Sounds like you were three miles away, allowing for the engines starting
a couple seconds before T=0. Three miles seems to be a canonical
USG-rules safety distance for spectating rocket launches - they made us
sit three miles away for the several DC-X flights I saw (which very much
seemed overkill for a rocket as small as DC-X, but rules is rules, sigh.)
DC-X sounded roughly as loud as an old low-bypass turbojet 707 or KC-135
takeoff at that distance, FWIW. Which makes sense because installed
thrust was in the same ballpark.
Henry
On 10/1/2016 9:58 AM, qbert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On January 31,1971, I first saw, and then felt and heard the majesty of an
Saturn V launch from the VIP stands, the one and only time I've been to the
Cape with thanks to Alan Shepard who invited my father to watch the launch.
It was a dream come true for a 16 year old boy. I don't recall the actual
distance from the pad but the clock was past 13 seconds when the first
sounds hit us. It was louder by far than standing by the side of runway 13
at CFB 4Wing watching 2 sets of 2 CF 104's take off side by side on full
AB. I did have hearing protection but standing 100 ft away don't help
much.
Loud is not the word.
Robert
At 05:30 AM 10/1/2016, you wrote:
Henry Spencer wrote on 011016:
> Certainly the noise from the one shuttle launch I saw ... didn't
measure
up to the apocalyptic descriptions of what Saturn V launches were like.
Those who recall the ecstasy of F1s thundering away when 20 are
youngsters
aged ± 65-70 today...
Fortunately we have PCs & youtube now to play loud:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhXfnFk3-UQ
jd
