Video-Rocket Drag Race

EX-S500

ƒ/4.3

6.2 mm

1/500

Rarely does a rocket drag race end up as a tie. Erik and I built identical Estes Oracle rockets and launched them at the same time on D12-5 motors. Each rocket has a video camera inside the nose cone which reflects off a 45-degree mirror to look down the shaft of the rocket (i.e., it sees the launch pad and then the receding ground during the launch). Since it was a drag race, each rocket could see the other one’s smoke trail as well.

I posted the video from my rocket-camera on Revver so you can see what this looks like.

My plan for tomorrow is to launch the Oracle… and as it is climbing, launch three bigger “chaser” rockets right at it. We’ll see how that goes…. =)

Unrelated, I also posted the somewhat more humorous Baking Soda & Vinegar video…

9 responses to “Video-Rocket Drag Race”

gdsanders

Oct 23, 2005 at 3:33 am

Great videos!

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The Rocketeer

Oct 23, 2005 at 12:04 pm

Agreed! First time I’ve heard of Revver too. I have been posting my videos on You Tube. I’d be interested in knowing if you get any money from Revver.

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boring fact

Oct 23, 2005 at 4:05 pm

the video was a blast..pardon the pun :)and a major rethink required lol

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tsmyther

Oct 23, 2005 at 6:18 pm

Really fun stuff! Loved the baking soda & vinegar clip as well. Reminds me of doing the same as a kid. We had Estes rockets back in the day, but no one in the club I was in built anything like the ones you guys are doing.

Thanks for sharing! Especially with the "…and then…" group.

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The Rocketeer

Oct 24, 2005 at 2:23 pm

Steve, did you hit the launch buttons at the same time or did you wire them parallel to launch with the same button?

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Vanita

Dec 19, 2005 at 4:52 am

*sigh* Bless me father, for I feel I must here confess a certain amount of rocket envy.
:

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jurvetson

Aug 23, 2006 at 4:56 pm

Vanita… funny to read this now… Keep running with it.

Kevin: At the club launches, they have rows of launchpads controlled by a LCO (Launch Control Officer) at a command center box with microphone, car battery, etc. Multiple pads can be launched at once for a dragrace.

Little secret: the determining factor is actually the igniter. It can take 0 to 3 seconds to go off, and that swamps most other factors in a race. You can pre-dip an igniter in pyrogen to almost guarantee a win…

Here is the rocket’s perspective (a frame grab from the video):

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borealnz

Mar 6, 2007 at 2:48 am

What a great pair of rockets!! These must have been amazing to see in real life!!

Thanks for sharing in our Pairs theme at
The World Through My Eyes

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Streamer1985

Apr 27, 2007 at 10:26 pm

Very nice!

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Video-Rocket Drag Race

9 responses to “Video-Rocket Drag Race”

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