Rocket City Rednecks

The show just came on, I think the sound of that guy singing the theme just sterilized all the frogs within 50 feet of my house.

Doug,
How many impotent frogs do you now have?:y::y:
How many frogs normally are within 50' of the house?
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The good news is in the future there won't be as many!

Dude, You crack me up!!

Eric Foster

I will admit,I saw only the last part of the "moon shine" episode, but I was not impressed at ALL.

They kept talking about safety, but kept doing STUPID stuff over and over.

Also, I do not belive the motor they staic tested, is the same motor that they had in the rocket that they launched.

Again, not impresses and do not feel that is has any vale to the hobby at all.

Eric1 said:

Doug,
How many impotent frogs do you now have?:y::y:
How many frogs normally are within 50' of the house?

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I don't know! You want me to go out and count frogs, I'm trying to stop my ears bleeding.

Using moonshine in a hybrid seems kind dumb. There are a lot easier fuels to deal with for a hybrid.

All the talk about safety was just that, talk.

I sensed something was going to go bad when he was about to plug in the battery on his ejection charge.

BOOM!:y:

That's OK let's fly it anyway. :confused2: What a schmuck!

The submarine show was...well, not well thought out.

"Gee, it should be watertight...the paint doesn't dry in the can."

12' under water is what, about 5 or 6 psi? That's a lot more pressure than you would think.

Just found about this show from a NG magazine someone left on the bar.. ill have to check it out. Of course the picture they had for the guy had him holding a mylar wrapped satalite dish in one hand, a jiffy pop container in the focal zone in the other. Of course, I did something simular for my 7th grade science project.

If Mythbusters and Jackass had a baby, it would be Rocket City Rednecks.

Take it off the air before it does more damage. Like they said the ejection charges were high explosive's Ok I watched it once no need to watch it again.
CR

sandman said:

Using moonshine in a hybrid seems kind dumb. There are a lot easier fuels to deal with for a hybrid.

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My guess is that what they flew was an off-the-shelf RATTWorks tribrid. The rocket looked like a Hawk Mountain fiberglass kit. There is no way these guys built and flew their own hybrid motor.

sandman said:

12' under water is what, about 5 or 6 psi? That's a lot more pressure than you would think.

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.44 psi per foot plus 14.7 psi ambient = about 20 psi.

The 'test' motor was simple pieces of pipe they had screwed together. Pumped in some ethanol and N2O and lit it. Big whoop.

The actual launch looked like they put a bit of ethanol in the nitrous tank of a commercial hybrid, pumped in some N2O and set it off. Might have been some actual fuel grain installed too so they could make it look like they got some thrust.

Also watched the episode on the iron man suit. Really painful.

They probably went with moonshine to go with the whole redneck theme. Of course, it was probably just denatured or lab grade ethonal... of course.. I'm a newb and don't really know what a hybrid engine is at this point. Also, I'm a yeast farmer, ethonal is just a byproduct of that
Ill give them a benifit of a doubt.. sounds like soft science, with a healthy dose of "hey y'all! Hold my b eer and watch this!" Which I find is 90% of these type of shows... its reality TV for the geek crowd

Mythbusters with southern draaaawl, Blah.

Beergnome said:

They probably went with moonshine to go with the whole redneck theme. Of course, it was probably just denatured or lab grade ethonal... of course.. I'm a newb and don't really know what a hybrid engine is at this point. Also, I'm a yeast farmer, ethonal is just a byproduct of that
Ill give them a benifit of a doubt.. sounds like soft science, with a healthy dose of "hey y'all! Hold my b eer and watch this!" Which I find is 90% of these type of shows... its reality TV for the geek crowd

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Here you go Hybrids and Tribrids 101

https://www.hawkfeather.com/rockets/hybrid_tutorial.html

https://www.hawkfeather.com/ratt/tribrid_tutorial.html

Dave

crossfire said:

Ok I watched it once no need to watch it again.
CR

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I second that. The show was slam dunked together for starters. Not enough nifty details for the likes of us. Way too much emphasis on redneck chatter and quite simply put together poorly. You all have already hit on the techno bases so I had to go with the "cheese" factor. Gets a 2 on a scale from 1 - 10. Once was enuff for me also.

rattmanndoo said:

Here you go Hybrids and Tribrids 101

https://www.hawkfeather.com/rockets/hybrid_tutorial.html

https://www.hawkfeather.com/ratt/tribrid_tutorial.html

Dave

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thanks for that! I got an appointment in a few minutes, I'l check them out when I get back in

SecretSquirrel said:

I don't know! You want me to go out and count frogs, I'm trying to stop my ears bleeding.

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LOL!

SecretSquirrel said:

If Mythbusters and Jackass had a baby, it would be Rocket City Rednecks.

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Maybe just me but More Jackass than a 50/50 blend.

crossfire said:

Take it off the air before it does more damage. Like they said the ejection charges were high explosive's Ok I watched it once no need to watch it again.
CR

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Agreed, I stepped in Dog Poo, Once.

Eric

Adding to the perception that people interested in rocketry are screw-loose idiots just going out to blow $#$# up.

Just for fun I'd like to see one of their nitwit firecrackers blow up and take somebody's head off, but good god could you imagine the headlines if that ever happened?

I suppose, eventually, if crap like this keeps going on the air, it'll probably happen.

SecretSquirrel said:

If Mythbusters and Jackass had a baby, it would be Rocket City Rednecks.

