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Title: Qu8k - BALLS 20 - Carmack Prize Attempt - High Altitude Rocket On-board Video
Source:
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URL Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvDqoxMUroA&feature=player_embedded#!
Published: Oct 11, 2011
Author: n
Post Date: 2011-10-11 14:42:19 by gengis gandhi
Keywords: None
Views: 189
Comments: 14
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#1. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
Amazing. Do those guys have a clue as to where their rockets will land? (Except the one that didn't clear the driveway)
Break the Conventions - Keep the Commandments - G.K.Chesterson they land on earth or up some martians ass i reckon...
Thou hast power only to act not over the result thereof. Act thou therefore without prospect of the result and without succcumbing to inaction. The mind acts like an enemy for those who do not control it...Perform your obligatory duty, because action is indeed better than inaction...Sever the ignorant doubt in your heart with the sword of self-knowledge. Observe your discipline. Arise. The Bhagavad Gita
Well, assuming 20 miles up, if it's a good vertical launch and minimal wind, I'd imagine touching down within 5 miles from the launch site wouldn't be an unreasonable expectation. Some of those camera views are with wide angle lenses so it's not as dramatic as it might seem at face value, but that doesn't detract from it very much! I did rockets as a kid and am actually looking into doing it some more here in Ecuador. But there is no model rocketry hobby here as far as I know, though fireworks are easy to find. We'd need to make our own rocket fuel and rockets so this post is pretty cool to find. My step-son here has never done this so that's the reason for me to think about getting back into it. Thanks.
Have a blast, and stay as safe as is possible.
Break the Conventions - Keep the Commandments - G.K.Chesterson Yes, thanks. "as possible" are the operative words when you start baking the rocket fuel into it's final pasty form. Might do that in a toaster oven connected to a long extension cord, outside.
No doubt. A hundred yards, or so, might be smart; depending on the propellant of your rocket.
Break the Conventions - Keep the Commandments - G.K.Chesterson You're in luck, Ecuador has Hobbico hobby shops who sell Estes Rockets:
I don't have that kind of distance to work with, but it should be relatively safe. It's not flamable until it dries out and oven temps should be substantially cooler than that needed for ignition. The stuff we've read on the net is Potassium Nitrate, KNO3 and I think honey or some kind of sugar base and something else. Got it bookmarked. Ecuador has a great time with fireworks with no real restrictions that I know of (imagine having that kind of freedom in the USA). Fireworks shops at various times of the year spring up. Before NY's this year I saw some interesting stuff for sale, including one called the "Cosmic Tsunami". It cost about $90 and came in a box big enough to hold about 8 sixpacks of canned beer, and has just one fuse on it to light. They had about 5-6 different kinds of fireworks in that same scale. Lots of smaller stuff too of course but they were doing a booming business.... no pun intended.... So I figure making rocket fuel here shouldn't be too hard.
Well, thank you so much, there X-15! I know one of the shops that's listed there but have never taken the time to stop in. RC planes are here for sure and there's a few shops like that I've visited, but I figured this one like the others just carried RC plane stuff. I'll check them out and post back the results for good measure. Thanks again. The next question though is how much the rocket motors cost. Here, stuff imported from the USA can be pricey, unfortunately, but we'll see.
You're welcome :)
We finally stopped by that RC shop yesterday. FYI, they don't have any rocket things at all. After my last post I kinda figured there wouldn't be as one learns that such info as you found on the net just isn't reliable here. That's one difference between the US and probably most of latin America. They pretty much just has RC planes. They did tell us that rocketry is pretty much non-existent in Ecuador. Apparently there is one Ecuadorian astronaut that went up in the space shuttle and he's involved with conferences to try to raise interest in it on a corporate/government level, but that's about it. There's about nothing here on the amateur level with rocketry. Ergo, I have a feeling if I was dedicated enough I could probably pioneer amateur rocketry in Ecuador -- if I was dedicated enough. There are some 14 million people in the country but such opportunities to exist here as that's not that many by some scales. First thing I need to do is figure out how to make rocket fuel and construct rocket motors. Ingredients and supplies shouldn't be hard to find as there is already a pretty serious fireworks industry here. As a former teen rocket builder, everything else is actually pretty easy. Cheers...
That's a shame, I think the hobbyshop is missing a potential market segment. You should write to Estes Rockets and see if you can order engines/kits from them. As "X" pointed out - you can mail order a lot of the stuff you need for simple solid fuel amateur rockets. There is more than one e-tailer so shop around and look for the best bargains. I don't know if you have any import/customs restrictions to deal with though.
That's the rub. Shipping costs from the USA to Ecuador are rather prohibitive, and if it's over 4kg or $400 in value it should go through customs where we get raked over the coals again, especially if it's construed as being for commercial resale. Believe it or not, Ecuador's import tax also taxes the shipping cost of the package in addition to the value & type of the contents. Ain't no NAFTA here, I'll tell you. When people visit we always take that opportunity to have them bring something on the plane with them as luggage is generally not inspected, at least for tax purposes. It could actually be cheaper to fly to the US, buy things, and fly back with it in luggage than to have the same merchandise shipped in. Then there's the question of whether rocket motors would even be allowed to be shipped certain ways given that it's essentially explosives. I could check but I expect that importing rocket motors won't be financially feasible. But that's okay. One really cool thing about this place is there are craftsmen of all sorts here. You need a very unusual tiny spring out of your carbuerator replaced? Take the old one to a spring shop and they'll make a duplicate of it in an hour or two, and charge you a buck or less. (I did that). Aluminum craftsmen will repair an aluminum object with a piece broken off it. Lot of mom and pop shops that do that sort of thing here so you end up losing that stateside mentality where everything has to be original manufacture or certified repair. Different world, really. So I could probably become a rocket craftsmen, if I wanted to and start something here if the interest would take root. Making rocket motors isn't that tough, I think. There are some sites on the web that give careful detail as to how to do it so that's probably a good way to go. Plus I could modify them any way I want. Just need to be careful of course, but that's also a different thing about this place. You always have to be careful about everything. Ladders here, for example, don't come with essays stickered onto the sides about all the things not to do with it. You get hurt with a ladder, it's your own stupid fault. Something I've no complaints about!
#2. To: Lod (#1)
#3. To: Lod, gengis gandhi (#1)
Do those guys have a clue as to where their rockets will land?
#4. To: Pinguinite (#3)
#5. To: Lod (#4)
#6. To: Pinguinite (#5)
#7. To: Pinguinite (#3)
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#8. To: Lod (#6)
A hundred yards, or so, might be smart; depending on the propellant of your rocket.
#9. To: X-15 (#7)
#10. To: Pinguinite (#8)
(Edited)
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#11. To: X-15 (#10)
#12. To: Pinguinite (#11)
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#13. To: Pinguinite, X-15 (#11)
#14. To: Original_Intent, X-15 (#13)
I don't know if you have any import/customs restrictions to deal with though.
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