Jonathon Wilkins', Trident Arrow.
Everyone knows
we love building and flying clustered rockets, for many years it's been all we do, so naturally, when we see anyone doing
the same, we stop and take notice.
How could you not notice Jonathon Wilkins', Trident Arrow? Obviously, he put a lot of time into the
build and we love the red, white and blue paint scheme.
I'm not sure if Jonathan has more than one
Trident Arrow or if the photo above is of the same one dressed in white but either way, we love it and the shot of it frozen
it time.
I've been flying since July of 1968, just
a few days short of 53 years. While I have no real data to support my estimate, I'd say the percentage of flyers who ever
clustered a rocket, is about the same today as in 68.
Speaking strictly from personal experience, I'd guess-timate the number of flyers who regularly cluster is below
10 percent. I've been to more launches than I can remember and with many individuals and clubs. In all that time, Verna and
I have usually been the only flyers at most launches to fly a clustered rocket for the day. Once in a blue moon there might
be 1 flyer to make a single cluster flight the entire launch.
Why clusters are so rare has always been a mystery to me. Yes, I know there are others who fly clusters but to do
so is far and away a minority activity. If you think of the number of clustered kits that have been offered by Estes, I'd
say it's roughly the same ratio of cluster flyers. SMALL.
Black powder clustering isn't all that
hard, most existing kits are easily modified for clustered flight and that to me is part of the mystery of why there aren't
more flyers who cluster. We like clusters because they can be more challenging to build and fly; more fire and smoke!
And no, because most people don't cluster doesn't make us better than other flyers, just different.
I will say one of the biggest cluster mysteries to me is how and why people are
certified Level 1 who have never clustered (just 2 engines) or even staged a black powder rocket. Don't get me wrong, we have
nothing but respect for TRA, NAR and HPR flyers. We enjoy HPR as spectators very much, but I've always been mystified how
merely assembling a H motor gives anyone a higher qualification in rocketry when many people tell me they certified Level
1 after having built 1 kit and assemble one motor.
As
we move on, please allow me to challenge you; if you've never built a black powder cluster, try it. I think you may discover
you've been missing out on a building and flying experience you never imagined.
Our thanks to Jonathon Wilkins for his great photos!
Looking for something entertaining and fun to read?
If you'd like something entertaining and fun to read, get your copies of the entire Rocket Babe series, paperback or Kindle.
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Rocket Babe: Reflection
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Signed / personalized paperback copies of Rocket Babe - Dust Storm, Rocket Babe - Fallen Angel, Rocket Babe - Ant Men and
Rocket Babe - Reflection are all available directly from the author!
Books are great gifts for any occasion! Holidays,
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Above you see a rare photo of Dave Miller, appropriately dressed in black as owner of the clandestine black ops organization
known as Sirius Rocketry! What does he do in his spare time? He reads Rocket Babe, what else?
That's a nice looking Cestris Fighter he's holding too! Get yours from https://www.siriusrocketry.com
Verna Starr Cestris Fighter!
This is our favorite Sirius kit, the Cestris.
The kit is intended to fly on a single engine but it was easily modified to a 3 engine cluster complete with Verna Starr fighter
decals, also available from Sirius.
Randy
Just click the BLUE link below the banner!
She'll go with you anywhere! Kevin, owner and moderator at the Alien Soup sci-fi
forum, enjoys Rocket Babe - Dust Storm between innings at a recent ballgame!
Have you ever heard of Mach diamonds? Mach
diamonds, or as some refer to them, thrust diamonds,
are a formation of standing wave patterns that can appear in a supersonic
exhaust plume.
The first two photos are courtesy of Ben Jarvis.
Because most hobby rockets are launched
during daylight and happen so quickly it can be very difficult to see the diamonds in real time. Usually they are only detected
photographically after the fact, as we see in the first two photos taken by Ben Jarvis.
The diamonds are most easily seen in the after-burner exhaust of fighter jets when they first begin to
roll because the diameter of the exhaust is much larger, the exhaust continues for many seconds and the jet is almost stationary.
Now that you know what to look for you can see them as the small stacked bright
spots in both photos and yes, even a small black powder engine can have a supersonic exhaust.
The
photos above and below were taken by Pete Barrett. The diamonds are visible in both photos but were probably missed by those
watching the launch. Yet another reason to remember your camera when you attend a launch.
If you have photos of past launches stored
away, you may want to check them to see if you have a few that show Mach diamonds; there is a good chance you do. I had to
use a magnifying glass on mine that had been printed but if your photos are digital you can easily enlarge them to check for
supersonic diamonds you never knew you had.
Randy
Bones says...
Verna & Randy's Rockets is proud to have been featured by:
April 2006 Finishing
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