Strap-on Boosters

[Rocketmaniac]

Hey guys,

I was doing a little surfing this morning and found a guy that makes neat looking hardward for strap-on boosters........ Has anyone seen these? Do they work????


https://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=3009006&a=30253388&p=62055124&f=0

 

[KermieD]

I've never seen the hardware myself, but I have considerable respect for the guy who makes these, so I'd certainly wager that they work.

 

[rstaff3]

I don't know anyone who has used it, but I would wager that Ray has used his own designs and they work great.

(could have just copied Kermie's statement )

 

[Rocketmaniac]

I have no immediate plans to build a rocket with boosters...... But I might pick up the hardware for future use.......... they do look very cool......... So Ray Dunakin has a good bit of rocketry experience????

 

[rstaff3]

Ray's forte is rocket photography. If you poke around that link you can probably find some of his other albums. IIRC he has occasionally sold camera modules.

 

[eugenefl]

I've built a rocket with boosters based on Ray's hardware design. Granted, at the time he didn't have any hardware available for sale, so I had to improvise and make my own. The rocket flew great on 2 E30s and a central G80. The boosters separated and returned under their own chutes. The camera pod returned under its own two chutes while the main rocket came down under a 24" chute. Wow...5 parachutes, 3 motors, and what should have been onboard video all in one flight. Unfortuntately, the video wasn't successful because at the time I didn't realize I would need to convert the Intel DMC power supply to avoid memory/power loss in flight. Upon close inspection, the booster pod mounts ripped off of the main body from lateral force upon booster separation. That was my own fault since I had chosen to use balsa strips. (Uh, what the heck was I thinking?!)

Anyways, trust in Ray. I've known him for some time now (via the internet) and he's always helped me out with my camera and booster projects. Heck, the man uses his own products regularly to boost cameras. I think he has a bit of trust in his own stuff!

See attached pic.

 

[KermieD]

IIRC, Ray started making these as he himself does staged and strap-on rockets himself for his camera work and was looking for a better way to do it. This is what he came up with.

Or, to more directly answer your question, yes, he has considerable rocketry experience, as well as other forms of modeling. If you dig around his photo albums, you'll see some incredibly detailed model train landscapes. Model railroads just aren't my thing (a G80 just makes the train jump the tracks), but I can sure respect his attention to detail.

 

[eugenefl]

Here's the business end.

Looking at these pictures makes me want to rebuild this rocket with boosters attached.

 

[rstaff3]

Being from the desert southwest, I have always enjoyed that kind of scenery. Ray makes a yearly trek thru all kind of neat places like ghost towns, oll RR stations, mines, etc, and captures them all from the air. He had a great photo article in HPR Mag a while back too.

 

[arthur dent]

sorry this is off the original topic but are there really ghost towns i thought they were just hollywood ideas??

 

[Rocketmaniac]

Originally posted by eugenefl
I've built a rocket with boosters based on Ray's hardware design.

See attached pic.

Now you went and did it Eugene.......You JUST HAD TO POST A GREAT PIC of a rocket with boosters...... I was trying NOT to add another rocket project to my list!!!!!!! Now I will have to order a set of Ray's hardware and start designing my rocket with boosters.......

If my wife asks why I have so many rockets started, I am going tell her you guys twisted my arm and put a gun to my head and forced me!!!!! (then she will laugh at me and say "right")


PS, seriously...... great pic eugene..... I admire your work..........

 

[rstaff3]

Originally posted by arthur dent
sorry this is off the original topic but are there really ghost towns i thought they were just hollywood ideas??

Yes they exist. Most were very small, nothing that compares to a modern city. Some have been re-inhabited. Actual ghosts are optional

 

[Prowler901]

Originally posted by arthur dent
sorry this is off the original topic but are there really ghost towns i thought they were just hollywood ideas??

Yup, there are. There are quite a few ghost towns in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Anywhere there was a gold or silver mine a small town would crop up. Then the railroad arrived. After the gold and silver dried up, the railroads and the people went away. Many of the buildings remain. It's really quite fascinating to visit them and imagine what they must have been like when the gold was booming.

But on the topic of strap on boosters. I have a plan in the works for that as well. And, it's the bird I hope to put my video camera in. But, at this point I need to figure out how to boost the range of the video downling.

Regards,
Todd

 

[Ryan S.]

nice Eugene. Just tell me you didnt use those copperheads in a cluster

Anyway I saw a different method of parallel staging. This used explosive bolts. There was a long burn motor in the middle and short burns on the side. He launched it and had a timer that blew the bolts holding on the externals. Very very cool. I think if flew on a J and two Is

 

[rstaff3]

Explosive bolts sound cool in theory, but as far as I'm concerned, passive restraints are safer.

 

[Ryan S.]

they are reality.....here is the site

https://www.oxfordvue.com/DMFRockets/boost_drop/index.html

 

[cydermaster]

Originally posted by arthur dent
sorry this is off the original topic but are there really ghost towns i thought they were just hollywood ideas??

...and I always thought Ghost Town was a record by The Specials.

