Ye Olde Rocket Forum

Go Back   Ye Olde Rocket Forum > Weather-Cocked > FreeForAll
User Name
Password
Auctions Register FAQ Members List Calendar Today's Posts Search Mark Forums Read


 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
  #1  
Old 04-15-2016, 10:53 PM
blackshire's Avatar
blackshire blackshire is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
Default Fuse use in EU (links)

Hello All,

While I'm not advocating the use of fuses to launch model rockets, I've noticed that it's a fairly common practice in Europe, and it doesn't seem to be condemned there. Over the years I've seen several YouTube videos of model rocket launches in Europe that used fuse ignition. In these two recent ones (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKiI5wo3br0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC9tHx7dNbA ), a space modeler (model rocketeer) in Stegersbach, Austria flew his SpaceX Falcon 9 and Fairing model with an onboard keychain video & still camera with audio. The fuse can be clearly seen and heard in the camera views. Also:

The location where he flew his model (a very large and open farm area with no buildings, vehicles, or other people nearby--I was half-expecting to see Lipizzaner horses grazing in a nearby field... :-) ) looks like a place where fuse ignition would not pose any safety problems (provided that the launch pad was stable, the conditions weren't tinder-dry, and the wind wasn't gusting very high, all three of which appear to have been the case in the above-linked videos). Model rocketry safety codes in European countries do prescribe electrical ignition (and it is used in contests and other group launches there), yet using fuses instead doesn't appear to call down condemnation on people who use them when flying model rockets alone, or with family and/or friends. In addition:

To me, this is a perfectly sensible, non-uptight attitude that makes the hobby more enjoyable, without increasing the risks. I would not criticize any model rocketeer who kept a roll of green cannon fuse in his or her range box, for use in non-club flying sessions (provided that the conditions I listed above--and which appeared to be in place in the above-linked videos--were satisfied) if his/her launch controller became faulty or damaged (or its batteries died), or if s/he ran out of extra igniters. Over the years such things have happened to me a few times, and on the private land where I flew models either alone or with family (in northern Georgia and Alaska--I wouldn't have contravened the safety code at Tamiami Park, a public park where I flew rockets in Miami), I would have used fuses if I had brought any along with me, because I never flew in conditions in which fuses would have been any less safe than electrical ignition.
__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR
Reply With Quote
 


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:02 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.0.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe © 1998-2024