Random pleasant surprise!

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75Grandville

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Moving one of my rockets from one location to another within the basement, and discovered it had already been loaded with 8 29mm G motors! If I remember correctly, 4 x G80 and 4 x G125, but will have to pull them out and verify. Forgot I had these! If I recall correctly, I was prepping for a flight a year or so ago, discovered a broken wire to one of the connectors for the deployment charges, and put the whole thing on hold. And out of my mind.

IMG_0620[1].JPGIMG_0619[1].JPG

I've also got a couple options for the central 54mm mount. Pretty sure I've got a J-800T, a K-805G, and a K-550W to choose from. Assuming I get the broken wire in the A/V Bay fixed, and our local club finally has a launch (frustration with the situation, not with the club. I support all of the choices that they have made) I've got El Monstruo ready to go on 8 x G & 1 x J = Complex K = far pad and a "heads up" flight.

Huge silly grin will be on my face for hours!😁 For scale, it's next to my Wildman Interceptor AAD-98.

Given the price of motors, and choices I've made about how to spend my recreational budget, another set of 8 x 29mm motors was not in the cards for this year! Making a travel trailer payment instead of buying rocket motors definitely does not qualify as a problem!

Thought I'd share some good news - it seems to be in short supply out there...

Y'all stay healthy.
 
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Eight 29 mm plus one 54 mm allow for only one reaction: Mwahahahahah! (Variations on that theme ate permissable.)

I'd go with that K550, just because I'm a long burn fan.
 
One of the Loki White long burn motors would be awesome as the central core. A 6.4 second K350 or 6.5 second J135. Since you have the AT K550, go with that obviously....but I still like the idea of the longer burn motors.
 
Don't ask me why but looking at that set-up and assuming it was static, I can't help but wonder how far away a hamburger patty should be to get it to cook in a few seconds without burning. Hm. I suppose it wouldn't be heathy, but still. Temperature distribution in space and time is so cool.

Just a thought bubble. Carry on.
 
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Don't ask me why but looking at that set-up and assuming it was static, I can't help but wonder how far away a hamburger patty should be to get it to cook in a few seconds without burning. Hm. I suppose it wouldn't be heathy, but still. Temperature distribution in space and time is so cool.
Mmm, hydrochloric acid is the best condiment!
 
Launch snaps (or better still a video!) when you light her up please!
 
Sweet surprise !! Better than finding a $20 bill in your pocket that you didn't know you had.
I'd be silly grinning for hours myself in that situation.

El Monstruo looks dang purty too. Wish I could see it fly, good luck with the launch (when it happens).

My tip.....while it means a bunch of extra time & effort (and some cash), I've had good luck making my own purpose-built cluster whips when I wanted confidence to ignite that many motors simultaneously. As well, do NOT skimp on low quality igniters.....get the best you can (or make them yourself), test them, maybe even give them an extra double-dip of the sparky stuff. Obviously, make sure that your power source in your launch system is plenty juicy.

Clear & windless skies,
s6
 
True, but one wouldn't want what's in one's tummy on one's hamburger either.

You did, literally, ask for it.

Think of how easy it would be for campers if instead of chopping firewood and lighting it, they only had to light up a G12 or two. You CAN'T STOP PROGRESS! 😄
 
OK, if it's advice on wiring, don't skimp on the wire gauge for the whip either. Will it make a big difference? Probably not, but don't mess around.
 
I haven't clustered anything more than 2 BP motors so far, so I don't really relate to this thread. Looks cool, but way out of my league so I'm just fooling around. Cheers!
 
LOC Ultimate is a great kit for clustering 29mm AP motors. I use 6x F42 and 1x H180. The Fs light and kick it off the pad and the H comes up to pressure about 10 feet up. Would be interesting to see if E16s, F15s or a mix could work.

At one launch the controller couldn't output enough juice to fire all 7 igniters so I switched to flash-pan. It worked and ignition was almost as impressive as the flight.
 
