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X-Wing Rocket Launches, Disintegrates

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the no-surprise-here dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Remember the 21-foot X-Wing with four rocket engines? It launched yesterday from Plaster City and here's the video showing what many thought inevitable: total destruction in mid-air. From the post: "I can only say two things. The first is: absolutely amazing. And the second: poor Porkins." "

6 of 240 comments (clear)

  1. That was lame. by Animats · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That was lame. Even if it hadn't disintegrated early, it was on an arc that would have hit the ground in about five seconds.

    Now if they'd built it as a large R/C model aircraft, it would have been cool. That's been done in a 24 inch wingspan model, so it's possible to fly that shape.

  2. Re:Build a smaller one that works by SpectreBlofeld · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you want to see something in a similar vein to this launch that is really impressive, check out Top Gear's launch of a shuttle built from a Reliant Robin compact car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN3JjUUdjWU

  3. Re:Too bad they weren't engineers by Rich0 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think it depends to a great degree on how far you're pushing the envelope.

    The early rocket experiments didn't have general guildlines to go from - and so they discovered problem after problem by experiment.

    They also didn't have parts with known specifications - they were building their own engines which were often sources of problems.

    An amateurer rocket designer today can buy off the shelf parts - and know exactly what their tolerances are. If their engines are certified to produce x N of force +/- y% then you can simply design for that. If they have a 99.99% reliability rate you don't need to worry about them just blowing up.

    To me this whole thing sounded more like an exercise in amusement than trying to actually get a rocket off the ground. Nothing wrong with that - but it is hardly big news when the thing disintegrates in mid-air...

  4. Re:Too bad they weren't engineers by Jarjarthejedi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "the aerodynamic forces are relatively easy to estimate"

    On a vehicle like the X-wing...which no one's ever done aerodynamic tests on...which has reverse facing wings...and pylons sticking out from them...and is shaped like a rocket with huge wings attached.

    If you can estimate those forces easily and come up with it's coefficient of drag then I would like to subscribe to your newsletter...

    --
    There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
  5. Brings back memories. by VTMarik · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How long will it be until someone edits in some TIEs and shoots down the X-wing rather than it just disintegrating?

  6. Re:Too bad they weren't engineers by Dun+Malg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As much as I loved the idea, these people were not engineers or this would never have happened. Yeah, that much was obvious, I thought, from the pics linked from the original article. The thing was simply a scale model with rocket engines tacked on. The first thing I thought when I saw the build pics was "baltic birch and aluminum rods? It's going to fall apart." Just an eyeball reckoning of the stress vectors between the body and engine attachment points reveals a half dozen points of guaranteed failure. I think it's funny that they even bothered to put a parachute system in it.
    --
    If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.