TDK Propulsion » Media

Thermite High Speed Videos

David Reese — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:17:44 +0000

One of my friends here has been having some issues getting a clean, reliable start on a motor, so I suggested using a thermite igniter to get things moving quickly. Seeking some evidence to use for convincing the higher-ups, we did some high speed videos of a couple thermite igniters to see what goes on. We fired a standard copper thermite compound, as well as one based on manganese dioxide and aluminum. Each shot was 5 grams of material. The CuO igniter was filmed at 2000 frames per second, and the MnO₂ at 10,000 frames per second. I also sped up the MnO₂ video and stuck the shots next to each other, to allow easier comparison between the two types.

CuO/Al (2k fps):

(video link)

MnO₂/Al (10k fps):

(video link)

Comparison of both types (2k fps):

(video link)

More Talon P Photos

David Reese — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:45:57 +0000

Chris LaPanse (cjl) was kind enough to pass along this sequence of photos taken by his dad, Ray, from the Talon P flight. I’ve never seen this motor in person in anything other than a minimum diameter rocket, so it’s great to have such awesome photo coverage of one of its more “dramatic” flights. Thanks Ray & Chris!

Red Glare 8

David Reese — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:58:07 +0000

I’m finally getting around to posting my Red Glare photos. I found a cheap flight, and Todd volunteered to pick me up at the airport, so things all worked out really well, and I had a great time. Special thanks to Darren Wright and family for the awesome hospitality, the MDRA BOD for putting on a great launch, Todd for driving me everywhere, and Ryan/Caity/Cancel/Jeff/Scott for putting up with me! Can’t wait to go back for October. I might even bring a rocket…

Photos after the jump.

ROCstock 29

David Reese — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:13:22 +0000

Overcast at times, nice temperatures in June, Skidmarks in California, Frank Kosdon legal again. What was going on?! Hats off to the board and all the volunteers for a fantastic launch. Find some of my photos from ROCstock 29 after the jump, including lots of Ms, Skids, Greens, Reds, and an L3 flight.

Carbonate Reds

David Reese — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:27:33 +0000

It seems that Strontium Carbonate-based red motors get a bit of a bad rap in the community. The king of these formulations is Pat Gordzelik’s Polish Rojo family of propellants. I originally shied away from making reds, as I believed PR/SPR to be “wimpy” propellants that made a weak red flame, and that real men used Strontium Nitrate to make red motors. But Strontium Nitrate has its problems — it’s highly hygroscopic and needs to be dried and screened before use, and the grains must be kept sealed tightly before flight. I have a few old Kosdon East “Red Rhino” motors that are nitrate based, and though they give a BRILLIANT red flame and a delightful low-thrust, long-burn profile, they are immensely difficult to light due to their age and the amount of moisture collected by the hydrophilic Nitrate groups.

So, I decided to try out Polish Rojo:

Nice flame, Pat! (Photo by SoCal Mad Matt, click for larger version)

Further details on the motor after the jump: This was a 54/1400 load in the venerable Arcas (flight #15, I believe) with something between Polish Rojo and Super Polish Rojo propellant. From my understanding, the only difference between the two is the size of the Magnesium used in the fuel; the Mag in this motor was -800 mesh stuff from Pat, though it was slightly clumpy, so I’m not actually sure what to call it. The motor used 3/4″ cores (since I didn’t have a 5/8″ drill bit with me at the launch to core the motor), so it was probably a very full J motor rather than the usual baby K we get from this case. But still, way cool flight.

Moral of the story: Carbonate reds are reds too!