Rockets and the Wind

[SatelliteInterceptor]

I won't fly my rockets if the wind is greater than 10 M.P.H. The field I launch at, is not too big. Even if it were bigger, I would still be hesitant to fly in over 10 M.P.H. wind. I saw a guy on TV last night, and he said it's okay to launch rockets in wind up to 20 M.P.H. I was wondering what everyone on this forum thinks about this. Thank you for your input. :-)

[barone]

I won't fly my rockets if the wind is greater than 10 M.P.H. The field I launch at, is not too big. Even if it were bigger, I would still be hesitant to fly in over 10 M.P.H. wind. I saw a guy on TV last night, and he said it's okay to launch rockets in wind up to 20 M.P.H. I was wondering what everyone on this forum thinks about this. Thank you for your input. :-)
The Model Rocket Safety Code permits launches with winds up to 20 mph.

http://www.nar.org/NARmrsc.html

[Shreadvector]

As correctly reported above the NAR MRSC does allow launching in up to 20 mph winds, but that would only be sane if the entire combination of factors permitted a safe flight and recovery. As the original poster pointed out, if your field is too small, you should not launch in a strong breeze, let alone a "wind". For launching in wind, you need a VERY good launch rod (long and stiff) and you need a high thrust to weight ratio so the rocket has high airspeed when it leaves the rod. Then you need a large enough field to recover it safely. And you need to be able to run long distances. And you need to be able to handle watching the rocket get dragged along the ground as the wind catches the parachute....

[jay]

I try to launch only if there is no wind, but it usually turns out that there is at least a slight breeze going on. I agree with Fred's comments. On a windy day I tend to stick with rockets that are fast off the pad and have a small airframe and small fins. I'll also use a small chute with a spill hole or a streamer. I don't have an airspeed indicator in my range box but I don't think I ever launch in 20 mph winds, my launch sites are pretty small.

[Shreadvector]

I won't fly my rockets if the wind is greater than 10 M.P.H. The field I launch at, is not too big. Even if it were bigger, I would still be hesitant to fly in over 10 M.P.H. wind. I saw a guy on TV last night, and he said it's okay to launch rockets in wind up to 20 M.P.H. I was wondering what everyone on this forum thinks about this. Thank you for your input. :-)

By the way, you did not clearly say who you saw on TV and what the program was, but there has been some discussion in other forums and that program may not have been about Model Rockets (and probably not even legal High Power Rockets). It may have involved pyrotechnic stunt rockets.

The HPR Safety Code says 20 MPH and has additional wording about safe speed off the launcher...

http://www.nar.org/NARhpsc.html

[Royatl]

While we here at SoAR get antsy when the wind reaches 5-10mph, I've attended ECRM events up in Maryland where the air was buzzing along at >15, gusting to who knows. Not a whole lot of fun, but folks up there just grin and bear it. To paraphrase Douglas Adams, "It's a rocket. You've got to fly rockets!"

[SatelliteInterceptor]

In my original post, I did fail to mention the rocket show that I saw on TV. It is on every Wednesday night at 9:30 P.M. (EST). L.I.A.R.S . (Long Island Advanced Rocketry Society) has their own TV show on the "Public Access" cablevision channel. The guy that said that 20 M.P.H. wind is okay, was demonstrating this, using a Big Bertha rocket with a standard launch pad, on a 3/16th's inch launch rod.

[Royatl]

In my original post, I did fail to mention the rocket show that I saw on TV. It is on every Wednesday night at 9:30 P.M. (EST). L.I.A.R.S . (Long Island Advanced Rocketry Society) has their own TV show on the "Public Access" cablevision channel. The guy that said that 20 M.P.H. wind is okay, was demonstrating this, using a Big Bertha rocket with a standard launch pad, on a 3/16th's inch launch rod.

Don't get me wrong. 20mph is certainly doable. But you have to know what is going on, and how your rocket will react to the wind. It can sometimes take a few years of flying to understand. RockSim can help, but I don't think it can take everything into account.

[shockwaveriderz]

this is all good advice to the sport flyer, but if you want to do NAR competition, you need to experiment and learn how to fly in the wind


I remember flying at 1 Bluesrocks sport launch a few years ago where the wind was a constant and gusty 15-20 mph all day. We adapted by going to streamers and smaller motors and extreme rod angles (within the NARMRSC of course, of course) and not 1 rocket was lost. This includes a few DE flights. By the end of the day, we were almost able to call where it would land. <-- perhaps a slight exaggeration.

UFO and Oddrocks are cool on windy days we learned too!


terry dean
nar 16158