Aerial Shells

[pudidotdk]

I'm in for a lot of inserts + crossettes.

[Mumbles]

I'll have to see how many crossettes I have made up. I had about 40 saved for a special shell, but we'll see.

 

The shell I am looking to complete is as follows. A 5" triple break. A better pearl comet break, 1" comets x 40. A second break of spider insert shells. They are timed for one ring to go off, then the second to go off. The third break is where I am having trouble. The original plan was a big spider break on the bottom. I am however not going to have enough spider stars. The second plan of action was to just mix some glitter and blue or red stars and make a final color burst.

 

I haven't tested my farfalle shell yet, so I want to hold off on those until after I can do that. Perhaps the hummers will be achievable. I am a bit afraid of using flying inserts with the possibility of being so close to the ground though. but they don't fly too incredibly far. I may toss some salutes on top of the hummers. Perhaps I could find some way to move the comet break to the end, and place some colored stars in the middle, and then make the first shell with hummers or serpets or something.

[frogy]

I make some pretty interesting hummers that had center ignition... Meal in most of the tube, but in some end a small amount of TT for delay (and neat sparks) and then a small Flash salute...

 

The hummers are still hopping when the salutes go off and it looks quite cool....

 

 

I should be getting my mortars\shells\dextrin in a few days so expect some Charcoal stars until I get my Red Gum

[Zmuro]

What composition did you use for loud report with full of sparks?

Basic 65:35 flash + 10% 16-30 mesh Ti sponge.

Small aerial salutes were 2in cans with 20g.

Multi salute shell was a 4in can with 10 salutes of 15g ea. made from 1in spiral wound tubes. (one didn't fire)

Finale salutes were 3in cans with 50g ea. I had a fifth 100g 3in can, but that didn't make the video - I shot it off earlier just to get the party rolling

 

The 2 and 3in cans were bulked up with additional BP coated rice crispies until nearly full. They were also spiked with fiberglass strapping tape.

Is it "safe" to put 20g of flash powder in salute if your flash is made from German Dark Al? What is the risk that FP would self ignite while making large salute like your, because this FP has quite low critical mass.

[flying fish]

What composition did you use for loud report with full of sparks?

Basic 65:35 flash + 10% 16-30 mesh Ti sponge.

Small aerial salutes were 2in cans with 20g.

Multi salute shell was a 4in can with 10 salutes of 15g ea. made from 1in spiral wound tubes. (one didn't fire)

Finale salutes were 3in cans with 50g ea. I had a fifth 100g 3in can, but that didn't make the video - I shot it off earlier just to get the party rolling

 

The 2 and 3in cans were bulked up with additional BP coated rice crispies until nearly full. They were also spiked with fiberglass strapping tape.

Is it "safe" to put 20g of flash powder in salute if your flash is made from German Dark Al? What is the risk that FP would self ignite while making large salute like your, because this FP has quite low critical mass.

It shouldn't self ignite!

 

"Critical mass" is basically the mass at which it makes a loud bang when ignited normally unconfined. It has nothing to do with spontaneous combustion.

 

That being said, flashpowder is very sensitive, especially to static electricity. You need to know the proper precautions for working with flash. All cotton clothing, proper safety gear. A system for continuously grounding yourself is suggested if working in a dry environment (grounding yourself before starting to work is a must either way). A humid day is best for working with flash.

 

This is why beginners are discouraged from working with flash. You absolutely need to have a full understanding of the safety rules and why those rules are used.

[qwezxc12]

Is it "safe" to put 20g of flash powder in salute if your flash is made from German Dark Al?  What is the risk that FP would self ignite while making large salute like your, because this FP has quite low critical mass.

I wouldn't use the term "Critical Mass"...we're not talking Uranium here...as far as I know, my flash doesn't liberate extra neutrons

 

The correct term, I believe, is "Self-Confine": the mass of composition required to deflagrate violently without the need for additional confinement. As Flying fish stated that amount can be very low (<1g) when using reactive Al flake like German dark, or similar high-mesh MgAl / Mg powders.

