Re: Newbie with questions

[P3D John W Roberts <roberts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 14:29:47 -0600
>From: "P3D Gregory J. Wageman" <gjw@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: Re: Newbie with questions

>Uhh, last I knew model rockets basically went more-or-less straight up,
>and then down on a 'chute subject to the whims of the local winds.

More or less. They have some tendency to fly into the wind.

>I don't see how one is going to get a usable stereo pair from this
>mostly-vertical (or in the case of the descent, combined horizontal
>and vertical) motion.  What you really need is two rockets, separated
>by the desired stereo base, that take syncronized pictures (perhaps
>by radio signal)

That was my first thought, but I decided that given the differences in
wind and construction details for the two rockets, which would be flying
to a height many times greater than the desired separation, you would be
extremely likely to wind up with much greater than the desired separation.
Also, the rockets might reach different altitudes, then you would have the
problem of difference in magnification. It's probably better to send the
two cameras up on the same rocket, so they start out in the same place,
and let the impact of separation and turbulence in the air sort of
statistically separate them. Not all the launches will result in a usable
pair, but some will. If you can vary the timing of the photos, you can
exert some control over the likely range of separations. If you have a radio
link, you can *watch* until it looks "about right".

>Sounds tricky, but if you pull it off you will have some very unique
>stereos!

Agreed.

John R


------------------------------