Drag racing

[blackbrandt]

What are the rules of a rocketry drag race?
In the handbook of model rocketry, it says win 2/3 of the following:
First off the pad
Lowest altitude
Hit the ground last

I have also heard it just to be fastest to a certain altitude.



So what is it?

Matt

 

[CarVac]

The most awesome wins.

The rules can be whatever you and the other flier decide to follow.

The latter two seem pretty dumb at least in the context of high power because all you have to do is put in a smaller motor and a gigantic chute, and it's not like many HPR fliers have identical rockets anyway.

 

[JordanT]

First bird to break Mach 1 off the pad. Amiright, guys?

 

[Aksrockets]

What are the rules of a rocketry drag race?

He who has the most fun wins.

To me, drag races arn't about getting off the pad first or any other competition. They are just cool! I would rather get off the pad a 1/4 second slower than one second ahead of the next guy. Seeing two rockets launch exactly at once is much more fun for me then seeing who can get off the pad first.

Alex

 

[dixontj93060]

He who has the most fun wins.

To me, drag races arn't about getting off the pad first or any other competition. They are just cool! I would rather get off the pad a 1/4 second slower than one second ahead of the next guy. Seeing two rockets launch exactly at once is much more fun for me then seeing who can get off the pad first.

Alex

Yep, some of the stuff that Darryl from Wildman Ky gets me into, I'm just happy to recover and get an alt reading!

 

[MasonH]

I have only heard those three rules before. Never fastest to the apogee.

 

[Sparkytfl]

I've seen those rules, and dont like them. The first is all up to how well the igniter lights the motor. The second and third dont have much to do with racing.

I usually see the winner as the first one to reach that point between burnout and apogee where it really slows down quickly. The decision is obviously weighted by motor size though, otherwise a b6 would always win over a c6 in equal rockets, so if not using similar motors they should have similar thrust to weight ratios or hit similar altitudes.

 

[Spooks]

Thought it was a win win...just cool and fun!

 

[mannyskid]

In Illinois at least, the one who wins is whoever cheats the best.

I drag raced Griffin back in May, it was a race of 3" rockets on K2045s. He used a K300 instead, but I CATO'd anyway, so he won and I double lost....

 

[troj]

The only rule I've ever known that anyone really cared about was "Have Fun".

Beyond that, what does it matter?

-Kevin

 

[JStitz]

Yea BB..it's all about the challenge (and you challenging someone) It's about agreed rules or no rules.
It's all about seeing FIRE!
I remember back in LDRS XV when John Ritz Challenged John Stitz (ME) on LOC IV's He= G40 Me=G64...My igniter crapped out.:eyeroll:

 

[JAL3]

What are the rules of a rocketry drag race?
In the handbook of model rocketry, it says win 2/3 of the following:
First off the pad
Lowest altitude
Hit the ground last

I have also heard it just to be fastest to a certain altitude.



So what is it?

Matt

Its relatively easy to maximize any two of those goals through design. Doing so, though, always leads to bad trade-offs with the third. That is the point as I understand the Pink Book regs. Who can come up with a design to best capture 2 of the 3 points? I have never seen a single filer get all 3 unless all the competition DQs.

 

[bandman444]

Its relatively easy to maximize any two of those goals through design. Doing so, though, always leads to bad trade-offs with the third. That is the point as I understand the Pink Book regs. Who can come up with a design to best capture 2 of the 3 points? I have never seen a single filer get all 3 unless all the competition DQs.

To me at least I see the rules and think that

1) is luck, put all the crazy ignitor stuff you want in it, but it is a crap shoot to me 100% off the pad everytime first.

2) fly a saucer

3) big parachute


So with that in mind a lucky Saucer with a big chute will win.

I want the picture of them side by side. I like to see them be close.

If you haven't seen the march photo of the TRF unofficial calendar, look at it. You will love it if you like drag races.

 

[Davidtmp]

In Illinois at least, the one who wins is whoever cheats the best.

, but I CATO'd anyway, so he won and I double lost....

So basically it was like a real NHRA drag race.....one car wins and one usually blows up! :wink:

 

[JAL3]

To me at least I see the rules and think that

1) is luck, put all the crazy ignitor stuff you want in it, but it is a crap shoot to me 100% off the pad everytime first.

