highest flight

TRFfan2 · Postby **TRFfan2** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 2:09 am

Has anyone ever got a record with a certain motor size that is the limit to how high that motor can go? A lot of the altitude records online look like they can be improved on but i was wondering if there was one record flight that cannot be beaten (like best fin shape and size, nose cone length, etc.).

chrisn · Postby **chrisn** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 6:04 pm

all records can be beaten. after designing the most efficient rocket and launching under the most ideal conditions, the easiest way that comes to mind would be from using a launch site higher elevation above sea level than the previous record which would be a difficult task in itself, that also raises other potential issues that we will ignore for now. Black rock desert, 4000ft. Westmar if I recall is not even close to that

Digit · Postby **Digit** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:46 pm

Westmar's elevation is 825 feet FYI.

drew · Postby **drew** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:50 pm

TRFfan2 wrote:Has anyone ever got a record with a certain motor size that is the limit to how high that motor can go? A lot of the altitude records online look like they can be improved on but i was wondering if there was one record flight that cannot be beaten (like best fin shape and size, nose cone length, etc.).

There's a joke in here around "optimize this" and N5800s but I'm not sure I know how to word it.

CATO · Postby **CATO** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 5:32 pm

drew wrote:There's a joke in here around "optimize this" and N5800s but I'm not sure I know how to word it.

https://forum.ausrocketry.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4488

kopius · Postby **kopius** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:08 pm

Don't Debate This!! Hahaha (inside joke)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Digit · Postby **Digit** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:09 pm

Why does the 'optimise this' thread just end like that?! It's like tearing the back quarter off a novel before reading it lol.

Did it ever fly?

TRFfan2 · Postby **TRFfan2** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 1:55 am

chrisn wrote:all records can be beaten. after designing the most efficient rocket and launching under the most ideal conditions, the easiest way that comes to mind would be from using a launch site higher elevation above sea level than the previous record which would be a difficult task in itself, that also raises other potential issues that we will ignore for now. Black rock desert, 4000ft. Westmar if I recall is not even close to that

But what i was implying is there any record out there that would be extremely hard to beat if you flew from the same altitude that they did. Like for example the tripoli g altitude record would be easy to beat (its only at 8700 ft) but the H altitude record would not be easy (at 14800 ft).

SpaceManMat · Postby **SpaceManMat** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:18 am

Digit wrote:Why does the 'optimise this' thread just end like that?! It's like tearing the back quarter off a novel before reading it lol.

Did it ever fly?

No we would have heard about it. I believe Mike got a new job and hasn't been able to get back to it.

drew · Postby **drew** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 11:14 am

TRFfan2 wrote:
chrisn wrote:all records can be beaten. after designing the most efficient rocket and launching under the most ideal conditions, the easiest way that comes to mind would be from using a launch site higher elevation above sea level than the previous record which would be a difficult task in itself, that also raises other potential issues that we will ignore for now. Black rock desert, 4000ft. Westmar if I recall is not even close to that
But what i was implying is there any record out there that would be extremely hard to beat if you flew from the same altitude that they did. Like for example the tripoli g altitude record would be easy to beat (its only at 8700 ft) but the H altitude record would not be easy (at 14800 ft).

If I were you I'd focus less on records and more on people. Nic Lottering and Curt von Delius are the two names that spring to mind. That said Nic is amazing at documenting his builds and Curt is well known for not "pulling back the curtains" so to speak. So have a look at what Nic has done with his minimum diameter builds on this forum; he's the best person I know in the hobby for eeking every bit of altitude out of a motor/airframe combination.

Also I'd recommend listening to people more experienced in these types of flights if they're telling you your rocket most likely won't be stable. Many a US university student have designed minimum diameter N5800 "capable" rockets that were never capable of surviving the boost of that motor as their stability margin was too tight. I've even fallen victim to this when attempting to fly an I59 in a 38mm minimum diameter airframe. Just because OpenRocket/RASAero/Rocksim state that your minimum diameter N5800 will crack just over 100k ft doesn't make it real. There's a reason why it's called a rocket simulator. Just keep that in mind, especially if someone has just successfully flown that motor. The last thing anyone wants to hear after successfully executing a high performance flight is some wanker stating they'd love to see someone make that flight on an "optimized" airframe as they'd easily squeeze another 20-30k ft out of the motor.