Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Investigation Of Toppling Ball Flight In American Football With A Mechanical Field-Goal Kicker, Chase M Pfeifer, Timothy J. Gay, Jeff A. Hawks, Shane Farritor, Judith M. Burnfield

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A mechanical field-goal kicking machine was used to investigate toppling ball flight in American football place-kicking, eliminating a number of uncontrollable impact variables present with a human kicker. Ball flight trajectories were recorded using a triangulation-based projectile tracking system to account for the football’s 3-dimensional position during flight as well as initial launch conditions. The football flights were described using kinematic equations relating to projectile motion including stagnant air drag and were compared to measured trajectories as well as projectile motion equations that exclude stagnant air drag. Measured football flight range deviations from the non-drag equations of projectile motion corresponded …