Permission to Buzz the Tower

11 responses to “Permission to Buzz the Tower”

1. 

   jurvetson

   Sep 21, 2009 at 3:51 pm

   One cool detail, visible in full size, is cascade of Mach diamonds in the green plume.

   

   And the camera tilts back from the acceleration.

   Reply
2. 

   cluttered sofa

   Sep 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

   Cool shot.

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3. 

   JeffSech

   Sep 21, 2009 at 4:49 pm

   Ah…very cool. Thanks for IDing those Mach diamonds for me–I well remember them from this shot of the X-1 from the encyclopedia I wore out as a kid:

   

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4. 

   Tamooj

   Sep 21, 2009 at 6:42 pm

   A few years ago I was working with a team on some medium sized rocket motors and I found myself delving into the math and physics behind mach diamonds. Wow, much like rainbows, it’s not a simple effect.

   Steve, how badly was the flight trajectory effected by drag, etc. from the camera? Did it radically shift the center-of-drag/gravity/etc. ? (Too lazy to drag out rocksim and figure it out for myself)

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5. 

   Duncan Rawlinson – Duncan.co

   Sep 21, 2009 at 8:42 pm

   Looks the camera had a hard time staying mounted with all that acceleration. In the video it looks like it almost snapped off!

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6. 

   ActiveOptics

   Sep 21, 2009 at 8:45 pm

   Steve,
   Did you use the included strap to attach it to the rocket? I did the exact same thing on my 3rd flight of my Binder Excel Plus, even on a sparky motor the acceleration was such that the camera just went straight into the body and you couldn’t see anything the motor burned out.

   Did you experience that? It looks like your strap on camera isn’t flexing quite as much as mine did.

   I’m currently working on a different yet transferable mounting system.

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7. 

   rass999 denis laframboise

   Sep 21, 2009 at 9:53 pm

   Doesn’t the camera disturb the balance???

   very nice shot.

   denis

   Reply
8. 

   jurvetson

   Sep 22, 2009 at 1:19 am

   lastminute: good eye! Yes, I was amazed at the flex I saw here:

   

   I think I need to work the padding better (near the edges versus the middle and banked outward somewhat. That’s how I had it on prior cams, and they have flown with much bigger motors on many rockets.

   The larger airframes do not notice it (LOC Expediter, LOC 7.5" V2, LOC NORAD), and the airframe reducer provides the perfect mount point and outward angle:

   

   The mid-size Brighthawk tilts but does not spin more than usual:

   

   And the little Aerotech Initiator went into a sickening spiral:

   

   (More strap-on photos)

   ActiveOptics – yes. I have not found the strap to be a problem (I even used it as a break-away streamer on a L-motor launch =)

   I normally reinforce the mount with fiberglass and JB weld. And I always have a nose cone (1/2 of a plastic Easter Egg works great).

   I wish it did not buffer video, but recorded directly to the SD card in real time… If anyone knows of a tubular cam with that feature, I’d be real interested.

   Reply
9. 

   angry shock

   Sep 22, 2009 at 7:43 pm

   sweet & colorful!

   Reply
10. 

    Victor1

    Sep 23, 2009 at 6:16 am

    Killer video. Loved the shudder on landing. So that thing was hanging off the side like that and didn’t steer it wrong? cool.

    Reply
11. 

    sbove

    Sep 27, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    What happened to that big rocket at BurningMan 2009??? a mock liftoff with pyro- technicolor ground effects:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/loupiote/3922567292/sizes/o/in/set-...

    photo by Tristan Savatier

    Reply