Beyond awesome: launching a Christmas tree

Fun & Games Home Rockets

Oh my gawd, this is hysterical. These guys launched their Christmas tree on 32 rocket engines. The launch is glorious.

Christmas Tree Rocketry: The Art and Science of Holiday Recycling

12 thoughts on “Beyond awesome: launching a Christmas tree

  1. Max Ushakov says:

    Discussion (in Russian) here: http://forum.rcdesign.ru/f81/thread169583.html

  2. Lisa says:

    Those are rocket engines, not motors.

    And that’s a great video and a very cool idea.

  3. charlie says:

    I better stop buying motor oil, or driving on the motorway then.

    Hello John got a new motor ?

    Well done done video though, I was slightly disappointed it didn’t go higher or explode.

  4. John Maushammer says:

    Wow! I thought maybe they’d be using some exotic very-large engines, but no — the D-sized engines they used are the largest amateur rocket engines, available in most hobby stores.

  5. RocketGuy says:

    Well, they did it pretty safely from what can be seen.

    Just two nit picky caveats: 1) “Lawn dart recovery” is frowned upon for large rockets.
    2) Since it wasn’t done according to the safety rules, if anything had gone wrong (grass fire, skewering somebodies grandma) they would have been in deep liability. The fire extinguishers were a good idea, but might not have been enough. (I speak from experience on that count).

    That said I totally salute them. Sometimes it’s just worth the risk, particularly if you manage that risk carefully. Glad it turned out well (and hilarious).

    32 D-12-0 motors is roughly equivalent to a I-380. Hmm, hope somebody was high power certified…

  6. Jimbob says:

    These guys are true Americans… If you didnt notice rocketguy safety man, they did the math, they were in a large open field, they had fire suppression. I would rather see a few accidents than kids that never leave the xbox….

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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