This is impressive!

[MarsLander]

The chute was a surprise! Wow! Didn’t know it’s called a girandola.

 

[Marc_G]

I've loved this video for years.

 

[jqavins]

Those things alone are enough to make me want to visit Thailand. And maybe make a downscale that uses Quest D5 motors, or something else really long burning with thick smoke.

 

[neil_w]

This video never gets old. Many aspects of the flight are incredibly impressive: the length of the motor burn, the consistency of the 6 motors, the way they light it up and run like hell.

 

[jqavins]

The long, looooong burn is what really drops my jaw. They use BP, and you can't get commercial BP motors that big. BP is not allowed under NAR or TRA research rules, I'm pretty sure. I wonder if one could do something like that with sugar motors that are mixed a little rich and include some lamp black. That's as much about propellant chemistry as I'll say outside of the restricted subforum.

 

[bad_idea]

The long, looooong burn is what really drops my jaw.

As I understand it, they are made without sulfur in order to lower the burn rate. That in turn may make them harder to light.

 

[jqavins]

Makes sense.

 

[NateB]

Those things alone are enough to make me want to visit Thailand. And maybe make a downscale that uses Quest D5 motors, or something else really long burning with thick smoke.

While not on that scale, if you can ever attend the PGI convention, you will see some impressive girandolas. They are usually made with long end burning motors / drivers. Small ones can use canted motors for spin and lift but larger ones use horizontal drivers for spin as well. They are very complex devices and take a lot of skill and consistency to make.

People have used cross stitching hoops for small frames. Bamboo strips shapes into hoops are more traditional. Commercial girandolas use plastic frames.

As I understand it, they are made without sulfur in order to lower the burn rate. That in turn may make them harder to light.

A man in the pyro community who lives in Thailand had said the composition is also packed slightly damp to slow the burn rate even further.