 

When using standard, safe formulations, flash doesn't self-ignite. Think about it...a properly constructed commercial shell using flash (whether it be a salute or a flash-boosted break) needs to survive manufacturing, transport, and storage all before being fired at high velocity out of a mortar. *However* if you're using some witches brew with KMnO4, or some Nitrate mix, all bets are off.

 

There are many, many flash formulas out there, some legitimate, some not. Some of the more sensitive formulas do have their place when used for specific purposes, i.e. dark flash, small crossette breaks, etc. For simple applications, I do not feel any need to depart from the "safest" formula - and I use quotes because "safe" is relative, here.

 

You need to know what you're working with. flying fish has it right...

[Zmuro]

6,5 cm shell with Chrysanthemum #8 stars, total weight 100g: http://shrani.si/files/shell27man164mp.avi

6,5 cm shell with D1 Glitter stars, total weight: 120g http://shrani.si/f/1u/1a/4TQiMIL7/shell29.avi

Canister shell with TT stars: http://shrani.si/f/P/119/pu3VmM7/shell34canister1.avi

Shell that was pasted with fiberglass. Chrysanthemum #8 stars.

http://shrani.si/t/30/4P/3B2bWa5W/shell35.jpg

http://shrani.si/f/1L/vE/3Z04bBpq/shell35fiberglas.avi

[qwezxc12]

Zmuro,

 

Those are nice shells. The Chrys8 shell looked particularly nice - nice even break. Looked like the fiberglass pasted shell shattered some stars when it broke and the break wasn't any bigger than you other shells. Interesting experiment, though.

 

I'm curious about your D1 glitter - it does glitter, bit it hangs more like a firefly. Nice effect. What type and size Al are you using in it?

It also looked like you used large stars in the shell. I only counted 23 or 24 stars. What size were they? I typically use 90 to 100 3/8"(9.5mm) stars in a 3"(76mm) spherical shell.

 

 

Anyway, if the rain ever lets up, I've got a 6in, two 4in, and three 3in shells to shoot tonight. I'm trying a few new things with the break and construction.

[psyco_1322]

Froggy were did you come from? Its seems like you just appeared one day and jumped right in. Did you come over from another forum or did you just now decide to start posting? Just wondering.

 

And Pretty green flame here is something you might like, gonna put a couple of these in a shell. A couple meaning about 8 or so. Hopefully at the next convention in Gillete, you gonna be there?

 

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/psyco_1322/Lampare%20Testing/LampareInsert3.jpgm

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/psyco_1322/Lampare%20Testing/LampareInsert4.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/psyco_1322/Lampare%20Testing/LampareInsert5.jpg

Video:

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/psyc...reTestVideo.flv

[frogy]

What do you mean did I just show up?

 

I've only been here a month of two.. I'm not on any other pyro forums really... Well other than PyroGuide Forum, but that started after I joined this one...

 

I have about 2.2 post per day, so I didn't just start posting

 

I saw those lampares on your photobucket page a few days ago... They look pretty nice... Hope to see you at future conventions..

[psyco_1322]

Well I didnt mean just the immediate recently but ya the last month or so would be about right. Most people that come around ask noob questions and get going from there, you just kinda appeared with a reasonable amount of knowledge on things. Thats it.

 

Thanks, me and asilentbob came up with the idea for something big next year. Ill be with the rocket guys most likely. You should have a shirt with a frog on it to wear around.

[flying fish]

 

This is my latest creation...nothing fancy (including the video account of it) but it did work. Well, except for the rising tail part. The best part is how little materials needed to be used; it was a 1-3/4 inch plastic ball shell filled halfway with stars and burst, and the other half was just clay. A 1/4 gram "slow flash" booster was used

[FrankRizzo]

Good job man. I love the comments from the 'peanut gallery' in the background.

