Hands down best TH-cam video I've watched in a while! I laughed, I cried, I almost goddam shit myself when you lost the $econd balloon! You've got one of the coolest hobbies ever, cheers!
Something along the same lines was done in the 50s/60s by NASA I think, and I've always thought it would be a good technique for a contemporary amateur to try. I wish you success with this. I'll check back often to see how it's going.
I suggest having two types of strings for your rockoon: deployment lines to attach the "rock" to the "oon", and mooring lines calculated to hold the balloon to the ground station at full inflation size in the highest plausible wind gust. It should be possible to design the mooring lines to completely fall away once cut, so they can be pretty heavy. A large cloth bag might work, so the mooring system doesn't necessarily have to be lines.
Use a parabolic dish on a gimbal tracking the RSSI. This will give you an order of magnitude (10x) of the tracking signal. Super fun project that also looks really cool while in use. The bigger the dish the better. If you could use something like a dishtv reciever you'd get something like 20-25 mile reception. Satelite controlled drones use the same concept to lock onto the satelite in space.
That second loss was heartbreaking! You could use a launch assistant - there is just so much last minute prep to do! On the off chance it might help next time - did you insulate your batteries? Probably not the issue, but otherwise I got nothing but empathy.
Your Chief Avionics Engineer deserves all the credit. Or at least a cookie.
Hands down best TH-cam video I've watched in a while! I laughed, I cried, I almost goddam shit myself when you lost the $econd balloon! You've got one of the coolest hobbies ever, cheers!
Thanks Tim - it would be even cooler if I could complete one of these missions :)
@@peterb7615 you will. The bumps and bruises along the way make for a better story though
@@peterb7615NASA may have lost one or two in the early years as well!
i cannot believe this gem only has 300 views, this is straight up cinema. I hope you get that rocket back.
if I had the video from the rockoon it would have lit up :) unfortunately, never did find it
Something along the same lines was done in the 50s/60s by NASA I think, and I've always thought it would be a good technique for a contemporary amateur to try. I wish you success with this. I'll check back often to see how it's going.
I suggest having two types of strings for your rockoon: deployment lines to attach the "rock" to the "oon", and mooring lines calculated to hold the balloon to the ground station at full inflation size in the highest plausible wind gust. It should be possible to design the mooring lines to completely fall away once cut, so they can be pretty heavy. A large cloth bag might work, so the mooring system doesn't necessarily have to be lines.
Use a parabolic dish on a gimbal tracking the RSSI. This will give you an order of magnitude (10x) of the tracking signal. Super fun project that also looks really cool while in use. The bigger the dish the better. If you could use something like a dishtv reciever you'd get something like 20-25 mile reception. Satelite controlled drones use the same concept to lock onto the satelite in space.
That second loss was heartbreaking! You could use a launch assistant - there is just so much last minute prep to do!
On the off chance it might help next time - did you insulate your batteries? Probably not the issue, but otherwise I got nothing but empathy.
WOW! I love your vids! You get it, and have inspired me to revisit "ROCKOONS"! 😁👍✌
Have you ever done a stabilized drop launch? 🤔😁👍✌
Yeah when bing bongs comment about the fins I say Saturn V had fins! 😱🤪🤣👍✌🎯
I'm very sad that this is still the conclusion of your journey
I've always got something new coming, I may get back to this some day
Sorry you didn't recover the rocket! Do you have plans for new flight attempts in the future?
Oooooo, and from now on, always carry a pellet gun to take down, .... ESCAPEEE BAAALLOONS! 🤣👍✌🎯
that's actually a really good idea, I could have saved my parachutes too
Hi.... Help me please I'm from Russia I'm Chechen