grwise1
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- Jan 12, 2015
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I'm not sure how strict this forum is regarding homemade rocket motors, but I just wanted take a second and share my experience with them.
I recently built a pvc engine that used homemade rocket candy (in Bates grains); which I launched a couple days ago. I used James Yawn's great simulation calculator to determine nozzle size, Throat dia, etc... Anyhow I have had past success in such ventures and love the challenge of building these things. However, to my dismay and surprise, my most recent launch ended in a violent explosion shortly after lift off. I did not have any sort of shield and am quite lucky I was not hit by any shrapnel. So all that to say, despite all the calculations in the world, things don't always go as planned, and homemade rocket motors can be quite dangerous. (It ended up that a conversion error lead to a miscalulated pressure estimate, which in reality was more than 3 times the rating of my pvc.)
I really hate being that "safety guy" but I just wanted to use my experience to help remind folks of the dangers of homemade motors, and all rockets in general.
Anyhow, here is the video
[video=youtube;Nj9hTAOeyJc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj9hTAOeyJc[/video]
I recently built a pvc engine that used homemade rocket candy (in Bates grains); which I launched a couple days ago. I used James Yawn's great simulation calculator to determine nozzle size, Throat dia, etc... Anyhow I have had past success in such ventures and love the challenge of building these things. However, to my dismay and surprise, my most recent launch ended in a violent explosion shortly after lift off. I did not have any sort of shield and am quite lucky I was not hit by any shrapnel. So all that to say, despite all the calculations in the world, things don't always go as planned, and homemade rocket motors can be quite dangerous. (It ended up that a conversion error lead to a miscalulated pressure estimate, which in reality was more than 3 times the rating of my pvc.)
I really hate being that "safety guy" but I just wanted to use my experience to help remind folks of the dangers of homemade motors, and all rockets in general.
Anyhow, here is the video
[video=youtube;Nj9hTAOeyJc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj9hTAOeyJc[/video]
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