Luck is definitely involved but there is some planning as well. What is the most reliable igniter set up you can depend on every time - FAST: Quest Q2G2, if it will light the motor you are using

2) fly a saucer

Common strategy. It even works sometimes

3) big parachute

Another common strategy and it works sometimes too. Sometimes though, the flight is low enough that the chute does not have time to deploy then g=-9.81m/sec^2 takes over and you probably lost


So with that in mind a lucky Saucer with a big chute will win.

I want the picture of them side by side. I like to see them be close.

If you haven't seen the march photo of the TRF unofficial calendar, look at it. You will love it if you like drag races.

I am convinced that the Sunward Flying Umbrella can be made a winner but the problems I have had are:

1. First off the pad with a D12 and lowest flight but no time for chute
2. Lowest flight with E25, good chute but the Quest igniter is iffy and usually get me a DQ
3. One time EVERYTHING worked right but the stupid saucer won anyway by about 1/2 a second and the fools judging altitude split the decision 2-3 in favor of the evil saucer.

 

[mannyskid]

So basically it was like a real NHRA drag race.....one car wins and one usually blows up! :wink:

Exactly!

If there's one thing that we're know for here in the midwest, it's our over-the-top drag races

 

[jimzcatz]

I know there are actual rules that came out recently about drag races,maybe Kevin can shed some light on those. Personally,I just like the smack talking and comaraderie involved. My 2 favorite was NSL 2008,CJ Hendrickson and myself had 7.5" rockets with M2200's. CJ forgot to hook up the ignitor leads so I "won". Thunderstruck 2012,"Low-N-Slow" drag race sponsored by Wildman KY,everyone had to have a 4" rocket and a J360. Lowest altitude wins,and that was me!

 

[JordanT]

On a more serious note, I've seen lots of different rules - including the ones you posted, Matt. It seems more like an impromptu competition with arbitrary rules set or agreed upon ahead of time.

If I were king, it would be the first one to hit a designated altitude, just like a "real" drag race (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_racing). Drag racing on earth is all about acceleration - short courses and maximum power. The nice thing about that for rockets is that it's somewhat independent of size if you choose an altitude which is reachable. Whether you're flying a Alpha or an Ultimate Darkstar, the right altitude gives neither a particular advantage - it's about engine and igniter selection, along with the aerodynamics and mass of your build.

A standard 1/4 mile, which could probably be judged with a stationary video camera and a decent setback, provided there was a reference, would be fair game for everything from 18mm and up, since there are 18mm rockets which can easily reach 1300' (esp on APCP reloads).

 

[bandman444]

Perhaps in this thread it would be worth elaborating on the legalities of drag racing.

I don't know the rules specifically, but NAR/TRA now have new distances required for drag races.

Making something like the 50 Squat drag race at LDRS 29 happen at like a 1/2 mile range.

Again I don't know the rules, but perhaps someone who does would care to explain it to us.

 

[Derek]

The only rule I've ever known that anyone really cared about was "Have Fun".

Beyond that, what does it matter?

-Kevin

well, it is called a "race"

someone has to win!

 

[Wingarcher]

Perhaps in this thread it would be worth elaborating on the legalities of drag racing.

I don't know the rules specifically, but NAR/TRA now have new distances required for drag races.

Making something like the 50 Squat drag race at LDRS 29 happen at like a 1/2 mile range.

Again I don't know the rules, but perhaps someone who does would care to explain it to us.

Per NFPA 1127: 4.16.3.3 When three or more rockets are to be launched simultaneously, the minimum spectator and participant distance shall be twice the value set forth in Table 4.16.3 for a complex rocket with the same total installed impulse, but not more than 2000ft or 1.5 times the highest altitude expected to be reached by any of the rockets, whichever is less.

So the table shows 200ft for complex rockets G or smaller through J, 300 ft for K, 500ft for L, 1000ft for M, 1500 N, 2000 O. Times two, but not more than 2000 feet.

In other words, our club would need to fly 3 F's from the away cell area at 500ft (400ft required) to be compliant.

N

 

[daveyfire]

In other words, our club would need to fly 3 F's from the away cell area at 500ft (400ft required) to be compliant.

LOL

:eyeroll:

 

[blackjack2564]

I don't Do "Crazy Jim" drag races anymore...too many rulz.

Now I do " Friends of Crazy Jim Group launches" for charitable causes.

Then there's always the .....oops must have hit the Armageddon button by mistake?!!

It'll take awhile for'em to catch up.

One must become Mo-litically correct these days!