Melon launcher repeats victory at Lake in the Hills festival

It has a fun name to say, but what fans of the Fahrfunflinger like best is the way the giant slingshot shoots 10-pound watermelons hundreds of feet through the air, sending the melons smashing to the ground.

"I like the splatter," said 9-year-old Matthew Kubitz, of Crystal Lake, who watched the Melon Propellin' Contest with his family and friends Saturday at the Lake in the Hills Summer Sunset Festival.

Hundreds of people lined the fields off Miller Road to watch three teams compete for a trophy and cash prizes. A chorus of "oohs" and "ahs" followed each team's launch and made for applause and laughter when watermelons burst on impact.

Matthew and his brother, Zak, 11, along with their friend Maxwell Mraz, 11, also of Crystal Lake, sat on the sideline at about the 300-foot mark, in prime position to watch the giant fruits splatter.

"I like the trebuchet one," Maxwell said. "It looks cool and goes a lot higher."

This year, the Fahrfunflinger team scored a victory for the second year in a row, sending a watermelon 539 feet. The score was well short of its record-setting distance 632 feet at last year's festival.

"It's fun to be up here," said Ric Franke-Polz, of Porter, Ind. who built the white canon with his friend Jim Murray. "Everyone has been friendly and fun."

Unlike the two other contraptions in the competition, the Fahrfunflinger uses a slingshot to launch the melons. Elastic tubing is wound with a crank to create the main power source.

Meanwhile, the Choctaw Chucker and Waltermelon Launcher teams used a trebuchet - or catapult - system that employs a counterweight to propel the melon. Trebuchets were used in medieval times to throw boulders, rocks or other projectiles over castle walls.

Second place went to the Choctaw Chucker, with a distance of 495 feet, while the Waltermelon Launcher sent a melon 459 feet.

It could be a few years before the Kubitz family enters the contest.

"We have talked about it, but it takes a lot of time to build," said Laura Kubitz. "These people really put a lot of time into it."

Elsewhere in the festival, which continues today at Sunset Park at Miller and Albrecht roads, 12 teams competed for the Battle of the Bands title, while teens and tweens tussled in the skateboarding contest.

Festival goers today can compete in the Baggo tournament, or participate in the World's Largest Rootbeer Float. The tournament begins at 11, while the float starts at 4 p.m.

Wristbands for carnival rides are available and cost $20 for unlimited rides from noon to 4 p.m. Rides include the Zipper, Ferris wheel, Airplane, Aladdin, Dragon Wagon, Fun Slide, Gravitron, Himalaya, Moon Walk, Submarine and Tilt-a-Whirl.

A fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. will close 2010 festivities.

For more information, including a festival schedule, go to summersunsetfest.com.