Flashpan cluster ignition

[ELBRAZ]

How about a little information on flashpan technique from the cluster Gods on the Forum? OKC Tripoli is hosting a Warlok drag race in the spring. Dealer's choice for power. I'm considering 90 or so C6-7's.
-Braz

 

[ELBRAZ]

Oh jeez, I meant sixty, not ninety, C6's. I don't think ninety would fit....
Braz

 

[dluders]

The "flashpan" technique for igniting lots of Estes-type rocket engines works great. Pour some FFFFg black powder (available from your local sporting goods store) onto an aluminum pie pan. Make an even layer of the BP, and tape the sides of the pan over your motor cluster. Make sure that the pan is level, and that the black powder remains evenly distributed. Poke an igniter through the pan, and when you press the ignition button, the BP will go "poof."

Note that you may need a Low Explosives User Permit (LEUP) to obtain and store black powder nowadays.

 

[ELBRAZ]

I suppose that there is a fine line between lighting all the motors and toasting the rocket. Is something like high-heat paint worth the trouble?

 

[wyldbill]

Originally posted by ELBRAZ
Oh jeez, I meant sixty, not ninety, C6's. I don't think ninety would fit.

Well if you used 45 mounts and CHAD staged 'em all (C6-0->C6-x) you could get 90. THAT would be cool... Ejection on this beast is gonna be interesting. I'd dump an extra few grams of BP in the BT before your put the wadding/heatshield in (might as well be toasted on the inside as well)

-bill

 

[marvSRG]

Sounds really cool, man! I'm a "flashpanner" myself...cluster freak if you will (note to avatar). The most I've panned was 13 motors at once. Yours is gonna be crazy if it works! As already mentioned, you commonly place an evenly distributed amount of BP on a pie pan, attach it (usually w/tape) to the pad (or tape it to the cluster) and light it w/an igniter. I've also seen this done with shaped and formed aluminum foil that's shaped to fit the cluster and then taped right onto it...the BP is applied and ignited in the same manner. Although I have used the pie pan method before, I have a "reusable" flashpan...it's a flat 4" PVC cap with a hole in it for the igniter. Although I can only use it on up to 4" rockets, it works much better than the foil or pie pan because #1 BP burns fast enough not to melt/destroy it, and #2 b/c of this, the bottom isn't burnt out when the powder is lit, directing all of the flash to the motors and not out the back (the thin aluminum foil and pans melt very quickly, sometimes releasing some of the flash out the back). The only down side of this is that if I use too much powder it has nowhere to go except back to the rocket, and that sometimes results in some black bp mess on the rocket and maybe a little charring...but in general, the BP burns quick enough not to burn the rocket...it just makes it a bit messy. You'll often get a nice sooty film on the aft part of the rocket that can be cleaned of. And unless you use and unsightly amount of BP, you shouldn't worry about burning your rocket. Check out some of my flashpan clusters at my sites: www.geocities.com/rocketboymgh and www.geocities.com/mcrocketprojects . One of the links should be below as well. Hope that helped, and keep us updated on this project start to finish...we wanna see!!!!!!

 

[daveyfire]

Nah... you can get 85 C6s in a Warlok!

https://hydra.nat.uni-magdeburg.de/cgi-bin/cci1.pl?size=7.51&diameter=.736

Now THAT'S a cluster!

 

[ELBRAZ]

I've only used electrical ignition for my clusters so far (max of 12 A3's in a Fat Boy), but the cluster chad stage stuff is nice. I've got a 3" Big Bertha with a seven 18mm cluster that has 3 chad staged C6 to C6 flights to her credit. I'm working up a Valkyrie type Rocket Glider that flies with 3 C6's. It's flown with a single stage cluster, and I'm waiting for flying weather to try the chad stage. Its more fun if its clustered, staged or gliding. Why not all three?

 

[rabidsheeep]

all i know about flashes is that the world record for 1/2 a's is 266 and the world record (which was unsuccessful) is 342 i think...

 

[KermieD]

Originally posted by daveyfire
Nah... you can get 85 C6s in a Warlok!

https://hydra.nat.uni-magdeburg.de/cgi-bin/cci1.pl?size=7.51&diameter=.736

Now THAT'S a cluster!

THAT's someone with too much time on their hands!

I can just picture our own rstaff sitting there with a compass and a trusty slidrule calculating those centerpoints to 8 places.

 

[Rocket Flier VB]

At LDRS 22 I met this gentleman named Larry Drake. He was/is the world record holder for clustering.

At http:www.ldrs22.org/images/specproj/maxied.html you can see his bird and it's flight.

At LDRS 22 he attempted 303 D motor cluster. It was equal to an M3333. Unfortunatly only about half lit (from what I heard)

Eric F.

 

[Rocket Flier VB]

Try this one:

www.ldrs22.org/images/specproj/maxied/maxied.html

Eric F.