LUNAR is the largest rocketry club in the U.S. (and probably the world). They have an ongoing Mile High contest to peak as close as possible to one mile up. Contenders have to state the mile-high attempt in advance and verify the altitude with on-board electronics. Computer simulation of the flight and prevailing winds can help with shape, weight, angle, and motor choices.
Here you see the readout from the on-board computer (which has an accelerometer and barometer):
Altitude: 5102 ft.
Speed: 677.25 f/s = 462 MPH
Acceleration: 396.68 f/s/s = 12 G’s
It should have been exactly one-mile high without the drag of the strap-on video camera…. =)
The camera survived a short but high-acceleration H210 launch earlier in the day… but the K700 was a bit harsh, to quote Bill Murray… The drag caused a 3/4″ wide nylon strap to rip straight across. The Easter Egg hunters recovered the camera in the field. The AA batteries in the camera slammed back and broke the internal plastics. Gives me new respect for the G-wiz flight control electronics that I have taken to over 35G’s…
Other than that, it was a perfect flight.
(video)
Leave a Reply