As far as ignition, was successful dipping my own ignitors using ClusterFire kit and lighting 7 out of 8 G motors. Didn't do anything special - they were all wired in parallel per suggestions from more experienced club members.

Club uses a Wilson F/X launch system, with a car battery as the source of electricity at the pad. Test fired 8 ignitors to verify that the system could light it, and then fired the rocket for maiden voyage.

I started to really get into clusters, then got sidelined by back issues, then the rather sizable increase of the price of rocket motors over the past few years has kept me from experimenting as much as I'd like. When I bought these from BMS they were $15 each. Today they are $22.50 each. That $120 flight is suddenly $190. I know it's not nearly as cool, but for $190 I can get a lot of 54mm motor.

I've read up on Boris Katan's blog, and considered a relay/booster system, but the current club system seems to be OK for clusters of 7-8 motors. I've lit several 7-motor black power clusters, until I forgot the chute for the last flight on that one... Three and four motor AP clusters have not been a problem either (again, recovery was a different story).

What I'd really like to do is use reloads, and paint the head-end with a little bit of the CF ignitor compound, but 1) I don't have enough cases (I may technically have enough 29mm cases in total, but not a mixture that I want to fly) and 2) even if I did have that many cases, that means a lot more $ on the line when I fly these. And given my track record, I need to get better before I risk more casings.;)
 
My Ultimate gets about 900 feet on 7 F15's. Dual deploy, e-matches fit the nozzles and will light BP motors reliably.
 
Launch snaps (or better still a video!) when you light her up please!

You bet! I've got pics on the pad in this post:https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...eads-alt-title-three-oloc.139084/post-1745888

Sweet surprise !! Better than finding a $20 bill in your pocket that you didn't know you had.
I'd be silly grinning for hours myself in that situation.

El Monstruo looks dang purty too. Wish I could see it fly, good luck with the launch (when it happens).

My tip.....while it means a bunch of extra time & effort (and some cash), I've had good luck making my own purpose-built cluster whips when I wanted confidence to ignite that many motors simultaneously. As well, do NOT skimp on low quality igniters.....get the best you can (or make them yourself), test them, maybe even give them an extra double-dip of the sparky stuff. Obviously, make sure that your power source in your launch system is plenty juicy.

Clear & windless skies,
s6

Thanks! Hope you can fly with the club again sometime soon. I dip my own, and resistance-match the ignitors that I'm going to use.

I haven't clustered anything more than 2 BP motors so far, so I don't really relate to this thread. Looks cool, but way out of my league so I'm just fooling around. Cheers!

Fly what makes you happy. That's what this hobby is about for me.

LOC Ultimate is a great kit for clustering 29mm AP motors. I use 6x F42 and 1x H180. The Fs light and kick it off the pad and the H comes up to pressure about 10 feet up. Would be interesting to see if E16s, F15s or a mix could work.

At one launch the controller couldn't output enough juice to fire all 7 igniters so I switched to flash-pan. It worked and ignition was almost as impressive as the flight.

I've got a partially completed LOC Ultimate. I got as far as putting a carbon fiber sleeve over the tube, and it's been stalled there for a couple of years. We'll get there. I planned to fly it on 7 x CTI H & I motors, with the theme "Red, White, Blue, and Sparky" I've actually got the reloads, and 4 out of 7 cases needed to achieve that. We'll see.
 
I suggest that when making a whip or for making a launch controller is to use fine stranded wire with a silicone jacket. Very flexible and doesn't have memory like other types of wire do. And it stays flexible when cold and has a high melting point.
 
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Club uses a Wilson F/X launch system, with a car battery as the source of electricity at the pad...

I've read up on Boris Katan's blog, and considered a relay/booster system, but the current club system seems to be OK for clusters of 7-8 motors...
Since the club's system has the battery at the pad, one would expect that it is a relay system. If it's not then it wouldn't matter where the battery sits.
 
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