Records for coldest launch?

I know our motors were flown at Adak Alaska (in the Aleutians) but not what conditions.

I am willing to declare your temp a record. IF you can get a motor to ignite :)

Move to Mars, the daytime highs are much higher than this :-)

Our local group, the Ottawa Rocketry Group, used to regularly launch when it was -30C with a slight breeze taking the wind chill down to about -35 to -40C. On those days, launch rates are low, parachutes don't like to open, and you actually *want* your rocket to veer off course, forcing a long and invigorating walk :-) The flights don't go quite as high, both due to higher air density, and poorer-performing propellants (BP is noticably more sluggish at -30C!). Since having a flotilla of kids (at least two of whom I'm obligated to take with me to launches), I've avoided the really cold launches...

We've had some launches this winter in temps down to the low 60s, some guys even had to put on jackets... ;)

Jim Rutkowski Executive Chef - TrailerTrashAerospace

Wow, -30C! The Ottawa Rocketry Group must have been really gung ho!

We've just started a group, the Saskatoon Rocketry Society, and scheduled a cold weather launch in November that wound up at around -17C with some problematic wind. We're a pretty wussy bunch, so far. I hope we get as enthused as ORG evidently has been.

At -17C, all of the 'chutes stayed balled up except my daughter's... that one hung up on a power line :-( I hadn't noticed a performance reduction at that temperature.

Your observation of BP performance at -30C is most interesting... and very tempting to check out (alone, I guess :-))

Dwayne

------------------------------- Marcus Leech wrote:

Hi Jerry,

Adak, Alaska sounds interesting! So interesting, I had to look it up. They look like they are almost exactly centered between Russia and Canada.

It actually has a moderate climate that's shifted down a bit in temperature. Their record high is about 24C (75F) and their record low is about -16C (3F). (What else does one do while waiting for logic to compile :-) )

Looks pretty remote! I wonder if they have any problems with evil regulatory agencies.

Anyhow, I'll bring some rocketry gear along with me to work tomorrow. If I get a chance, I'll try a chilly launch. If I don't the window of opportunity has probably closed... it'll be getting cloudy and, therefore, warmer.

Dwayne

It is RUN by one. DoD.

As differentiated from Do0d :)

Is there anywhere USR motors have NOT been flown over the years? :)

Don't take this the wrong way, but man you guys up the Great White North are nuts! ;)

And your point is? :-) :-)

Actually, I'm not even a "native" Canadian--I'm from Englands sunny south originally. But my body has long forgotten those warm sea breezes...

I travel frequently for my day job. I'm always amused to find out what people in other parts of the world consider "bitterly cold". With the exception of the people of Sweden and Norway, the rest of the world are wussies...:-) In North Carolina, for example, a recent light snow fall (a few inches) was enough to cause the state to go into a complete panic. Temperatures plummetted to about -2C or so, forcing the closure of shopping malls and schools. Hundreds of accidents on the highways. I scratch my head in dumbfounded amazement!

Damn, I though it was cold here (Calgary). He had -55 wind-chill at one point this week, but I think the lowest "real" temperature it got was

-35 or so. My coldest launch was at -30 three Febuaries ago. Had a bad case of cabin fever, an estes bull pup, and a C6-5. Long story short - I got frost bite on my fingers from hooking up the ignitor, the engine almost didn't light (low power from cold batteries?), and I lost the rocket. Apparently flying a white rocket when there is a couple of feet of new snow is a bad idea :-[

Bryan

coldest it ever gets in taipei is around 10c... but we dont have any rockets except those thing you put in a bottle and light them up. humidity is like

For North Carolina, read England yesterday...

That's nothing. Here in S.E. Alabama everything closes down if one inch of snow falls. Everyone needs to build a snowman once in their life...........even if it is only six inches tall :-)

We are looking at highs temperatures in the 50's for our next launch in February. Neener neener neener!

John

Wonder where they were at when these "highly skilled professionals" attempted their unique method of "Explosively Induced Whale Mass Reduction"?

tah

hey! I resemble that remark... ;)

I did a quick proto-type launch the other day. The temps here at the time (New Hampshire) were about -20F with a slight wind. wind chill was about -35 - -40F

brisk :)

heck, I may have to bring the grill in pretty soon! jim

RayDunak> was -30C with a slight breeze taking the wind chill down to about -35 to -40C. >