Largest Estes E Engine Cluster

[bguff]

Since i like Estes E engines so much, i was wondering: what is the largest amount of Estes E engines anyone has stuffed into a clustered rocket? It has occurred to me that a person could stuff 8-9 24mm E engines into a Semroc Saturn 1B. (I am leaning towards using 4.)

 

[Rocketjunkie]

The most I've flown is 7 in a scaled down LOC Ultimate.
https://www.tripolisc.org/modules/xoopsgallery/cache/albums/album25/aai.jpg

 

[heada]

WOW! thats some serious scorching going on! did you do anything to the aft end of the rocket to protect it?

As for massive clusters, I think someone clustered a few hundred C or D motors at an LDRS a few years back. While not E motors, I think they hold the record for largest cluster.

-Aaron

 

[bguff]

Yeah the scorching does look massive. Did the rocket sit directly on a horizontal blast deflector?

I sat a 2xE9 engine Estes 36 D Squared directly on a horizontal blast deflector, and i got similar scorching.

 

[vicious-peanut]

Wow, I hope most Ultimates dont scorch like that.


Quick Question (dont wanna hi-jack) - Do you highpower guys set up your CRs and mounts to where the end of the motor is even with the end of the body tube or do you put the end of the motor about and inch past the end of the body tube?

 

[heada]

Sometimes flush, sometimes fore and sometimes aft. Depends on the rocket, number and configuration of motors, blast deflector, motor retention, etc.

Not all Ultimates look like that. My 29mmx7 didn't look like that at all when I fired it on 6xF42T and 1xG40W

-Aaron

 

[Rocketjunkie]

Originally posted by heada
WOW! thats some serious scorching going on! did you do anything to the aft end of the rocket to protect it?

I used a layer of clear packing tape covered with BP covering all the motors - kind of a flash pan. A lot of the scorching is the remnants of that tape and the masking tape retention/thrust rings. The rocket itself wasn't scorched and flew about 10 times on D12 and E9 clusters. It died when I tried 7 F21's in it

 

[jraice]

If you want to prevent some scorching and make the aft look pretty cool, use aluminum tape...

Thats what I use to protect the wires for airstarts on my freedom won and the parts that the tape covered are almost like new, and thats after the heat of over a half dozen 38mm I-J loads (outboards) and 3 large 54mm motors...