Loudest propellant

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James Simpson

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Just curious. For the same impulse class , any views on what propellant is loudest? I think white thunder takes the cake but wondering what others have to say.
 
I've always heard that nothing compares to the sound of hybrid. That said, I launched a Loki I316 spitfire a couple weeks ago and it nearly scared the crap out of me.
 
Just curious. For the same impulse class , any views on what propellant is loudest? I think white thunder takes the cake but wondering what others have to say.

I gotta go with the VMax, though they're discontinued. Burning a G or H is 0.3 seconds is a wild ride. The last time I flew one, I heard two echoes off the nearby hill. :cool: I assume Aerotech's Warp 9/Super Thunder are similar.
 
I will concur with Jim - Sparkies. They sometimes are loud enough that I relive IED alley in Iraq. I don't have PTSD, but I still think of hitting the dirt.
 
I love Skiddies for that very reason...loud! I don't necessarily care for the sparks due to Texas summers but the noise is very addictive.
 
Not that my opinion adds anything to the already-achieved-consensus, but, yes, sparkies. All the roar of the propellant burn, plus the crackle of the sparks.
 
The loudest when comparing the same size motor will be the fastest burn propellant.

The other factor is the thrust:weight of the rocket. Low t:w rockets spend more time closer to the ground than fast accelerating rockets. This give our ears more time to hear the motor.

The sparky motors have a lot of combustion instability which give a broad range of sounds. Not necessarily the loudest per size, but the most memorable! The original AMW Skidmarks with larger titanium chunks had the best range of sound and sparks.
 
I've always heard that nothing compares to the sound of hybrid. That said, I launched a Loki I316 spitfire a couple weeks ago and it nearly scared the crap out of me.

I got to observe the launch of a hybrid last year. M class, IIRC. Strange roar bupr/fart noise......all the way up! Pretty spectacular, actually.
 
I love the sound of the old AMW skids, especially the M.
Warp-9 is great if you like the sound of a mortar.
-Ken
 
The coolest sound I ever heard was a clustered hybrid at LDRS a few years ago. Close second would be a big sparky... those L875DM's are pretty dang loud.
 
I downloaded a decibel meter for my phone, the idea being to see how loud launches are..

Didn't work. I got a level reading for the conversations, but the 'ppphhhhhhiiiiiiiiisssssssssss' of a launching motor never registered..
 
I downloaded a decibel meter for my phone, the idea being to see how loud launches are..

Didn't work. I got a level reading for the conversations, but the 'ppphhhhhhiiiiiiiiisssssssssss' of a launching motor never registered..
Stand closer next time. :p
 
I downloaded a decibel meter for my phone, the idea being to see how loud launches are..

Didn't work. I got a level reading for the conversations, but the 'ppphhhhhhiiiiiiiiisssssssssss' of a launching motor never registered..

Leave the phone next to the pad and hope the motor doesn't cato !
 
I launch at the AMA in Muncie Indiana. It is 1000 acres of grass and small crops. We normally have some RC plane guys flying 1/2 mile or so away from us behind the flight line. We hear their planes do the normal prop buzz now and then when they get kinda high but mostly we forget they're there. One day, I was launching a 1/2 scale Patriot on an AMW 76mm K700W. Countdown is heard over the loud speaker... a second delay as the motor lights... and then a healthy roar up to just over 2500 feet. Just as the motor burns out you can hear "Holy SH**!! what was that?!?!" from the RC guys.

It doesn't matter what the loudest is, just that you use the right motor for the right rocket at the right time.
 
sad story:

I launched my old Cosmodrome BBII at my old RC field (A few of the flyers knew that if winds were low, I'd have a rocket or two..)

Well, I set it all up, a G80 or G40.. and gave a countdown. it roared off the pad skyward to a lot of "oohs & ahhs' as we've all become accustomed to. The following weekend, as I arrived and started to unload my planes, one club mate came over and expressed his anger at me. It turns out, the rocket launch I did the week before scared his little dog, so much so, that the dog ran off into the woods behind the flying field. He spent an hour after we had left, looking. he even came back after dinner that night to continue the search. And over the next few days he came back again & again to look for his little fluffball.. He never got his little dog back. Blames me for it.

Yes, I feel bad he lost his little dog.

But:
Why do you bring your little dog to an R/C flying club?
And let it run free?
And why assume my toys won't upset the thing when yours don't?
Why is it my fault because of the above?
 
Not your fault. People who bring pets to places have to realize that there may be consequences. Hospital, grocery store, picnic, rocket launch, friend's house, whatever. If something bad happens...you didn't have to bring the pet.

Don't beat yourself up. Fellow doesn't want to acknowledge that it's his fault, shifts the blame on someone else. Like kids, "Look what you made me do!"
 
The Prfessor has a valid point. But, may I offer an alternate reason for the dog's vanishing act. The rocket's raw power and skybound freedom inspired the pooch to return to the wild unchained roots of its canine ancestors. Slip the surly bonds of domestication! Touch the true face of Dog! Boldly go where no mangy mutt has gone before.

OK, I'll stop there. ;-)
 
The Prfessor has a valid point. But, may I offer an alternate reason for the dog's vanishing act. The rocket's raw power and skybound freedom inspired the pooch to return to the wild unchained roots of its canine ancestors. Slip the surly bonds of domestication! Touch the true face of Dog! Boldly go where no mangy mutt has gone before.

OK, I'll stop there. ;-)
Out ride the sons of Terra!flying-dog.jpeg
 
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