Greene County News
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The 12th annual Wright-Patterson Pumpkin Chuck will take place 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21. The event is open base-wide and to the general public. Entry is free.
The “Pumpkin Chuck” supports the annual Combined Federal Campaign, which provides an opportunity for DoD military and civilian, Federal employees to contribute to local, national, and international non-profit organizations. A portion of all Pumpkin Chuck proceeds will be donated to the CFC fundraising drive.
But, what exactly is a “Pumpkin Chuck”?
“Imagine home-made machines, hurling pumpkins high into the sky, over the distance of a football field, with an oddly satisfying pumpkin smash at the end of the flight” said Oliver Bicknell, armament integration engineer for Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and member of the Wright-Patt Pumpkin Chuck event team, “It is a great, fun, time. Children and adults both love watching the pumpkin chucks and they can feel good about supporting a charitable cause.”
The event will be located on the airstrip adjacent to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Attendees can enter through the Spinning Road Gate, located at the Spinning Road and Airway Road intersection.
“Along with the ‘Pumpkin Chuck’ competition, this year’s event will feature refreshments available for purchase from a variety of local food truck vendors. Activities will include, pumpkin pie baking and a pie eating contest” said Bicknell, “We encourage bringing the whole family, there is no entry fee and we promise a gooey splat after every launch.”
Pumpkin Chucking, or, “Punkin Chunkin”, competitions have been around since 1986 when the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association (WCPCA) was established. The annual world competition features teams competing using devices that launch pumpkins into the sky. The divisions include slingshots, catapults, centrifugals, trebuchets and pneumatic (air) cannons. Each division competes strictly for distance.
The current world record for a “Punkin Chunk”, according to Guinness World Records, was made by a pneumatic cannon, called the “Big Ten Inch”, in 2010. The shot threw a pumpkin 5,545.42 feet. Three local teams, ChuckWorks, Team ETHOS and American Chucker, will participate at the 2016 WCPCA world championship in Delaware.
“It’s going to be a Pumpkin Chucking spectacle,” said Bicknell. “And everybody is welcome.”
Additional info on the event can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/PumpkinChuckDayton