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I think you have captured their whole show in a nutshell (pun?)

I was really disappointed in this new show. I realize it is made for TV entertainment value, but I get really tired of depicting these projects as a bunch of loose idiots who show up to drink something, bash together some junk seemingly without any planning or analysis, and hope to make it accomplish something that represents a major technical challenge. I think this garbage TV plants an image in the mind of the public that any old clown can do this stuff and land a rocket on the moon, and that it's OK to try stupid stuff yourself, in your garage, without any safety measures (despite their disclaimers)

I sure won't waste any more time watching that show

n1lul said:

They kept talking about safety, but kept doing STUPID stuff over and over.

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You didn’t get the joke? “Safety THIRD”? One of them was even wearing a shirt that said “Safety Third”.

I am not even so sure these guys are into hobby rocketry. Well, maybe one, a bit. But he was totally clueless about how to wire up, *TEST*, and properly arm an altimeter. I’m surprised nobody in this thread has even mentioned that the rocket’s “second charge” never fired to pop the chute.

And I have a real nagging suspicion that the “accidental” ejection charge firing was done on purpose for the show.

Anyway, the other three episodes had nothing to do with rockets. And I won't be surprised if they don’t do other rockets much, or at all (I actually doubt this show is going to last anyway).

For those who take the show title too literally, please note that “Rocket City” is the nickname for Huntsville. I think a few who have commented here think the people on the show are a group of hobby rocketeers, who dabble in doing other stuff, but I think it’s the other way around (that they “dabble” in rocketry, with maybe one who almost knows what he is doing).

I am still wondering about how their “Hybrid” rocket worked with Alcohol and Nitrous. No, I do not question that it can be done, I question what THAT engine was really using when it ignited. But the show wasted so much time on the silly stuff about making the alcohol, and spent only a few seconds on the engine, showing pouring alcohol straight from a jar into the rocket.

No static test firing of the actual engine? So, just like I have suspiscions about the ejection “accident” , I also have doubts as to whether that was actually alcohol fueled.

I know the beginning of that whole episode was a grand half-truth or lie, depending on how you look at it. Gave the impression that NASA would be interested in alcohol as a fuel, when that is 70+ year old technology. And never mentioning at all that the German V-2 used Alcohol as its fuel (75% alcohol and 25% water), plus an oxidizer (Liquid Oxygen).

So if they were willing to base the whole episode on a half truth or lie about Alcohol (as though a “new idea”, or somehow a better fuel for NASA), then it’s not that far fetched to wonder what else was fudged, faked, or rigged.

And since nobody seemed to react that the chute never deployed, and the rocket actually crashed, it leads one to wonder if they knew it was going to crash without a chute.

The submarine episode showed just how stupid they are. They were lucky nobody died, even with the safety divers (if it had suddenly collapsed inwards, and been trapped inside that thing and been unconscious, the divers may not have gotten them out that thing open in time).

“Safety Third”.....

- George Gassaway

Peartree said:

.44 psi per foot plus 14.7 psi ambient = about 20 psi.

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It was assumed I meant above atmospheric pressure.

For those who are interested, National Geographic posted the video of the launch on their YouTube channel. As others have mentioned, it looks like a RATTWorks Tribrid motor.

[YOUTUBE]QGsHBZtzx3g[/YOUTUBE]

I couldn't bring myself to watch the whole thing.

Shocking shocking truly shocking the chute didn't work.

Oh and the prelaunch "accident": Fake.

well.. that's... a thing... and Uhm... there ya go!

still looks like it was all played up for the camera to me.

they fried the control board, let the thing go up and come back down.. ballistic? somebody is playing with someone elses money here.

Beergnome said:

well.. that's... a thing... and Uhm... there ya go!

still looks like it was all played up for the camera to me.

they fried the control board, let the thing go up and come back down.. ballistic? somebody is playing with someone elses money here.

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Really, if NatGeo was banrkolling everything I launched, and hinting to me if would be "really cool" if I launched a video camera that came in ballistic, I'd worry a lot less about getting parachute deployment too. :eyeroll: :eyeroll:

heh! even the accents sounded played up to me! Heck, I'm a southern man, and have had plenty of dealings with my more... backwooded brethern. Ive also done a lot of profesional Voice over work, and when I do my "prototypical redneck" voice, it sounds a lot like them.

Hybrid and moonshine?

Sounds like JClark's 'Drunk and Disorderly' hybrid rocket which is quite a nice flier.

As i watched the first 4 episodes on my DVR, I thought "What the ....!? Local PD is used during "Bomb proof" test, no fire dept., no removal of flamable liquids AND NO MENTION OF DISCLAIMER* &/or LOCAL,STATE OR FEDERAL REG'S/PERMITS BEING MET!!!! Ditto for episodes 2-4. I see copy-cats getting hurt &/or going to jail. I'm done with it and hope the show dies quickly!

Mythbusters is a class act compared to these "Professionals"

* Except std. disclaimer during commercial break

Just some good ole boys, never meanin' no harm . . . makin' their way the only way they how, thats just a little bit more than the Law will allow . . . someday the mountain might get 'em but the Law never will. Yeee Ha! Since I can't afford the expensive cable package with Nat Geo I sure do hope they syndicate to CMT! Yepers, then I can watch Daisy Duke follered by Rocket City, heck, I might not be buildin' many rockets with quality programmin' like that. Hello couch, hello beer!

They need to have more shows with girls in Daisy Dukes launching rockets.

:wink: