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NASA Goddard Field - Carpet Sections
This is actually Mr. MOE, using MOEWidow's account...
The carpet sections you see here are courtesy of the NASA Goddard Mobile FIRST Playing Field. Mike Wade and Pete Baltzell of NASA Goddard are the mastermind's behind this.
Each section is 4' x 4' and has carpet on one side and a PVC backing on the other. Each section can be easily carried by one person, but is a little awkward for those folks who don't have a large wingspan.
The carpet "tiles" fit together by pieces of velcro. On each side of the carpet tile, there are three mating velcro pieces underneath the tile. NASA has velcro strips that are twice as wide as the width of the velcro underneath the tile, so when you place the velcro, half of the width of the strip sticks out. This allows you to attach an adjoining tile to the one already in place.
We used the NASA field at the Duel on the Delaware last year. The carpet segment sizes were the same, but had plywood underneath. They were heavy and very awkward. Mike Wade redesigned the field and came up with the current set-up, which is excellent. Another advantage of the PVC is that it doesn't absorb the water, like the plywood did. Those of you who attended the Duel last year and were up on the field would either smell Carpet Fresh or mold, as a number of carpet tiles got wet at the Maryland State Fair a month earlier.
Kudos to Mike and Pete and the NASA field design. They improve this thing every year!
The field is now on it's way to the Final Bin Bash on October 25 and Ramp Riot on November 15.
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Mom of 2 future RoboChicks
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