Helping a pal and building one, too

PAL creators include, front row: Sean Neal, Colby Cocking. Back row: Teacher Jim Stewart, Anna Iverson, Steven Tronsen, Travis Mallett, Aaron Rager, Katie Redman, Miles Pfaff and Beau Fisher. Not pictured: Spencer Gray.

Pal: A noun. An informal term for friend or buddy.

Pal: Half the nickname of Garfield-Palouse High School (commonly known as Gar-Pal).

PAL: An acronym for Paraplegic Agricultural Lift, a mechanical device for assisting people with disabilities.

Three terms. Three distinct meanings. Combine them, however, and the three pals produce a fourth harmonious definition: creative genius. That, indeed, may be the best way to describe the magic produced in this Whitman County high school of 125 students.

The abridged version of the story goes like this … Sean Neal is a Gar-Pal senior confined to a wheelchair. Last summer, his dad Warren created a mechanical device to lift Sean into the cab of a combine.

Come fall, several enterprising Gar-Pal students wondered whether they could improve on the Neal product by creating a new version that did not require a second person to operate. The challenge was to create a remote control device operated by the person being lifted. The device had to not just lift and pivot, but also attach and operate in a way that would not damage the combine. Machinery valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars has to be protected, you know.

With the help of math teacher Jim Stewart and the additional electronic expertise of Robert Lopez of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman, the students went to work. Time was of the essence, as Stewart considered the project a good candidate for the national Junior Engineering Society (JETS) competition in February.

Throughout the fall, the Gar-Pal team, known as Viking Engineering (named after the school mascot), built and tested numerous options. The project was divided into segments by team members Colby Cocking, Beau Fisher, Spencer Gray, Anna Iverson, Travis Mallett, Sean Neal, Miles Pfaff, Aaron Rager, Katie Redman and Steven Tronsen. One group focused on construction and mechanical issues; another on electrical elements; a third, on safety; and a fourth, on writing and documentation.

Part of the project’s brilliance was its simplicity. The final product was constructed in a modular design containing just three, primary structural components – an electronic control box, a main support beam and a pivot arm containing a winch and harness. Remote control capability was provided through a garage door opener. The PAL was born.

Ever practical, the invention was designed for easy, combine-friendly installation that did not require the drilling of a single hole. Every bolt lined up to the bolt holes that came from the factory.

Then came the JETS competition in Washington, D.C. There, the Gar-Pal team had to demonstrate its product, present research, and explain and defend every aspect of the project from concept design to technical specifications, construction, testing, safety and cost.

The judges were impressed. Viking Engineering received tops honors for Outstanding Engineering Design and, in the overall competition, second place in the nation, ahead of teams from at least nine other states.

First place eluded the team after some of the judges admitted they didn’t know the function of a combine. Still, the competition was satisfying and every member of the team was recognized by Sen. Patty Murray in the Congressional Record.

While the national competition is over, the PAL project is not. “Although we designed this for a specific agricultural need, we see a lot of other applications outside agriculture,” says senior Travis Mallet. “Boating and trucking are two other areas we want to explore.”

“We’re also looking into a patent,” adds senior Sean Neal, noting that much of the team will stay together in college, traveling the short distance to Washington State University. With some interested in engineering and others in business, they say Viking Engineering will have all its bases covered. Indeed, the PAL project is far from over. It has only just begun.