Rocket Sled 3 launches (video)

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mbecks

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YouTube is having an issue with this video and it must be played in 1080 if you watch it in youtube or it will stutter and the sound/video will go out of sync. They have been contacted. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

Here's my latest adventures with the rocket sled. for the best experience watch it full screen. Hope you enjoy the video. tTell me what you think and if you do like my videos please subscribe as it encourages me to get out and get more creative.

[video=youtube;XPlmhOcKS0c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPlmhOcKS0c&feature[/video]
 
Not a single comment. Dang this must not be interesting. Sorry guys.
 
Watched this at work and I was gonna comment but then a damn project kicked off! I quite enjoy watching this and seeing your results. Thoughts about the thickness of the skis though, they look really heavy. Thought about something thinner? I saw you drilled some ‘speed holes” since last time.
 
Not a single comment. Dang this must not be interesting. Sorry guys.

No, no. It is interesting. In fact, I was watching it on break a couple times at work. Good quality video overall. I like how the last one happened to go right past the downrange camera perfectly. In the YouTube comment section it seems you have found a troll already. Part of the flora and fauna of a YT channel I suppose.
 
Good addition of the c clamp. That straightened it out perfectly. You should invest in some Pro24 hdw and reloads, those will get it going no problem.

I have just one more question....do those skis work on water......?
 
I didn't even see this thread until now; have some patience. :) Suggest having a single ongoing thread where you discuss this rather than creating a new one each time. In the meantime I subscribed to your channel.

Comments:
1) The holes drilled out seem like a good start, but it still seems to me like weight is your enemy. What's the weight of the whole thing? I wonder if the principle of minimizing unsprung weight applies here as with cars, in which case lightening up the skis would be a priority.

2) I'm guessing that your third run benefited from the tracks left by the second run. So for the startup it didn't have to fight through fresh snow.

3) Since you have the footage, I'd show each of the camera angles full screen (one after another). Seeing them all on screen at once makes it hard to concentrate on the two insets, and anyway I'd like to see them in all their full-screen glory. :)

4) At some point you will have to consider whether to turn off comments. This is Youtube we're talking about after all. :)

I'm enjoying these.
 
If mockery is the sincerest form of flattery.... I started on a smaller version today to try with the kids at school! CO gets some serious winds some days so why not go horizontal. Anywho. What if:
1. Wax the skis to lubricate them
2. Your weight is forward on the skis. What if you move it back toward the rear a little more. My rational is snow skiing. The farther you lean back, the less surface friction on the forward half of the skis, more float and more speed. You have to have some forward weight...
3. Move the rocket motors to under the center and put the camera in the middle on top to do away with the extra weight. If you have a CATO, the cross member would absorb the hit. Two or more conduit clamps from the electrical section of the local hardware store would be enough to hold the motors. You could also shim the motor at the rear or front depending on how the sled carries under thrust
4. Go with smaller aluminum all-thread on the back instead of steel
5. Trimming down a couple of inches on the front of the skis or reshaping to a leaner surface to knock down the drag from the vertical part of the skis
Just bouncing ideas, diggin' what you're doin'

This isn't just a lead up to this is it...
https://craziestgadgets.com/2008/12/26/rocket-sled-really-takes-off/

182h1moyenhryjpg.jpg
 
viciouspeanut and cabernet - Thanks for the encouragement. Man building a YouTube channel is tough. It is disappointing when you spend probably a total of 6-8 hours filming and editing a video and get no comments, likes or subscribers but I'm sure it comes with time. Any body who subscribes to me from here I subscribe back because everyone seems to have videos on there channel I didn't know existed. I love watching others launches.

Nytrunner - Do those skis work on water? You read my mind. I want to ad a floatation device to it and see if she will hydroplane over some water. Might even ad a piece of foam (like the foam tray raw meat come in) to give it more surface area.

Neil_w - 1)Weight is definitely my biggest issue. especially seeing that I got the version 1 sled to go further just on 2 D12s. I think version 3 will be going into the works for a total overhaul. thanks for the subscription. I subscribed back. You channel has some awesome launches.
2) I never even though about the tracks helping but you could totally be right.
3) Good idea. I fear making my videos to long because most people don't have the patients to sit through a whole video. It is a bit over whelming seeing 3 angles at once though.
4) The troll is someone I work with and know well and actually get along with haha. He was just giving me a hard time like I would do to him. I did convince him to give it a thumbs up though so ill call it even.

