worlds largest bottle rockets

[r1dermon]

these things are COOL. from what im told, the motors are 100% black powder. they apparently do this in thailand. of course, not exactly amateur or model rocketry, but how can you not love that takeoff/exhaust plume.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwCRW5BwrhU&feature=related

 

[[POW]Eagle159]

That is pretty sketchy! I love how they have no fins and are like 10 feet tall!

 

[fyrwrxz]

Good Lord! Looking at other vids for this it appears they just ram a black powder mix in and hope for the best! What a shame- all that propellant and no headers! makes a pyro sad. They could have at least put about two pounds of strobe mix in the nose or five pounds of falling leaves fuse under a conical cap for a finale! The ultimate EX and cross your fingers motors! The sound is awesome! I gotta get me one of these. Somebody has to teach these guys about nosecones and fins....recovery is a little wonky. (translatedOh look, a new bamboo tree in my front yard. Why is it smoking??? (Honey? We're moving to Thailand...waddya mean why?? So I can fly bottle rockets that's why!)
(And yes, I know it's a grass...just sounds funnier that way)

 

[Salvage-1]

Holy Black Powder Batman!!!!

I am NOT going to be within 100 miles of this festival when its going on!! LDRS is safer!!

 

[sodmeister]

I don`t know ,it looks pretty impressive to me......although as mentioned ,I`d want to be a good few hundred yards away from those beauties.

Not the safest thing in the world for sure....but damn cool !


Paul T

 

[JPVegh]

You've got yahoos lighting smaller fireworks just a few feet away as they set up the big ones.:y:

I'd like to see the safety code they fly theses under.:eyeroll:

 

[Salvage-1]

You've got yahoos lighting smaller fireworks just a few feet away as they set up the big ones.:y:

I'd like to see the safety code they fly theses under.:eyeroll:

The small ones aren't the ones that worried me. When the first biggie goes off, there is someone who runs OUT of the exhaust plume, showing that they were under it when the motor started.
Looks like lots of chance of Thai Charred Long-Pork

 

[samba]

When the first biggie goes off, there is someone who runs OUT of the exhaust plume, showing that they were under it when the motor started.

someones gotta light it.

 

[sylvie369]

And there are people on the tower holding one when the one two towers over launches?
The RSO is probably safely back at the hotel, calling in instructions by cell phone.

Very impressive burn times, though.

 

[RGInCanada]

I'd like to see the safety code they fly theses under

safety code?? We don't need no steeekin' Saftey code

The RSO is probably safely back at the hotel, calling in instructions by cell phone.

RSO??? Ha! a wave mah genitals at you, you silly Arhhh Esss OOoooohh!

 

[Wayco]

I'm just wondering if they have a manual release when they come up to full thrust? They seem to sit on the pad for quite a while, then spring up like they were released.... Yeah, I'm thinking there might be a few NAR code violations going on there, especially in the recovery section.

 

[stealth6]

I'm just wondering if they have a manual release when they come up to full thrust? They seem to sit on the pad for quite a while, then spring up like they were released.... Yeah, I'm thinking there might be a few NAR code violations going on there, especially in the recovery section.

They are tied down initially. When the ropes get burned through, they launch. This way, they "come up to full thrust". Pretty cool low-tech way of going about it actually.

Oh, and if you dig deeper, you will find that yes, people are killed now and then during this festival. You can also find plenty of vids of these rockets CATOing - BIG explosions on the pad. Also, there are no recovery systems - these things basically come down wherever they come down, sometimes kilometers away. Pretty spectacular and outright terrifying.

I'd love to witness this festival in person some day - from a much safer distance than some seem to view from though!

s6

 

[chadrog]

Seems narrowly more dangerous than anvil 'chootin'. Hey Tim, MWPX dragrace?!?

 

[RGInCanada]

From Wikipedia

Bang Fai (the rockets)
Jaruat (Thai: จรว&#3604 is the proper term for rockets used as missiles or weapons, but Bang Fai (Thai: บั้งไ&#3615 skyrockets are gigantic black-powder bottle rockets. Tiny Bottle rockets are so called because they may be launched from a bottle. In the case of the similar appearing Bang Fai, also spelled 'Bong Fai' (Thai: บ้องไ&#3615, the 'bottle' is a bong (Thai: บ้อ&#3591, a section of bamboo Culm used as a container or pipe (and only colloquially as a pipe for smoking marijuana.)[5]

Related to the Chinese Fire Arrow, Bang Fai are made from bamboo bongs. Most contemporary ones, however, are enclosed in pvc piping, making them less dangerous by standardizing their sizes and black powder charges (which contest rules require be compounded by the rocketeers, themselves). Baking or boiling a bong kills insect eggs that otherwise hatch in dead bamboo and eat it, inside out. Skipping this step may cause the bong to disintegrate and melt the pvc piping. Vines tie long bamboo tails to launching racks. The time it takes for the exhaust to burn through the vines (usually) allows a motor to build up to full thrust; then the tails impart in-flight stability. Ignition comes from a burning fuse or electric match.
Bang Fai come in various sizes, competing in several categories. Small ones are called Bang Fai Noi (Thai: น้อ&#3618. Larger categories are designated by the counting words for 10,000, 100,000 and 1,000,000: Meun (Thai: หมื่&#3609 "Saen" (Thai: แส&#3609 and the largest Bang Fai, the Lan (Thai: ล้า&#3609. These counting words see use in many contexts to indicate increasing size or value. Lan in this context may be taken to mean extremely large as well as extremely expensive and extremely dangerous: Bang Fai Lan are nine metres long and charged with 120 kg of black powder. These may reach altitudes reckoned in kilometers, and travel dozens of kilometers down range (loosely speaking, as they can go in any direction, including right through the crowd). Competing rockets are scored for apparent height, distance, and beauty of the vapor trail (Thai: ไ&#3629. A few include skyrocket pyrotechnics. A few also include parachutes for tail assemblies, but most fall where they may.

(emphasis mine.... holy crap!)

Holy crap!

 

[GregGleason]

120 kg = 264.5544 lbs = $$$ of BP

The average NFL lineman is 252 lbs.

Greg

 

[r1dermon]

Commercial black powder such as goex costs an average of 17-22 dollars in the US when packed in 1lb containers and granulated in a sporting grade such as ffg. fa powders on the other hand are much cheaper, but generally not shippable due to being packed in 25lb poly bags. Wano, elephant, and goex all make fa grades of black powder, and depending on quantity you can expect to pay between 5 and 9 dollars a pound. meal powder, which is the leftover dust, can actually be found for as little as $1/lb. its much too fast to have a real practical use however. The raw materials are very cheap. Id imagine its not overly expensive to build one of those rockets. i cant imagine how they press or bind the fuel though. thatd have to be quite a large press. i definitely dont want to be within a few hundred yards of one of these things tee'd up and ready to fly.