Upon watching the field tour video on the airship for FIRST Steamworks, I realized that the method to release the rope from the airship is a strip of hook and loop tape. Our team is using a 1" ratchet strap with the loop side of velcro attached to the end for our rope. Has anyone that attended a Week 0 competition encountered the problem that their rope swings down partially but is stopped because it is still attached to the hook and loop tape? We are nervous about this as the pilot would have to reach outside of the airship to fix the rope, causing a foul. Any responses are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I would suggest having a small area of your rope NOT covered in hook and loop then.
At the week 0 I was at this was a constant problem. I believe s07 allows the pilot to reach over a railing and fix the rope as long as no part of the rope is below the deck of the airship (note the change in team update 3). That’s going to be a tough judgement call for referees though.
One team whose mentor volunteers to referee was having her team put their rope on the top of railing inside the strap. When they released the rope, they held the rope as they released the strap and then throw the rope over the railing. That way their pilot never reached over the railing.
Other teams were placing a small strip of tape on their rope to prevent the issue.
Tape is not rope. Just sayin’.
I was a pilot at the official week zero. We use spectraline as our climbing rope, and one of the times I released the rope, it did actually get caught in the velcro. I just stuck one figure out the corner of the airship to release it fully, which I probably should not have done. We have added no actual velcro to the bottom of our rope, so people should be aware that this could happen to you too.