'Chuckin' melons to help people | News

 "On three, one, two, three," Windstream network manager Steve Pair just before launching a watermelon. "Get over there. So close!"

Steve Pair and his team are trying to chuck watermelons across the pond at Paulk Park in Fitzgerald. It is all part of the Melon Chuckers competition set to take place on July 4th.

"It is a fund raiser for the colony business association's benevolence fund," Pair said. "Just, also it is it to get a lot of people in the local community here out here to have some place neat to go on the 4th of July."

The is Windstream's 'big Green Flingin' Machine.' It is a project that has been in the works for more than 18 months.

"Every time we go out and shoot this thing, we have to tweak it a little bit or fix anything that breaks on it," Pair said. "It is quite a bit of kinetic energy released when you pull that trigger. It is 1200 pounds of weight and counterweight." 

With all that weight, they have to call in some heavy duty equipment just to launch it. 

"We actually have to take a truck to cock it because it is more than people can pull down by themselves," Pair said.

Wednesday, the team launched at about 85% of the catapult's strength. They did not want their competition to know what they are capable of.

But, competition showed up to get a peak anyway. The Big Green Flingin Machine looks tough to beat.

"That is pretty good, that is a lot further than I thought it was going to go," said Pair.

The competition takes place at Paulk Park on July 4th.

Initially, the team did not know if they would be able to clear the pond. After today, they seem pretty confident that on July 4th, their watermelon will be crashing down on land.

There are five total teams building catapults for the competition. They are hoping to have at least a thousand visitors at the park to watch it.