Tracking powder

Ive heard lots of people talk about it but I dont know what it is or how to use it.
how do I use tracking powder????

Aksrockets said:

Ive heard lots of people talk about it but I dont know what it is or how to use it.
how do I use tracking powder????

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you are going to get a lot of different answers to this.. however here is mine


tracking powder is chalk line chalk from home depot, dried tempora paint. ect.

i use chalk line chalk red or orange usually.. when i roll my chutes i pour a good ammount in the middle of the roll that way when the chute pops open it gives a good cloud to see...down fall is it does get onto everything and can stain chutes and body tubes... i wipe tubes down with baby wipes after i use chaulk.:2::2::2:

I use either line chalk or baby powder (make sure it's pure TALC- cornstarch is flammable).

On my larger rockets, I've used something similar to this - https://www.rocketreviews.com/smoke-can.html attached to the drogue.

Works pretty good for hybrids (which lack tracking smoke). Also helps
to keep the chalk mess to a minimum.

brianc said:

I use either line chalk or baby powder (make sure it's pure TALC- cornstarch is flammable).

On my larger rockets, I've used something similar to this - https://www.rocketreviews.com/smoke-can.html attached to the drogue.

Works pretty good for hybrids (which lack tracking smoke). Also helps
to keep the chalk mess to a minimum.

Click to expand...

I have thought about doing something like this myself actually. I wonder what the maximum altitude you can see the trail at? Probably depends on how much you use and how thick the trail is. I think it is worth experimenting.
-Tom

Tracking Powders are generally used in high performance Competition models but can also help in seeing ejection on sport models.

To reduce some of the mass of the tracking powder many of us like to mix dry tempra pigment with talc baby powder in apporx. 50/50% mix. this greatly reduces the mass without lowering the density of the ejected cloud.
Typical 1/2oz powder clouds are easily seen at 3000 feet. I don't fly higher then that so can't say what the max visible altitude would be.

Color depends on the sky conditions I keep a couple squeeze bottles of various colors in my range box most of the time.

Below are a few examples of tracking powders. Hope it helps a bit.

Been a while since I've used tracking powder. I used to make a little pouch out of a piece of wadding to wrap the powder in. It made it a little less messy but it still dispersed good enough to be seen.

I usually liberally dust my parachutes with talcum powder... being sure to leave a teaspoon to a couple tablespoons of powder in the chute as I pack it... The little bit of extra weight helps the chute unfurl, and when the chute pops open, it leaves a pretty neat cloud of powder in the sky...

Later! OL JR

Micromeister said:

Typical 1/2oz powder clouds are easily seen at 3000 feet. I don't fly higher then that so can't say what the max visible altitude would be.

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5 lb. (chalk) is very visible at 25,000 feet :smile::smile:

yeah, Ill be flying to about 3000, single deploy

I used the orange chalk line powder from Home Depot at hell fire. Helped me see the ejection quite nicely. I'm getting too blind.

Well, orange chalk powder it is....
Ken, how high did you go?

I use Day Glo pigment. This is a picture of a 2" tube 11" long dispersed at about 75-80,000 feet. It looks small but it is 15 miles away.
If anyone wants 50 lbs of the stuff it is in my garage, come and get it. I will not ship.

Mark

Would you bring it to a launch?

Say ARG in February?

What tracking powder looks like when it doesn't work:

https://www.tripolioklahoma.org/images/sb/sb_spring2004/t_hruby/pages/Warloc_Ortega_Aftermath_01.htm

https://www.tripolioklahoma.org/images/sb/sb_spring2004/t_hruby/pages/Warloc_Ortega_Aftermath_02.htm

https://www.tripolioklahoma.org/images/sb/sb_spring2004/t_hruby/pages/Warloc_Ortega_Aftermath_04.htm

looks like the concrete is bleeding...

rdbones said:

Would you bring it to a launch?

Say ARG in February?

Click to expand...

Remind me then.

Mark

Not sure how high, Rocksim said about 3600' on the F240 I used. Since I couldn't really see the rocket take off, I just looked in the sky for an orange poof. Worked great twice! First time I flew the rocket down in Utah co. on a D12, I had to listen for it to land.