pieces planted in the yard just weren't going to work (how do you weld a metal piece to a plastic one?) and he managed to use the real junkyard scrap to build his machine. I think the only planted piece he kept was the valve.

J: You won't get in trouble for revealing any of the secrets of the junkyard will you? What about your team? Did you enjoy working with them?

R: Well, they were a bit inexperienced. When one guy took 45 minutes on a single weld, and I pointed out to him that we only had 6 hours left and over 50 welds to go, he didn't quite get it. He insisted that the welds had to be "solid". And at one point when we were short by a few pieces, they came to me and said that there weren't any more pieces of angle iron in the yard (right!).

But, one of the crew members went out and helped them find plenty of angle iron, and we finally managed to get the welding to go a lot faster. What most people don't know is that there's a "safety day" between the build and the competition. That's when the team takes the day off, and only the expert and some real professional welders and mechanics go over the machine to make sure everything is functional and solid. We spent that whole day re-welding every one of those joins!

J: More junkyard secrets! I hope there isn't any legal action. Were there any other shows you would have liked to have participated in?

R: Everytime I watch the show, I end up thinking "No, you dummies! That's not the way, you need to do this..." So I suppose I wish I was in every show! But then that's probably just my ego acting up again...

J: Don't be too hard on yourself Ron. Let's talk about your personal experiences with trebuchets for a moment. What is the biggest thing you've ever launched?

R: Actually, myself. I built a machine designed to launch people into a river, and I was the first, and heaviest passenger. You can read the whole story at [my website].

J: You're a brave man Ron. And now, the question I ask everyone, would you do it again?

R: Would I throw myself into a river again? Perhaps. It depends on the machine and how much confidence I have in it. It was totally a blast though!

J: <laughs> No Ron, the show. Would you take to the junkyard again?

R: Would I do the show again? Of course I would. It was really hard and stressful (try spending ten hours in a heat wave with three amatures and a deadline, and a team of cameras following you everywhere, getting in your face and making you do things two and three times, and just when you're making progress, the host interrupts you for an interview...then see how stressed you feel!) When it was all over I remember thinking that it wasn't much fun at all. But, now that I know what to expect, I'd love to have another go at it!

J: One last question before I let you go Ron. The burning question. George Gray. What's he like?

R: I didn't spend any more time with him on the set than you see on TV. He seemed nice and fun loving (what comedian isn't fun loving?) but I didn't get a chance to talk to him.