All Things Extinguisher, with Surprise BattleBots Guest John Flaacke

This week on the podcast, we sit down with surprise guest John Flaacke, the 17-year-old captain of Extinguisher, the fire engine-themed modular heavyweight that made its debut on the 2019 season of BattleBots. John talks about his high school capstone project (an autonomous firefighting robot), why he decided to build a heavyweight first, and how he chopped 35 pounds off his robot’s emergency siren.   This week’s combat robotics event calendar:   Jan. 25 Las Vegas, NV Desert Dust Up Fairyweights, antweights and beetleweights Organized by Vegas Combat Robotics robotcombatevents.com/events/451   Jan. 25 Miami, FL Robot Riot at RoboSLAM 2020 Fairyweights, antweights and beetleweights Organized by Robot Riot buildersdb.com/eventdetail.asp?eventid=605   Jan. 25 Fullerton, CA Sparklecon Smash VII Fairyweights, antweights, plastic antweights and beetleweights Organized by Bad Kitty facebook.com/events/2418538445075996   Jan. 25 and 26 Monroe, WA WAR Hobby Expo 2020 Fairyweights, antweights, plastic antweights, beetleweights, 12-pound hobbyweight and 30-pound sportsman Organized by Western Allied Robotics robotcombatevents.com/events/472   Jan. 26 Sherburn in Elmet, UK RoboDojo Feathers Full Combat and Sportsman Featherweights Organized by RoboDojo facebook.com/events/1220535418334975   Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!