List of maximum velocity records

Is there a listing somewhere of MR and HPR maximum velocity records ? I am thinking of a similar listing to maximum altitudes by motor classification. Which motor class, what the velocity achieved was, who set the record and when.

Not that I am aware of. I think you will find a lack of info to support the list.

markkoelsch said:

Not that I am aware of. I think you will find a lack of info to support the list.

Click to expand...

My thinking was this, the information is out there in every (or almost every) data recording altimeter package. So why not extract the velocity data and find the maximum value for a given flight.

An integrating accelerometer circuit must have the data in a first incremental stepwise integration of the rocket's acceleration measurement versus time.

A barometric altimeter circuit will involve a little more data computation to extract the velocity data. Not hard, just a few steps on an Excel spreadsheet.

As a minimum, a recorded listing of maximum velocity data would provide the basis of future attempts to exceed the existing record. And future bragging rights for whoever accomplishes it.

I think the main issue with this would be that baro units are more common, and more prone to ...variance.

Blackleaf99 said:

My thinking was this, the information is out there in every (or almost every) data recording altimeter package. So why not extract the velocity data and find the maximum value for a given flight.

Click to expand...

Having made many flights with small rockets and big motors (see my article from last year in SPORT ROCKETRY) I can assure you that barometric velocity is usually garbage for high-speed flights. You have to have an accelerometer.

DizWolf said:

I think the main issue with this would be that baro units are more common, and more prone to ...variance.

Click to expand...

Yes the point is well taken. I suppose this would leave the integrating accelerometer units, or GPS based positional data. I have read many instances of GPS units loosing the satellite lock when velocities are too high.

Still I would be interested to see an ongoing effort to try and capture the highest known velocities attained.

You really need an accelerometer for that, as was mentioned earlier you're not going to get accurate data from a baro. Even after ignoring any mach dips/spikes and extrapolating the missing data, it's still only giving data in the strictly vertical direction, not the axial velocity of the rocket. Any tilt from vertical will simply add to the inaccuracy. The absolute most accurate data would be from a 9 DoF IMU, with a high-G accelerometer in the axial direction, processed through a Kalman filter.

Blackleaf99 said:

Yes the point is well taken. I suppose this would leave the integrating accelerometer units, or GPS based positional data. I have read many instances of GPS units loosing the satellite lock when velocities are too high.

Still I would be interested to see an ongoing effort to try and capture the highest known velocities attained.

Click to expand...

There's a website called "Insane Rocketry" and people can download their altimeter data. Site is fairly new but data is being loaded. It was actually featured in this months Sport Rocketry magazine.