Knuckledragger - I'm actually super pumped someone else is going to build something related to thing. It seems like a super untested idea. I have found a few old YouTube videos of snow sleds people have built but most are just cardboard with a rocket attached. There was one nicely built one with one launch that I could find, I messaged the guy but it seems he has since abandoned the channel. Hopefully you record some of the kids rockets, id love to see them. What sort of materials are you going to use. As for your building suggestions, I'm going to be doing a full revamp of the sled so I will definitely apply some of those ideas.
I will not be strapping my self and rockets to a sled haha, I saw that video before and man that looks dangerous and fun.
 
viciouspeanut and cabernet - Thanks for the encouragement. Man building a YouTube channel is tough. It is disappointing when you spend probably a total of 6-8 hours filming and editing a video and get no comments, likes or subscribers but I'm sure it comes with time. Any body who subscribes to me from here I subscribe back because everyone seems to have videos on there channel I didn't know existed. I love watching others launches.

Nytrunner - Do those skis work on water? You read my mind. I want to ad a floatation device to it and see if she will hydroplane over some water. Might even ad a piece of foam (like the foam tray raw meat come in) to give it more surface area.

Neil_w - 1)Weight is definitely my biggest issue. especially seeing that I got the version 1 sled to go further just on 2 D12s. I think version 3 will be going into the works for a total overhaul. thanks for the subscription. I subscribed back. You channel has some awesome launches.
2) I never even though about the tracks helping but you could totally be right.
3) Good idea. I fear making my videos to long because most people don't have the patients to sit through a whole video. It is a bit over whelming seeing 3 angles at once though.
4) The troll is someone I work with and know well and actually get along with haha. He was just giving me a hard time like I would do to him. I did convince him to give it a thumbs up though so ill call it even.

Knuckledragger - I'm actually super pumped someone else is going to build something related to thing. It seems like a super untested idea. I have found a few old YouTube videos of snow sleds people have built but most are just cardboard with a rocket attached. There was one nicely built one with one launch that I could find, I messaged the guy but it seems he has since abandoned the channel. Hopefully you record some of the kids rockets, id love to see them. What sort of materials are you going to use. As for your building suggestions, I'm going to be doing a full revamp of the sled so I will definitely apply some of those ideas.
I will not be strapping my self and rockets to a sled haha, I saw that video before and man that looks dangerous and fun.


We're in the process of building a "maker space" aka Learning Lab for the 6-8th graders. Friday the 6th graders built sleds for indoor runs down a 6ft door. But! I remembered your thread and though we have no snow on the ground right now, I took a look around and mocked up a 10"L x 4"W sled with some of the scrapped pieces of wood (dowels, flats, and hot glue) from another class that uses CAD to build wooden cars and and pneumatic launcher. Had to see if I could do it with whats on hand and how long it would take. Class duration is the limiting factor so I have one day to build and one to launch. OR make it a lunch time project over the week and launch on the first available snow. Now I have an idea and just thought of a few options to throw in to the mix. Will make a handful of kits for the kiddos to McGiver and test then top three step up motor size for final throwdown. Number of motors would be "buyable" upgrades depending a few considerations.
 
How about some long burn HP motors? Once the snow melts, put it on a skate board or something with wheels & a guide wire like when we used to make CO2 drag racers?
 
So much for winter starting to end here. We just got a huge snow dump. Guess I might have to see if I can break 200 feet. Its so hard to know whats going to happens though, I could put the same D12 to E16 in there and because of the fluffier fresh snow It might only go 100 feet.

Knuckledragger - Are you a teacher? My favorite memories from elementary school where when we got to do science stuff that involved being creative. keep my updated on how the project goes.

Timbucktoo - What kind of long burn motors are you thinking? I did try E9s on my old sled and they worked really well but this new sled is to dang heavy. I got a rocket on wheels in the works already. Hopefully I can hunker down soon and get it ready for launch.
 
knuckledragger - Oh wait I just noticed you said HP motors. Don't think I got even the means to get those where I am.
 
Man building a YouTube channel is tough. It is disappointing when you spend probably a total of 6-8 hours filming and editing a video and get no comments, likes or subscribers but I'm sure it comes with time.
Yes, it is tough. And these videos, while very cool, are still really targeted at a relatively small group of enthusiasts. Make these videos because you enjoy making them.

If you're looking to have a much broader appeal and larger audience, then you will probably need to do some things differently, increase your budget, and *still* be patient because it takes a time and persistence to build an audience unless you get very lucky.
 
That's cool, I would have guessed it would go faster. You should throw something a little bigger is there and clock how fast you can get it!


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
In addition to what Neil says, most people have short attention span so it’s best to cut to the chase. Most rocket videos I’ve made are no more than 90 seconds.
This one is the longest I’ve ever made and only because there was a little fire my camera caught on video.
https://youtu.be/ptX-dqSw9-w
 
Sorry off of the topic of conversation, can some people try watching the video in YouTube. I tried to show my parents and it would glitch out and go out of sync, then my brother and his kids wanted to watch it and they asked me if it was working. Need some testers to see if it is playing properly in YouTube. It seems to work fine when watching from here. Thanks for the help. Thanks.
 
