OFF: Darwin....

[Keith A Henderson]

Damon said...
>
> On Thu, 13 Jun 1996, Hardman DK wrote:
> > Presumably a rocket of this power could go any damn place it pleases? If
> > these things are supposed to give oomph to a fighter plane, then I would
> > guess the weight of a motor car to be totally insignificant.
>
> Yes, I would assume the truck would become airborne if it did so while
> the rocket was firing, but the investigators found that the truck became
> airborne about 2 miles after the rocket had fired, in other words while
> the truck was insignificantly decelerating.  Seems weird to me.

Yeah, but maybe the braking had something to do with it.  There wouldn't seem
to be any reason for this from a 'physics' standpoint, but maybe something to
do with the air currents, or the burning rubber/fumes under the car.  Hard to
predict what these effects might have been, but I can imagine it happening this
way, seeing as it was going 350 mph already!

Having experienced a JATO-takeoff myself (it was on a slightly larger vehicle
than an Impala, I should say; namely, a C-130 Herc), I can only imagine what a
rush this might have been.  Almost worth it perhaps... :)

Keith H. (FAA)

ObCD:  Porcupine Tree - On the Sunday of Life