[flying fish]

Thanks! I always make sure to leave in any amuzing comments. The "it will take a couple years" was my cousin. We were having a barbeque with a bunch of relatives over and and watching the Tigers (baseball) game. Surpizingly most of them actually came out to watch my shell.

[frogy]

Heh... I love showing off to the neighbors...

 

All they ask for is more and more aerial salutes...

 

I was lighting off some 3/4" by 2" - 3" can shell aerial salutes from about ~3-8 grams of flash powder...

 

They kept whining about wanting a louder one, so without them knowing I light off a 30 gram 2.5" can... They were satisfied... lol

 

I doubt my stars are ever going to dry... It's very cold out and there's no sun... My furnace is off... Hair dryer broken...

 

I won't get more plastic shells to Wednesday anyway, but I'd like to throw together a few can shells...

[deadman]

Frogy, try making a star drying box. One can be improvised with about any container and a high watt bulb. A small fan wouldn't hurt either. I'm sure you know, but don't over rush drying.

[qwezxc12]

Here's couple of vids from last night:

 

3in crackle shell, 5:1 BP/puffed rice break boosted w/3g slow flash. 3g of this particular mix appears to be the limit with the priming on the stars - the other two shells blew partially blind when using more flash. Real low break (not intentional, but I didn't care - I was testing the break, not the lift)

 

3in shell

 

6in mixed D1 (stars from two different batches, with two different types of Al), 5:1 BP/puffed rice break boosted w/10g slow flash. The break was not much bigger than without the flash...guess I'll try more next time I want to replicate sasman's breaks...Don't know if it's possible without using the Gamon shell casings, though. I'm going to perfect plastic shell breaks if it kills me!

 

6in shell

[gods knight]

Very good shells very low indeed

 

A good break too

 

How much time did you spend on each shell?

[''']

Very impresive. Good job!

 

Have a nice day!

[jacob]

Psyco, what was that lampare filled with? methyl borate?, and why was part of the bottle green? how much flash did you use and how did you seal it up inside the bottle? and good grief how big a shell is it going to take to hold eight of those? thanks.

[qwezxc12]

snip...How much time did you spend on each shell?

I had all of the stars, and BP coated crispies left over from the show I put on in august. I built the six shells in about three hours. That includes putting them in front of a small heater-fan for ~45min. to help the Xylene dry after assembling the hemi's and before strapping them with fiberglass tape.

 

I'll admit to being a bit sloppy (in assembly, not safety) but I just wanted to get a feel for the slow flash breaks in various size shells. - hence the mixed stars and crappy un-pressed lift I used

 

 

 

psyco_1322,

 

The link you posted takes me to the Photobucket home page? I'd love to see the Lampare shell.

[crazyboy25]

im confused how did you make those stars crackle?

[frogy]

MgAl crackles slightly when it burns, so I'm assuming the slow flash has excess MgAl added for PGI flash?

 

Or the prime on the stars is MgAl and it crackles when it burns... It's pretty obvious that it wasn't dragon eggs.. I like the effect a lot...

[flying fish]

His video says that the stars are primer-core...That 3 incher was great!

[qwezxc12]

im confused how did you make those stars crackle?

flyingfish has it right; they're primers. I rolled 3/8" stars (BP + 15% 100-200mesh MgAl) over large pistol primers.

I made some mines a while ago with them, too: 2in mines

They're kinda expensive; ~$22.00 for 1000, so around $2.00 for the 3in shell, but I'm not ready to embark on making Dragon's Eggs just yet. I'm going to try shotgun primers next.

 

MgAl crackles slightly when it burns, so I'm assuming the slow flash has excess MgAl added for PGI flash?

Or the prime on the stars is MgAl and it crackles when it burns... It's pretty obvious that it wasn't dragon eggs.. I like the effect a lot...

The flash has no MgAl; I used -425 American bright Al. I'm going to try -325 coated flake next to slow it down some more. What's PGI flash? Is it a bursting flash like Ofca's? It's not listed in the Passfire formula database. PM me if you don't want to post it. Thx.