Biosystems Engineering at Oklahoma State University

OSU fares well in Tractor Meet 2003
(9/8/03)

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Copyright ©2001 Biosystems Engineering

The 2003 National ASAE Tractor competition was held in Moline, Illinois from May 29th to June 1st. After nearly four months of design and construction, the OSU team got their tractor up and running on May 26th. It was a new, good looking model with added attributes, thus making it an enhanced version of the previous year's model.

In mid-April, the team submitted a design report that gave a description of the build of the tractor and the calculations involved. This was the first of the three evaluation stages.The meet began with the team getting off to a good start, their tractor passing the technical inspection test for safety and design considerations. In the evening, a maneuverability course was completed. Design judging is comprised of four parts- Campbell Scientific, safety, serviceability and manufacturability and was done on May 30th. On June 1st, the senior team gave its presentation that involved highlighting the salient features of the tractor and proving its marketability. The light and heavy weight pulling was done that afternoon and on the next day. This was the performance session where the actual efficiency of the tractor, in terms of its ruggedness, pulling capability and maneuverability was appraised.

The awards banquet was hosted on Sunday evening. OSU was close to finishing third, but finished fourth overall, being ranked 9th, 2nd and 3rd in the design, presentation and performance sections respectively, out of the 12 participants from US and Canada. In the ‘Guts Pull’ contest, OSU came first with a tractor weight of 2280 lb and won by a large margin of 10 ft. ahead of other tractors.

The junior team came first in the overall ratings, pulling an improved version of the previous year’s tractor.

Levi Johnson, co-director of Cowboy Motor Sports described the event as an opportunity to implement all his theoretical knowledge and obtain practical experience. He also said that he was happy to have got sponsors like Ditch Witch and Murphy Switches who helped the team with the frame fabrication and the controls.

The senior team members were Levi Johnson and David Crossley, Co-Directors of Cowboy Motor Sports, Jacob Hamburger, Chad Fisher, G.L. Slaughter, Kyle Stein, Candi Johnson, Colby Funk and Adam Bohl.

The X-team members were Joe Biggerstaff who was the Junior Team Director, Dustin Holden, Taylor Miller, Adam Gossen and Ryan Haar.

Dr. John Solie, Jason Walker and Wayne Kiner played an important role in the team's success.

Great Going, Guys!!!

Reported by
Lakshmi Thamizhmani