Sorry off of the topic of conversation, can some people try watching the video in YouTube. I tried to show my parents and it would glitch out and go out of sync, then my brother and his kids wanted to watch it and they asked me if it was working. Need some testers to see if it is playing properly in YouTube. It seems to work fine when watching from here. Thanks for the help. Thanks.

Huh. For me, the 1080p stream works fine, but the 480p and 720p streams are stuttery. It's repeatable. Dunno what the problem could be.
 
That’s exactly what I tested to, 1080 worked lower res and it would mess up. I sent a message to YouTube support about the issue. might be easier and faster just to delete the video and re-upload though.
 
Turns out its a known but uncommon youtube error that they are working on. who knew... back to the conversation.
 
Niel_w - You're right it is a very niche channel, I never really thought about it. I just cant be that zany Youtuber whose acting super pumped up about everything and yells "whats up guuuuuys" at the start of every video. I am hoping to increase the budget and interest level of the videos. I'm having a morale quandary about my builds. Its a tough balance of going huge right off the start VS being safe and slowly sizing up my rocket builds. On one hand people would way rather watch me stuff the biggest rocket I can get my hand on into my projects and wing it to see what happens (good for views), on the other hand I like to take at least some level of safety (not so interesting). Ill just keep doing projects that interest me and hopefully slowly reach the members of that niche.

timbucktoo - I'm trying to find a balance between having boring drawn out videos and just clips I share with family and friends. I want It to turn into a channel over time people want to watch and look forward to the next adventure.
 
Longer videos increase "watch time". That's like currency for YouTube. More watch time(among other things) = higher ranking. Higher ranking, better chance of being the next suggested video and therefore increased views and watch time and so on... Three main things that matter for a channel are regular uploads(weekly at least), watch time and subscribers. For longer videos, short attention span people will just click forward to the 'good part' and go on to the next one. Others, might just sit and watch the whole thing.
After a year and a half or so of uploading rocketry videos, I'm just 2 shy of the 100 subscriber mark, which is really cool. I haven't put a lot of work into the channel, just upload videos that I'd like to share. I'm sure you'll hit that mark much, much sooner. Keep doing your thing. Do what you find interesting and it will show.
 
The rocket train is in the process. I should be able to finish it this weekend. Here in Canada we have been getting crazy weather which has been slowing the progress. But soon new videos will be out.
 
The rocket train is in the process. I should be able to finish it this weekend. Here in Canada we have been getting crazy weather which has been slowing the progress. But soon new videos will be out.

Oh man, if you use really smooth bearings, and rig some sort of release system, I'm imagining multistage rocket trains that you'll have to chase into the next county!
 
This is definitely calling out for some CTI 24mm beasties. Since you're north of the border, I believe everything G and under is fair game without high power certification. (Canadians, please correct me if I'm wrong!) In the 3-grain case, an F240 would be a total hoot, although the F30 longburn is probably a better choice for distance. 2.4 seconds of long-burn goodness. :)
 
Maybe you could pile some snow making a downhill ramp of some kind to help get the sled moving at start up.
I see the speed loss, due to overcoming friction in the beginning.

Or ply wood sheet covered in snow.
 
I’ll make a sneak peek video showing what I’ve came up with so far and get some ideas flowing.
 
Uggh, huge face palm moment. So the piece of railroad track I own is a 1 foot section of track that the rail company cuts off a section of new track when they are replacing areas of railroad. I built my train rocket around this piece and just finished it today, everything looked great and on my test section fit nicely. I decided to take it out to some real track and give it a push test just to see how it rolls. Well it immediately fell off the track. Looking more closely I never would have thought tracks get so worn down. The track I went to is about 1/2” to 3/4” worn down on the top and 1/16” to 1/8” on the side. I’ve now completely taken apart the train and am starting from scratch.
 
I didn't realize they get worn that much. I wonder how much a track varies in dimensions along the same stretch? I bet engineers had to wrestle with this issue in Los Alamos or wherever it was that they were doing rockets on tracks. Sandia Corp was it?
 
How about some long burn HP motors? Once the snow melts, put it on a skate board or something with wheels & a guide wire like when we used to make CO2 drag racers?

Well..... I've still got an I1299N-P Pegasus Orbital FinCan WARP9 BAE textron propellant motor I'm still chickensh*t to fly after destroying a university multistage last year on one. If OP is ever near Tennessee and it's snowing send a PM. 1500N in 0.3s. Rocketsled don't need a delay charge always. Surely a cool RSO in USA would let us do a horizontal sled launch for a good laugh on an empty snowy closed range in a responsible safe manner. Just needs 38mm thrust rings.
 
My original train car somewhat locked onto the track but with the varieing track shape I’m going to have to switch to a more ride on top of the track design. Back to the ol drawing board.
 
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