High Desert Rocketry
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Awesome launch of a Christmas tree, including a discussion of the design and building of 'the rocket'.
Rick
Rick
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Christmas Tree Launch
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High Desert Rocketry
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High Desert Rocketry
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Thanks for sharing that, I hadn't seen that after searching for Christmas Tree rockets.
I wonder just how to do that.
cbrarick
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don't hold your breath on that one.
It's not their style, then there's the insurance issue.
Just cruise down to MD and have a little fun,
MClark
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We launched a couple trees with an AN based "Pulse Motor"
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And then there is this, from 5 years ago, by the Flite Test group.
Many many THOUSANDS of Newton SECONDS expended per flight, for less than $1 of "fuel" per flight.
Many many THOUSANDS of Newton SECONDS expended per flight, for less than $1 of "fuel" per flight.
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High Desert Rocketry
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This is the last I heard from Tripoli a couple of years ago concerning tree launches:
"Last week a board member was asked about Christmas tree launches. The board discussed the topic last Thursday and the consensus we reached was that flying Christmas trees violates the Tripoli Safety Codes: they are unstable, not typically recovered safely, and a fire hazard. Tripoli insurance will be ineffective at any launch where Christmas trees are launched."
jimzcatz
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Stupidest **** I have ever heard of. Should be banned for safety reasons. And people actually think this is cool and fun? There's no accounting for taste.
cbrarick
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Everyone gets to define fun on their own
I believe that every rocket has a pad. The only question is if you are willing to walk that far out (and perhaps drag that pad with you).
people have complained about christmas trees, bowling balls, keg tosses,, pyramids, spools ect. We did a few LDRS's that were all about odd roc's for Discovery.
I actually RSO'd every one in the potter launch. They had pads at a half mile. The only real question was to prove it couldn't come back to the flight line.
MDRA is a indy club, carries their own insurance, so it's not a problem
I've been there several times and have yet to see someone get hurt. They use pads far enough away that it's not a problem.
Plus their January launch is not attended by many people so it's ok, plus those that come know what's happening.
I believe that every rocket has a pad. The only question is if you are willing to walk that far out (and perhaps drag that pad with you).
people have complained about christmas trees, bowling balls, keg tosses,, pyramids, spools ect. We did a few LDRS's that were all about odd roc's for Discovery.
I actually RSO'd every one in the potter launch. They had pads at a half mile. The only real question was to prove it couldn't come back to the flight line.
MDRA is a indy club, carries their own insurance, so it's not a problem
I've been there several times and have yet to see someone get hurt. They use pads far enough away that it's not a problem.
Plus their January launch is not attended by many people so it's ok, plus those that come know what's happening.
High Desert Rocketry
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I've had issues with the bowling ball flights. If you have a heads up on them, all you see is a tiny dot that gets bigger. For 'normal' rockets, that indicates it's headed for you but hard to tell with bowling balls as they appear to be headed for you all the time unless far enough away that you can visualize the trajectory. I unfortunately was once under one and was hard to tell which way to move (run). Same with conventional rockets especially minimum diameter ones that are headed for you if you can even pick it out...we've been at launches where it was hard to spot the dot and then which way to move. All the Christmas tree launches I've been to were very easy to determine which way to move (had one come in our direction once) and lots of time to do so unlike minimum diameter rockets.
If safety was an issue, weighted nose cones for stability would be banned (I was at a lunch once where 45 pounds of lead was used) as would metal tips on any rocket going less than Mach 2 or 3 (?)
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