What’s the biggest cluster of bp motors you’ve launched?

[Gemini Junkie]

I am into clusters in a big way, my largest cluster to date is 14 motors. I’m currently building a rocket with 25-24 mm motors I’m hoping to fly at XPRS in September.

I’m curious how big a cluster others have flown.

 

[BDB]

Looks awesome! Please tell me those boosters are for parallel staging. That would turn the coolness factor up to 11.

 

[Gemini Junkie]

Looks awesome! Please tell me those boosters are for parallel staging. That would turn the coolness factor up to 11.

Alas, no.

 

[neil_w]

All hail the king: Boris Katan (@delta22). Regrettably he hasn't been around here lately.

Enjoy.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/boris-katan-flights-2017-clusters-3d-printing-fun.139352/https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/boris-katan-flights-2016-clusters-3d-printing-fun.133752/https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/boris-katan-flights-2015-clusters-are-fun.125017/https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/boris-katan-flights-2014-clusters-are-fun.65347/

 

[MALBAR 70]

Boris is a fellow CMASS member, and his cluster flights are amazing. Unfortunately I didn't see Boris at all last launch season. Hopefully he will be back with us this year.

 

[Daddyisabar]

My biggest is 8 on an Avro Lancaster. 4 D12 3 and 4 C6 0 plugged. Widely spaced and requiring clip whip.

 

[Landon]

Here's one by @beeblebrox

 

[cerving]

An N-1 with 30 motors would be fun... I think the flight would probably be pretty realistic, too.

 

[Walter Longburn]

Look at this one

https://rocketdungeon.blogspot.com/2008/05/big-rocket-of-day-maxi-d.html?m=1

 

[stealth6]

12 motors. With a bit of a twist (or two, or maybe more):

4 stage, 3-way cluster??? Future History | The Rocketry Forum

s6

 

[aerostadt]

Boris Katan is the BP King! Just do a quick review of post #4.

 

[JohnCoker]

Not really a cluster, but how about 25 Mosquitos?
http://jcrocket.com/swarm.shtml

 

[aerostadt]

More BP clusters are given below. Someone is talking about a cluster of 316 motors.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/worlds-largest-cluster.29524/page-2

 

[Steven]

One.

 

[MClark]

Personally the largest number is 12 A motors.
In the above quoted thread from 2011 I wrote this.

Many years ago at our Flagstaff, AZ launch we had a guy do 300 or so D motors with a flash pan. Most of the motors did light but the flight was not a success. It sent motors burning everywhere and we were in the middle of 100+ square miles of knee deep dry grass. I trashed all the pictures I had of it because in big letters it said on the rocket "Free McVeigh". Not a picture one would want an ATFE inspector to pick see. The guy was not right in the head.
The motor arrangement was interesting. There was not motor mount tubes, all the motors were glued together to form a big disc. On the bottom of the rocket was a solid bulkhead with about a dozen bolts sticking out. The Disc-O-Motors slipped over the bolts and was held on by washers and nuts. The huge flash pan made such a boom that it broke up the motor disc and sent groups of motors in all directions.

Even longer ago (89?) at Lucerne there was a rocket called IIRC "Hi-C 720". It had 36 C motors chad staged to another 36 C's. It had a full size Sony video camera in it; there were no small cameras then. The up part worked perfect and I will stop telling the story there.

Mark

 

[TonyL]

I have only done up to 13 motors, but they were M's, not BP. I wouldn't do it again until I forget the reason I said "I wouldn't do it again" after the previous cluster rocket

 

[mrwalsh85]

1x38, 6x18mm composites. Not bad for an enthusiastic 18 year old. The rocket had 12 18mm holes in it, with conduit all over for airstarts. Alas I never got that far before college took my time and interest away. I threw the rocket away.

 

[Antares JS]

Launched an NCR Cluster Duck on a D12-5 and 6 C6-0's once. I had one C6-0 fail to ignite and when I got the rocket back, the leads for that failed igniter were burned away and the ends were blackened, so I learned not to allow any igniters to sit directly below another motor's exhaust.