Seriously though, this is a cool thread. Strap on boosters are something I wouldn't mind giving a go.

[Subliminal Message]
Maybe somebody could market a strap on booster based kit.
[/Subliminal Message]

 

[Rocketmaniac]

Originally posted by Ryan S.
they are reality.....here is the site

https://www.oxfordvue.com/DMFRockets/boost_drop/index.html

Ok all you engineering guys......... What do you think???? Would this work? How much would it cost to build?

 

[rstaff3]

Originally posted by Ryan S.
they are reality.....here is the site

https://www.oxfordvue.com/DMFRockets/boost_drop/index.html

Actually those look pretty cool, thanks for the link

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by Ryan S.
nice Eugene. Just tell me you didnt use those copperheads in a cluster

I sure did! Worked just fine too! Of course, I did try to repeat this on my 2" video Deuce and ended up in the lake. Of course, I don't know that I attribute the accident to the Copperheads. Both motors *did* ignite, but one just took longer to come to pressure. The way I see it, the one motor that I *really* want to ignite is the center motor.

Rocketmanic, thanks for the compliments! I wish I had rebuilt the booster "hardware." I suppose I could do it once more. Too many other darn projects going on right now.

Oh, btw, here's another rocket with boosters that employs the "Ray Dunakin" booster method. Flew twice - both times with a C11 in the center and 1/2A?-4T in the boosters AND lofted an egg capsule with helicopter recovery!

 

[cls]

that heliroc egg lifter is absolutely, completely, totally, entirely, *@#$& awesome! wow!



... perhaps the ultimate in strap-on boosters would be John Coker's 1/8 scale Delta II. he's putting 9 GEMs on it, each with their own altimeter and parachute.

https://www.jcrocket.com./delta2.shtml

 

[Juerg]

You may want to check this as well

https://www.argoshpr.ch/Ariane4/Ariane4_e.htm

Cheers

Juerg

 

[Rocketmaniac]

Well I ordered hardware for two strap-on boosters......

See my other thread I just started




https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5115

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Originally posted by arthur dent
sorry this is off the original topic but are there really ghost towns i thought they were just hollywood ideas??

Yes, there really are ghost towns (and mining camps) but usually they are not like what you see in movies and on TV. Most real ghost towns are in very poor condition. Many are just a few foundations, some crumbling stone walls, and/or a few badly weathered wooden structures. Complete buildings often look very picturesque on the outside but are really cruddy on the inside or filled with garbage. Sadly, weather and vandals take their toll and every year we lose more of these historic places. I have hundreds of pics of ghost towns (not including aerial photos) but have only put up a few of them on my site.

Usually these towns and mining camps were built when ore was discovered in some remote location. After the ore ran out, there was no other way for the town to survive, so the people moved on leaving the buildings behind. Often, the machinery was taken to be reused at some other mine.

The most well-preserved ghost towns are not true ghosts -- they've remained occupied by a handful of people who have been able to look after the place and reduce vandalism. Others have been abandoned only in recent years, after being inhabited by a single miner working a small claim for many years.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Originally posted by eugenefl
Oh, btw, here's another rocket with boosters that employs the "Ray Dunakin" booster method. Flew twice - both times with a C11 in the center and 1/2A?-4T in the boosters AND lofted an egg capsule with helicopter recovery!

Very cool, Eugene! I've never seen a heliroc with boosters before.

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by Ray Dunakin
Very cool, Eugene! I've never seen a heliroc with boosters before.

Why thank you Sir! In the words of Mr. Jim Flis, "There is still a lot to be learned from Low Power model rocketry!" - or something to that effect.

Your design is quite practical and simple to apply to nearly every scale of model rocketry. I just hope I can find time to build more of this type of rocket. Glad to see you around TRF Ray!

 

[jflis]

Originally posted by arthur dent
sorry this is off the original topic but are there really ghost towns i thought they were just hollywood ideas??

yea, i know, still OT, but... (sorry )

I got to visit a ghost town in Alaska at Hatcher Pass near several gold mines (still active too)

here are some pix from my personal web site:

The town and the pass: https://jflis.com/leisure/alaska/jou-pages/scan154.htm

The mountain to the gold mine: https://jflis.com/leisure/alaska/jou-pages/aug06_87.htm

the gold mine: https://jflis.com/leisure/alaska/jou-pages/scan162.htm

If interested, you can read my journal of this trip (2nd of 3) at: https://jflis.com/leisure/alaska/alaska_1997P0.htm

jim

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by jflis

I got to visit a ghost town in Alaska at Hatcher Pass near several gold mines (still active too)
jim

More off-topic...

Hey, I've been to Hatcher's Pass! A few friends and I went there in the winter time back in 2000 and hiked to the top with snowboards strapped on our backs. THAT was an all day affair. Well worth the hike though as the views from the top are incredible. I have pictures tucked away somewhere. The ride down was very quick. In retrospect it had nothing to do with the ride down, but everything to do with the hike. I do believe there was a fatal landslide that year that took the lives of several snow machine/ snow mobile riders. Hey, I'm from Florida. I didn't know any better!